The Irony of Relationships

Chapter Nine

By Fanfic-Lover

A/N: UmMmZ…here's an update?

"Would you like to be my Best Man at our wedding?" asked Tidus.

Gippal wasn't sure if he was hearing right and leaned forward onto his desk. "You are asking me to be your Best Man?" he questioned.

Tidus nodded. "Basically," he replied.

Gippal sat back in his seat and let out a chuckle as he ran a hand through his hair. "You've got to be kidding," he muttered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Tidus asked.

"Nothing," replied Gippal and got to his feet. "If you want me to be your Best Man, I'd be honored to –"

"Fyed, oui lyh'd ku eh drana!" interrupted a voice from outside (Wait, you can't go in there!)

"Gippal!" exclaimed Rikku as she barged into the room.

The bright smile on her face faded when she saw Tidus and Gippal. What was Tidus doing there with Gippal? Were they talking about something behind her back? She moved into the room and looked at her fiancé and her friend.

"What's…going on?" she asked looking between the two.

Yuna and Paine also entered the office. They were also surprised to see Tidus there. Like Rikku, they wondered what Tidus had to do with Gippal.

"Tidus?" questioned Rikku.

Tidus smiled. "I just thought it would be better if we had someone you knew as my Best Man," he explained.

The room filled with silence as everyone took in the astonishing news. "What?" Rikku asked.

"I thought it would be better if we had someone you knew as my Best Man," Tidus repeated. "Do you find something wrong with that?"

"So…you want Gippal to be your Best Man?"

Tidus nodded. "If it's okay with you," he answered.

Rikku let out a soft chuckle before scratching her temple. "Why wouldn't it be okay?" she asked out loud. "Of course, it's okay with me." Then, she looked at Gippal. "However, is Gippal okay with it?"

"I was just going to answer before you busted in," commented Gippal as he stepped around the desk. "Tidus, I'd be honored to be your Best Man."

Gippal reached out and shook Tidus's hand. "I appreciate this a lot," said Tidus with a smile of gratitude.

Gippal shrugged. "You'll just owe me for future reference," he commented earning a punch from Rikku. "Ow! Sheesh, I was just kidding, Cid's Girl."

"This is not a joking matter," replied Rikku. "It's going to be a wedding!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Gippal as he waved his hand in front of her face.

"This is serious, Gippal!"

"Any situation that includes you can be considered far from serious, Cid's Girl."

Rikku smacked Gippal's arm and he winced. "That's not funny!"

"Well, how did you want to start with the wedding?" Tidus asked in order to prevent Rikku from choking Gippal.

Rikku paused. "I don't know," she admitted. "I still haven't decided on who I want to be my Maid of Honor."

"Well, we'll need to think about the preparations first," announced Yuna as she stepped up. "You could think about that later, Rikku."

"I suppose so," Rikku replied.

"We'd best get on with your preparations, then!" said Yuna with a hint of excitement within her voice.

"All right!" replied Rikku. "Are you coming, Paine?"

"I'd have to anyway, right?" commented Paine and followed after the two girls.

Once the three girls left, Gippal faced Tidus. "Are you sure you want me to be your Best Man?" he asked.

"Of course," answered Tidus. "Why wouldn't I?"

Gippal shrugged. "I just assumed that a rich guy like you would want someone more important than the CEO of the Machine Faction to be your Best Man," he replied as he sat down in his seat.

Tidus frowned. "I'm not really interested in all that kind of stuff," he noted. "I believe that it would be best to have people Rikku grew up with at her wedding rather than total strangers."

"Good point," commented Gippal. "You really think about everything for her sake, don't you?"

Tidus was startled by Gippal's comment. "Of course," he managed to say. "I'm going to be her husband after all."

"You've got a point," replied Gippal with a shrug. "Anyways, I'll need to get as much paper work done as possible. I appreciate you coming to visit today."

"It was a pleasure," said Tidus and, with a shake of Gippal's hand, left the office.

Gippal plopped down in his seat and rubbed his forehead. Am I really able to be the Best Man of the man who is going to marry the girl that I liked? He wondered as he laid his head back.

(S)(C)(E)(N)(E) (C)(H)(A)(N)(G)(E)

"What do you have set up already?" asked Yuna.

"Pops told me that Jecht had a professional plan everything," answered Rikku. "All I have to do now is select my wedding dress and the outfit for the Maid of Honor."

"Where are you going to do that?" asked Paine.

"Somewhere in Bevelle or Luca," answered Rikku. "I heard that the best places to shop are those two areas."

The three girls made their way back to Mushroom Rock Road where Brother and the others awaited in the Celsius. After they boarded the airship and entered the bridge, Rikku announced that she wanted to be sent to Bevelle. Brother nodded and set the controls for Bevelle. It was just a matter of minutes before the airship arrived at Bevelle. The girls parted and Brother left back for Luca when Rikku said that they wouldn't need his services anymore.

