Nine Months
Chapter 35

"Dad, this isn't funny. I'm serious!" She can't help whining, really, because his laughter is a little bit scary and a little bit annoying at the same time. "I'm pregnant! So yell or whatever, but stop laughing!"

She sort of wishes she hadn't told him. She doesn't want him to laugh at her. She wants him to yell, because really... she rather deserves it. She should have said those words months ago and she couldn't find the courage. She deserves a good chewing out, in her opinion. She looks at him pointedly, and he wipes at his eyes. She hopes those are tears of mirth that he's wiping away.

"I'm not yellin'."

"Why?"

"Because I don't feel like it. That okay with you?" He raises an eyebrow at her and she sits back, putting more space between them.

"Yessir…"

"Good." He runs fingers thoughtfully over the stubble on his chin, occasionally sipping from his beer, quiet as can be. And she wants to scream because he's never quiet, and this is only making her more nervous.

"When's the weddin'?" he asks calmly after a while. And it's her turn to blink rapidly.

"Excuse me?"

"No girl of mine is havin' a little one without havin' a ring on her finger first. So when's the weddin'?" He looks at her intently. She can feel herself blushing. She reaches to her neck and grasps the necklace Gippal bought her not long ago. Thinking about how nice it would be for a matching little ring to go around her finger.

"We, uh... we don't know yet." She gulps, hoping her father won't see through her bold-faced lie.

"Ya don't?"

She shakes her head, thinking quickly. "He asked me and... well, then- then we found out about the baby, and... we've kinda been concentrating on that, y'know? The baby, I mean. Not the wedding bells and dresses and cakes and stuff." She smiles a little because she doesn't think that concentrating on wedding bells and dresses and cakes would be all that bad. She doesn't notice how long she's paused until Cid clears his throat expectantly. "We've been more like... baby. Clothes... shopping. Toys... rattles. Uhm... diapers." She wrinkles her nose a little at the thought of diapers. With a sigh, she straightens her hair, trying to smooth her braids down. "Yeah... I really do need to get planning, though, don't I?" She laughs, a nervous little chuckle. She hopes he'll assume it's a giddy giggle.

"Yeah. Yeah, you do." Cid sits back in his chair, looking more relaxed, but skeptical. She lets out a sigh of relief. "I'm gonna have to talk to that boy... not askin' me first..."

She waves her hands in the air, standing a little too quickly. Cid reaches out to catch her as she sways, a little dizzy. "No, Vydran, you can't! I promised I wouldn't say anything! He... he wants to ask you still, but he has to get the courage up first, yeah? You're kinda intimidating!" She thinks he'd like that.

And she's right, because Cid gets a smug little smile. "Alright, girl, calm down. I won't say anythin'." She sits back down with a nod, sighing heavily. "Well then... a little rugrat, huh?" She nods, smiling weakly. "I like little rugrats..."

As he nears Cid's tent, he can make out shadows moving gently back and forth, assuring him that Rikku has managed to get Cid under control. And perhaps, when he shows up, Cid might even congratulate them. Maybe. Hopefully. He really hopes so.

He knows Rikku doesn't like how he's always seeking her father's approval, but this time it's understandable. This man is to be his child's grandfather. And it's likely that he'll want to see the little squirt. That means he and Rikku will be visiting Cid quite often in the year to follow. Maybe even in the next nine months to follow. And that means Cid and him are going to see a lot more of each other -- many opportunities for Cid to pick out his flaws and find more reasons to not like him.

Simply put, he just wishes Cid thinks he's good enough for their family. That he doesn't think him and Rikku together are a mistake.

Rikku smiles when she sees Gippal walk in, quickly taking note of his appearance. She's glad he doesn't look drunk, looking a little nervous instead. She thinks her father will like that he looks a little nervous. She stands up and walks over to him, taking his hand and rubbing her thumb over her skin comfortingly. "He's calm," she whispers, smiling a little.

"Hey, boy... come here. I wanna talk to ya." Cid taps his boot on the ground from his chair, and Rikku squeezes Gippal's hand.

Gippal glances nervously at Rikku, keeping her hand in his because maybe a calm Cid is just as frightening as a wildly angry one. Walking over to the spot beside him, he manages a weak smile. "Yeah?"

"Sit down," he says, tapping his hand on the table now as Rikku drags over a chair. She smiles, because her father is trying to be intimidating, and it's kind of funny. She sits in the chair beside Gippal's, tugging on his hand to make him sit.

