I know what you're saying. You've finally landed yourself a man, Rikku. Way to go! And if maybe the shoe was on someone else's foot, I'd probably say the same thing. I'd probably even try to matchmake them or something. Get them to really know each other.
But as fate would have it, I am the one experiencing this, and therefore I am not congratulating myself on getting drunk and marrying someone without even knowing it. You see, imagining the situation and actually experiencing it are two entirely different things. Waking up in the morning, hung-over with a killer headache, only to find yourself in bed naked and married to a guy is pretty frightening.
...No matter how long I've known him, or how darn sexy he is.
And so therefore as I kicked him out of the hotel room, unclothed with just a pillow to cover him up, I felt no guilt, and was somewhat satisfied with myself. Gippal was still pounding the door, yelling tons of Al Bhed curse words at me. Geez, that man was annoying. Turning around, I quickly scanned the room for his clothes, strewn all around the hotel room floor. I started to walk towards each and everyone of his clothing, picking them up and creating a bundle in my arms.
"Rikku!" he yelled, followed by three hard knocks. I sighed, standing up from picking up his heavy duty boots. Would he ever give up?
It seemed he did for a few minutes. I used this time to pick up the remainder of his outfit. As the assortment of Gippal's atire grew in my arms, I noticed how heavy his clothing really was. Especially with the added weight of his boots, his clothes probably weighed ten pounds altogether! Maybe I should have a little talk with him about some lightweight clothing...now where are his gloves? Seconds after inspecting the room, I found them hiding in a corner and strided towards them.
"Rikku, ubah ib dra tysh tuun!" (Rikku, open up the damn door!) Gippal shouted loudly. He startled me as I was reaching down for his fallen gloves and almost fell over, but I quickly righted myself against the wall. Giving no response to his command, I bent over to pick up the last of his garments and hastily made my way to the exit of the room.
Opening the door only a small bit that was large enough for his clothes but small enough for him not to see anything (because I was still undressed, and I didn't have anything to cover me up, not even a pillow, you see), I gathered up all my strength and hurled his clothing at him. An 'oof' and a loud hollow 'thunk' was the only kind of response I got, and I hurriedly closed the door again. It looked like his boots made a nice crater in his chest.
Searching the area now for my clothes, my face formed a ghost of a smile.
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Bittersweet
Chapter Three: Hullabaloo
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It was quite a while before I walked and dragged myself out of the hotel room, freshly showered and refreshed. Sneaking through the hallway and towards the elevator, I made my way to the lobby, trying to avoid everybody and a certain somebody that might see me. With a loud 'ding!' the elevator doors slid open and I stepped out onto the first floor of the hotel.
Quickly scanning the myriad of people that were cluttered around here, I soon spotted the group of people I was searching for, off in a corner and talking quietly amongst themselves. Brother seemed to have calmed down a teensy bit, probably by the words of Paine, since the red-blood look in his eyes disappeared, but the steam hadn't stopped coming out of his ears, and his fists hadn't stopped clenching. Ohhh boy.
Trying to extinguish the butterflies that were quickly forming in my stomach, I took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Closing my eyes for a few seconds and muting my inner voice calling me a coward, I opened up my eyes again and made my way to my friends.
With my bad luck, Brother was the first one to notice me walking up to them. It looked like he was using all his strength just to try to keep his current state of "calm". He always did play the part of the overbearing, overprotective older brother - it seemed that today, that role had went full throttle and blew up in my face.
"Rikku-" he said, anger still evident in his voice, before he was cut off my Paine.
"Brother, why don't you and Buddy and Shinra go to the Celsius for a minute or two?" she said coolly.
"But-!" his protest was cut short when he was met by Paine's gaze, which had underlying steel - not a request, but more of a command. "Fine," he said, before he and the other two mentioned guys headed off to the red airship.
"Thanks," I mumbled underneath my breath in gratitude. Paine turned back around to me, and by means of response, she nodded.
"Are you okay, Rikku?" Yuna asked, standing next to Tidus, looking completely concerned.
"Don't ask me that," I simply replied. "I'd probably take up the whole day."
"What's wrong?" Tidus asked. I was probably the closest Guardian to him, during Yuna's Pilgrimage (besides Yuna herself), and he could always sense my problems from miles away. Drat him.
"Well..." I said, hesistantly, crossing my arms behind my back and rocking back and forth. "I know it was my idea to come here in the first place, but do you think we could leave?"
"Sure," Yuna answered, sensing my clear unease at being here. "We'll tell Brother to ready up the Celsius as soon as possible."