"So, where do you want to start?" Yuna asked as she looked back at Rikku.

Rikku folded her arms across her chest and sighed. "How about over there?" she asked and pointed toward the closest clothing shop.

"Wouldn't you rather purchase from the best shops in Bevelle?" asked a voice.

The three girls turned around to see the Praetor of New Yevon standing behind them. His face was brightened with a warm smile and he bowed to them. They bowed back and greeted him. Afterward, Baralai offered to walk them to the clothing shop he recommended.

"What are you doing here?" Rikku asked as they followed after Baralai.

"I just left a meeting," he answered. "What are you ladies doing here?"

"We're shopping for Rikku's wedding!" answered Yuna. "It's in two days."

"Ah, yes," replied Baralai. "I remember, now."

"How could you forget?" commented Paine. "All of Spira knows."

Baralai chuckled. "I have just been so busy," he answered. He turned to Rikku and took a hold of her hand. "I'm sorry for having to leave your engagement party early. Duty calls, you know."

Rikku smiled and nodded. "It's okay," she replied. "I don't blame you. You are the Praetor of New Yevon after all."

Baralai smiled. "To make it up, I'll attend your wedding day," he offered, "and stay the entire duration."

"I would appreciate that a lot," Rikku replied.

Baralai nodded and they continued toward the clothing shop. The shop that Baralai recommended was owned by a middle-aged woman who went by the name of Helga. She greeted her customers and welcomed them warmly. Then, Baralai announced that he had to leave and departed. Helga took a hold of Rikku's arms and pulled her up close.

"Now, you say you're getting' married?" she questioned.

Rikku smiled meekly. "Y…yes," she replied softly.

Helga cupped Rikku's face and smiled warmly. "Beautiful complexion you have," she commented and pulled Rikku into the next room.

Yuna and Paine looked at each other while trying to hold back their laughter and followed Rikku and Helga. When they entered the next room, Rikku was already stripped of her clothes and was now wearing a peach-colored under gown. Helga was no where in sight and the two sat down on the nearby chairs. After a few minutes, Helga appeared with a gown in her hold.

"Try this on, dear," she said and handed the gown to Rikku.

Rikku took the gown with a nod and slipped into it. The gown was a pale yellow and flowed out around the legs. The neckline was cut in a "scoop" and the transparent sleeves flowed freely down Rikku's arms. The hem of the down was embroidered with crystals and glimmered in the light when Rikku shifted. She looked to the three before her for an opinion.

"It looks beautiful," complimented Yuna.

"It does," agreed Paine with a nod.

The three looked to Helga and she looked up at Rikku deep in thought. "There's still something missing," she said. "Take that off."

Rikku removed the gown while Helga disappeared out of the room. A few minutes later, she appeared with a pale pink gown. She instructed Rikku to put it on as she handed it to Rikku. Rikku did as she was told and slipped into the dress. Then, she looked to them for their opinions.

This gown's neckline was cut in a "v" and the sleeves were ruffled. The bodice of the gown was embroidered with jewelry and also shimmered in the light when Rikku shifted. Again, Helga noted that something was missing and retrieved another dress. This one was moth-colored and the bodice had a transparent cover over it with the neckline in a "scoop" cut.

Helga noted once more that there was something missing. This process continued on for the next two hours until Rikku ended up trying all the dress that Helga had in her store. When there were no more dresses to try on, Rikku plopped down on a chair and sighed. Helga also sat down and fanned herself with her hand.

"This is more difficult than I thought it would be," Helga commented.

"It's me," Rikku stated soberly. "I'm not really the type to wear such elegant gowns."

Helga looked at Rikku as if she was in deep thought. Then, a smile appeared on the elderly woman's face. "There might be one solution," she announced and disappeared out of the room. Rikku sighed and flung her arms up.

"When will she learn that I don't look good in elegant gowns?" she questioned.

"Here it is!" cheered Helga when she came back into the room.

Rikku, Yuna, and Paine turned to see the gown that Helga held and Rikku's jaw dropped at the beautiful sight of the wedding gown.

A/N: There you have it! I'm soOo sorry for taking soOo long to update! I've needed to catch up with a few things at school and got side-tracked from everything! However, I've managed to catch up somewhat and I should have some free time now. Therefore, expect the next chapter to be up by next week!

I.have.a.moogle.obssesion.: Thanks for the review! I also wanted to thank you for the suggestion! I think I'll actually make them both her maid of honor! You're awesome! I hope you enjoyed this!

AnimeHaven: Thanks for the review! Yes, it is hard to find a decent Tikku nowadays, isn't it? I have noOo idea as to why people think it's such a nasty pairing! It's just soOo cute! Personally, I believe that they actually would've ended up together if he hadn't been washed off the boat by Sin. nods Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this!