Gippal does so carefully, looking back between both their faces, trapped in the middle. And he sort of wishes Brother would come bursting through the room screaming "Go Fish!" just so he can break the tension. But judging by Rikku's calm expression and small smiles, he's sure that she's told her father by now, and that everything went well. That Cid's not mad.

Reasoning the situation out relaxes him a little and he sits up straight, looking at Cid. "I suppose Rikku's told you," he starts.

"Yep. You two havin' a baby..." Cid shakes his head, and Rikku gets a little nervous again. "Didn't expect it." He's quiet for a moment, and then he looks Gippal in the eye. "Are you lookin' forward to changin' smelly diapers, then?"

He chuckles. "Well, we'd be visiting you often. So maybe you can look forward to doin' it too." His smile instantly fades when he realizes that this isn't the time to be making jokes. He rubs his neck sheepishly as he hears a sigh from Rikku. "Uh-cunno."

"I'll change diapers. I've done it twice already, I can handle it. But can you? That's the question, ain't it?" He taps his foot a little harder, and now Rikku is getting nervous again. Maybe she should have kept Gippal out of the room, after all...

"Well, it can't be too hard." Gippal doesn't think Cid is giving him a fair chance to argue back. Just because he's never changed diapers before doesn't make him a bad father. In fact, it should be a good thing that Rikku's and his will be his first child.

He turns to Rikku, giving her a warm smile. "We'll both learn together."

She looks up at him and smiles back. "Yeah, we will." She looks at her father, who is smiling like an old fool.

"Kids... so optimistic..." He shakes his head and stands up, a little shakily after all the beer he ingested, and claps Gippal on the back. "Congratulations, Gippal. And stop bein' so stiff 'round me. You're a good kid... you treat my girl and your rugrat like you treat that Faction of yours, and I'll have nothin' to complain about. You're goin' somewhere with your life... not like my son, can't keep a machina runnin' if he had the damn instruction manual..."

"Uh-right." Gippal watches as Cid walks to the other side of the tent, and it's as if their conversation completely ended. Just like that. Just like that, weeks of worrying, all gone.

"That was too easy," he mumbles to Rikku. "What did you tell him before I got here?"

She shakes her head, looking over at the cook. She doesn't want to talk about this in front of people she knows can hear her. People she knows like to eavesdrop. "Nothing important, really... my tent's still here. Dad had it cleared out so we could sleep here tonight." She stands up and starts to walk toward the tent flap, wondering if she should tell Gippal the same story she told her father, or if she should fabricate something else so he won't get mad she told her father a story.

He follows her out into the darkness, taking her sudden silence to be just a sign of fatigue. He walks up behind her and throws his arm over her shoulders, kissing her face gently before letting his hands come to rest over her abdomen. "Your father's so damn weird," he says, guiding them back to her tent. He tickles her sides playfully. "I wonder if it's genetic."

"Obviously... he has Brother as an offspring..." She sighs and squirms when he tickles her, and gently covers his hand with her own as he rests it on her abdomen. "But I didn't get the weird gene, really, so I think the baby's safe." She looks up at him and smiles a little before she unzips the tent flap and slips inside. All of the file cabinets that have been surrounding her mat for the past week have been moved out of the tent, and she sighs as she sits down upon the extra large sleeping bag she'd laid out earlier. "He's exhausting..."

He fiddles with the small lamp's switch for a moment before closing the flap behind him. "Who? Your father?" He sits down on a stool beside her, thinking for a moment. "He doesn't like me so much, does he?"

She sighs and lies down, beckoning to him to join her on the ground. "Yeah he does, he really does. And he was happy, when I told him. He smiled and stuff. But uh... he... he asked me something. And I kinda had to lie about it because he was going to freak out if I didn't, I could tell."

He frowns, observing her. "What was it?" He hopes she doesn't say anything to do with the baby and where they plan to raise it. He knows the temple isn't the ideal place for a child to grow up in, but moving into a new home and actually having to go to work... it's too many changes all at once. And he hopes Cid doesn't expect him to be able to adjust successfully that abruptly.

She blushes immediately and looks at the ceiling. "He wanted to know when the wedding was going to be. Like... when we were getting married. He said... what was it... 'any girl of mine isn't having a little one until she has a ring on her finger first'." She knows her face is very red, and she rolls over into her pillow to hide it.