"Have you talked with Gippal lately?" Paine questioned.
I winced. My mind was screaming 'Coward! You're such a coward!' again, but could you really blame me? I wasn't ready to talk to him, to face him, or to even see him again yet. I had to grow myself a spine before I could do that, and I was being cruel by just leaving and abandoning him here in Luca without even telling him.
"We said we would talk later," I lied, before walking away quickly, trying to hide my shame.
"You think she really talked with him?" Yuna asked, uncertain.
"Of course not," Tidus responded, easily seeing through me. "Rikku's probably trying to running away from everything right now, leaving the city like this."
"You think so too?"
"What's even more amusing is that they're so infatuated with each other," Paine added. "Rikku was the topic of many of Gippal's conversations during the Crimson Squad."
"Oh really now?" Yuna said, suddenly becoming more interesting. Paine nodded.
"Being outta the loop sucks!" Tidus whined childishly, still familiarizing himself with the new people that popped out of nowhere and how different things were since two years ago. "Ya gotta tell me more about this Gippal guy!"
---
It had been five days since my little fiasco in Luca, and it looked like I had success in trying to hide from Gippal. Of course, flying around Spira on an airship that could take you anywhere in a matter of hours probably helped - it made getting from place to place much easier. Besides, Gippal was probably back at Djose, tending to his Machine Faction duties.
I knew that I had to come face to face with him sooner or later - maybe a few more days for me to gather up my courage? But what was really bothering me, what really had been vexing my mind, was that one little rule that all Al Bheds abided by. You could sort of say it was one of our commandments, like 'Never fully trust a Yevonite' and 'Be suspicious of all Guado'.
The one that made me nervous at this moment was 'You only marry on one occasion'. Once. That was it. No matter what.
...Which meant I was stuck for the rest of my life with Gippal, unless I did something about it. Now, being the daughter of the leader of the Al Bheds certainly had some perks - you were the most respected female Al Bhed around, and sometimes you got off the hook for many things. I was counting on my Pops to try to help me get out of this situation, which was why I was readying up the cabins on the Celsius for his arrival on the airship.
Tidy bedsheets? Check. Wiped all the dust? Check. Everything prim and proper? Check.
Sitting down on one of the beds and twiddling my thumbs nervously, I anxiously awaited the arrival of my father. Now, how to go about this situation? A. I suck up to him first, and then drop the news on him - or B. I could drop the news and beg on my knees. Ughh. What else? C. Tell him the news and run away. But where would I go? As soon as Pops got on, the ship would probably be up in the air again if no one had any business to attend to in Bikanel, where we were picking up my father.
Seconds were slowly ticking away at me, and I finally decided to go with Plan A. There was no way Pops could resist my sucking up. Hopefully. Now that my plan of action had been decided, I stood up from the bed and made my way to the ledge at the end of the wooden strip where all the beds were located. Jumping off of the ridge and landing on the floor below me, I chose to wait for Pops on a barstool in front of Barkeep.
The doors suddenly hissed open, and out stepped my father. Straightening up and plastering a cheery smile on my face, I went to go greet him. "Hey Pops!"
He looked up to see my face and smiled. "Hello Rikku," he replied before enveloping me in a hug. "How's my little princess doing?"
"Just dandy!" I lied. "You want something to drink? I'm sure Barkeep would make you something."
"Oh, no thanks, Rikku," Pops replied. "Now what do you want to talk to me about?"
Gathering my courage, I smiled. "Hey Barkeep, do you think we could talk alone for a moment?"
"Of course, Miss Rikku," the blue hypello replied lethargically, before moving towards the exit. I wondered where he would go? One could always find him here in the cabins, and you never saw him anywhere else.
"Rikku?" Pops questioned. Taking his hand, I led him up the stairs to where the beds were.I found that being up here helped me calm down and think more rationally. Plan Suck Up was now in motion.
Sitting down on the bed that I had been occupying about five minutes ago, I decided to open up the conversation with something unsuspicious. "So how's rebuilding Home going?"
Yes that's right - Old Man Cid was going to rebuild Home. Even though it went against what all Al Bheds said and had engraved in their minds - 'Memories are memories but that's all they are' - there was no denying that every single one of their kind were thrilled about this new project. After all, it was in their nature to make, create, and build things.
Pops sat down on the bed opposite of me and his face became overjoyed. "Oh it's going great!" he exclaimed. "Rin's been helping a lot with the fundings, and tons of people are out in the desert to help construct everything everyday!"