Gippal remains silent.

"So I lied and said you proposed. And I know you haven't and I'm not expecting you to... but then he said he'd have to talk to you about not asking him first, and I told him you wanted to ask him when you were ready..." And she suddenly feels really guilty. Because she shouldn't have lied about something so big... not even for the baby's sake.

He's a little speechless. Of all the changes that could arise, a marriage would definitely rank up there at the top. He knows it's understandable, and he cannot say that the thought hadn't crossed his mind when she'd first told him about the baby. But still, he hadn't worried about it then because this was him and Rikku. And there was no pressure for a wedding ring and all that.

But now that she's brought it up, now that it's out there in the open... there is pressure. No matter what she says there is pressure. He'd just gotten used to having a steady girlfriend. And was beginning to get used to the idea of committing to a child with her. And now--!

He's not upset. But he's not so thrilled. Before, the idea of perhaps marrying Rikku one day was pleasant and although it was partly expected to happen, there was nothing binding him to it. Thus, it remained a nice little idea. But now, because she has brought it up, because she has told her father… it's become... an expectation.

He takes in a deep breath, settling his hands on the cabinet near him. "And... did you tell him the truth afterwards?"

"No," she answers. "But I will. Tomorrow. You go home and I'll tell him while you're not here. I just... I didn't want him to flip out at you!" She turns to him, resting her hands uncertainly on her stomach as she stares and his blank face. "And... and I don't want you to ask me. You didn't ask me when I told you I was pregnant... and I'm not assuming that you even want to ask me, but... don't ask me. Not now. Not soon. It'd feel too much like you had to. And not like you wanted to. If you wanted to. So I'm gonna talk to him and make it right tomorrow. But I don't want you to have to deal with him when he's angry, so you go back home, and I'll follow." She rolls back onto her side, staring at the canvas wall of the tent. "You have every right to be pissed at me, by the way," she mumbles quietly.

He leans his face in his palm, trying to keep in a groan or any inappropriate remarks that would turn this evening discussion into a full-blown argument. He doesn't want that to happen again. "So... you don't want me to ask you," he says in a low voice, those words being the only ones that stuck out in his head after her big speech. And it makes him wonder if his suspicions about her were right all along. That she's grown too attached to Bikanel now, and the company of her friends and family here, for her to want to continue to stay with him. With a baby now to look after, he wonders if Cid was really the person he was supposed to be worried about impressing all along. Maybe it was supposed to be Rikku instead.

"If he's goin' to get so angry about it, and you-" he throws his arms in the air, "-don't even want me to marry you, then what's it matter?" The last part comes out a little strained, and he has to shove his hand into his coat pocket to hide his tightening fist. "I'll just tell him myself."

"I didn't say I don't want you to marry me!" She sits up, looking up at him, knowing she's made it even worse. "I said I didn't want you to ask me like this - not because you have to." She looks at the ground. "I just don't want him to get mad at you because of me..."

He slaps his hand down on the cabinet, causing it to vibrate violently. "Well then, let's just make your old man happy with me once and for all," he spits out, holding out his arm. His gaze narrows. "C'mon, kid. Let's get the fuck married, right now. And what the heck, we'll move here to good ol' Bikanel and shack up with your Pops while we're at it."

She glares at him, pushing herself up off the floor and pushing his arm away as she stalks over to the tent flap. She fumbles with the zipper. "Don't you dare call me 'kid'." She points in the direction of her father's tent. "You wanna tell him, go ahead. I'm done caring about what he thinks. And I'm done caring about if he takes a bad reaction out on you, too." She turns on her heel and walks away, fuming. She wouldn't marry him at this moment if he got on his knees, cried, and begged.

He watches her unzip the flap and storm out. After having caused this mess in the first place and then dumping it on him, thinking she can walk away with clean hands. Letting out the growl that he's been holding in ever since she told him about the marriage, he shoves the thick fabric aside and jogs after her. He grabs her by the knees and waist, swiftly hoisting her over his shoulder.

People around the camp start to stare at them, and he waves them over with one arm as he uses the other to hold Rikku firmly. "Hey, everyone!" he shouts, turning this way and that, making sure he catches every observer's eye. His voice is hot with rage and sarcasm, and if he didn't look it before, he definitely looks drunk now. "We have an announcement we'd like to make!"

She kicks, but not too wildly, because she doesn't want to make a bigger scene than he's already making. Hot, angry tears gather in her eyes, and she's embarrassed because he's overreacting. Ashamed because she started it with her stupid lie. "Gippal... Gippal, stop! Put me down... don't do this, please! I'm sorry, okay? Just put me down!" She keeps her voice as quiet as possible, and hides her bright red face in his shirt.

"Put you down?" he says in a strong, clear voice. "Now, now, my dear, don't be shy. You were the one who suggested it, after all." He paces back and forth until he's gathered a small crowd around them, curiosity on their faces. But there's only one face he's looking for. "Aw now, we can't start this with out the father! Somebody, call out old man Cid for me!"

She thinks that she honestly deserves the embarrassment. That doesn't mean she won't be angry about it later... but she'll deal with it like she has to, now. She stops kicking her legs, resting calmly on his shoulder as she tries to talk sense into him. "Just let me down, Gippal… you can say whatever you want, okay, just let me down. Let's go back to the tent and talk about it there…"

Cid comes down the lane of tents, roused by the slight ruckus, and stares at his daughter, flung over Gippal's shoulder. "What the hell's goin' on out here?"

Gippal's arm goes loose and he drops Rikku on the ground, murmurs all around him but he's grinning all the while as he walks up to Cid. His body feeling anxiousness, frustration, and a thrill to just piss the fuck out of someone because today's been the shittiest day in his life - the day he and Rikku discuss marriage.

He doesn't care what he's doing, what he's saying or who hears it. Cid'll be mad at him, anyway. Rikku's already mad at him. She can't make up her mind whether she wants to marry him or not, and he doesn't think there'll be much talking about weddings for a while between them after this.

He cups Cid's face and pats his cheek, putting on a wild smile as he points behind him. "That kid of yours is one hell of a girl, if you know what I mean." He slaps his hand roughly against Cid's back in an embrace. "Thank you, really, thank you for your blessing!"

She's redder than she's ever been, as she pulls herself off the ground in front of the crowd. She's angry that he just dropped her without warning. But she's even more angry that he's acting like he's intoxicated. She knows he isn't. He can't be. He wouldn't have gotten drunk if he knew they'd be talking to her father later. At least, she doesn't think he would. Doesn't want to believe that he would. If he was being stupid in front of her family, it would be one thing. But in front of a crowd of strangers? She wants to crawl under a rock and erase the whole night. She never thought the mention of marriage would do this. She didn't expect him to be this mad.

She walks, as calmly as she can, to them. Pulls him away from her father... turns his face to her, a little roughly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hisses, furious.

He brushes her hand off him, smirking. "What? I thought you said you don't care anymore."

"If you're going to be an embarrassment, at least do it privately!" she whispers, ignoring the looks of the small crowd. "The whole camp doesn't need to know about this!" She hates the angry tears that are starting to leave her eyes, and she wipes furiously at them, her eyes connecting only momentarily with Brother's, where he stands, not too far behind Gippal.

Gippal narrows his eye at her, his mouth twisting into a tight, forced smile. "Right. Wouldn't want to be an embarrassment to your new Bikanel friends." He spits off to the side, giving her a dull look. "You know, I think Khaled did a smart thing walking away." He turns, heading back to her tent to get his things. "I'm leavin'."

"Gippal! Gippal, stop!" Her face falls when he keeps walking. Cid, though confused, moves as if he's going to follow him, but Brother quickly comes forward, grabbing his father's arm and slinging an arm around Rikku. She's shocked, covering her face, and she turns to her brother, wrapping her arms around him as she buries her face in his shoulder to try and hide her tears. Cid pulls his arm away and stalks off toward the row of tents with a livid expression on his face.

"What happen to Gippal?" Brother asks, his voice a bit too loud and confused. "He's all crazy-like. He was happy... at poker!"

Rikku thinks she should explain, but she doesn't want to think about it anymore. Especially considering she can smell the alcohol on her brother's breath and knows he won't remember anyway. "We argued about getting married. And now he's leaving," she says simply. She watches her father as he strides away. Watches as Brother immediately starts to stumble away toward the tent, growling. And then she calls out to them, saying the first thing that comes to her mind.

"Tuh'd rind res... zicd... zicd mad res ku. Ev ra fyhdc du mayja sa, mad res ku." Her voice sounds dull to her ears, but she ignores it. Brother's comforting arms eventually encircle her as Cid chases off the few remaining bystanders.

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