"That's fantastic!" I said. "I'm sure every Al Bhed is happy to have such a wonderful and intelligent man as their leader - everyone thinks it feels good to have a great, strong pillar of importance supporting our every move!"
Whoo-hoo! Three compliments in one sentence! Now, what else can I think up of?
His face turned solemn for a moment, and I thought that maybe he'd caught on to my little plan. Just as I was thinking how to turn this around, he spoke. "Well this old man isn't growing younger by the minute," Pops replied. "Soon I'm going to have to get you to marry someone..."
Heheheh...funny you should mention that...
"Well-" before I could continue, the doors slid open again. I thought I told Barkeep that me and Pops needed some private time! "Lemme see who that is."
Pops nodded, and again I went to the ledge and proceeded to jump off of it again. I was never a conventional person - I loved to jump off of that plank instead of taking the stairs down to the lower floor.
Preparing to tell off whoever had come in, I was met face to face with the person that could make this situation go downhill. Gippal.
"Hello," he greeted with a fake smile, before he dropped it. "I had to push past your little posse of friends to get here."
"Uhh..." was all I could muster out. How to get him out of here, how to get him out of here?!
"Who the heck do you think you are, trying to vanish without a trace before we could talk about this?" Gippal said, his voicing rising steadily and bringing in Pops' attention from the floor above us.
"Huf ec naymmo hud y kuut desa," (Now is really not a good time) I hissed underneath my breath. Gippal's eye merely narrowed down at me as he pushed past me.
"E tuh'd lyna fradran un hud ed'c y kuut desa!" (I don't care whether or not it's a good time!) Gippal replied. "Oui duug uvv pavuna fa luimt nacumja yhodrehk!" (You took off before we could resolve anything!)
"Cu E's y lrelgah!" (So I'm a chicken!) I said, turning around to face him, throwing my hands up in the air.
"Oui lyh'd nih yfyo ajanodesa cusadrehk kuac pyt," (You can't run away everytime something goes bad) he snapped.
"Kad uid," (Get out) I said calmly. "Kad uid huf!" (Get out now!)
"Hu fyo!" (No way!) he retorted. Since his back was facing towards the stairs, he never did see Pops descending down from them. Before I completely lunged and threw my hand over his mouth to shut him up, he shouted, "Eh lyca oui'ja vunkuddah, fa'na synneat!" (In case you've forgotten, we're married!)
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A/N: I think I'm really bad about updates, don't you guys? I'm sorry about the wait again =[ School's starting up again, and normally that would be okay, but I'm in high school, where grades matter to me and tons of homework is assigned (especially since I'm in all honors classes) and that's going to be my top priority. I'll try to update when I can, but I'm not promising anything - maybe I can update every 2-3 weeks? Hopefully I won't go more than three months between updates...I hope you guys can be understanding
By the way, do you guys know of any good Rikku/Gippal fics? I've been scavenging the FFX-2 section, and I can't find enough to read. Don't mention Moshi Moshi Mai's Every Heart though, because I've already read it plus the epilogue (yes I know she hasn't posted it up yet, but I get perks). You see, she's the sis that wanted me to write a RxG fic XD And would anyone know where Lynnwood's Al Bhed Tradition went? It seemed to disappear off of =/
Response time!
i won't tell: How did I come up with Guppy? Well, doesn't Gippal kinda sound like Guppy? In a way? Just a little bit? I thought so, and though, hey why not? I'm super glad you're liking this very much.
RingPrincess: I'm happy that you find this very funny Glad you're enjoying it.
:D: One of your favorites? Why thank you! Gippal would be nice to see with a pillow, no? I'm sure he'll survive somehow, even if Rikku hadn't thrown his clothes in his face, by charming all the ladies XD
Black Mamba BWA: I think I'll pick "Hilariously Romantic Because It Makes Me Fall on the Floor Till my Sides Burst". ;] Glad you like it!
kingleby: Thanks for reviewing both chapters! Glad you're loving it.
miyazawakano: I would love to see Gippal naked in a hallway too...too bad he's not real =[ I would also love to see Seifer Almasy and Vegeta naked in a hallway too...but cough...
GCLover: Yup, Gippal is completely naked the whole time, but he does have one pillow to cover himself up. He never did give up that pillow, because I'm sure that he wouldn't enjoy parading around in a hotel full of strangers completely naked. He'd probably be arrested for indecent exposure XD
animeprincess101: Thanks for your review! Here's my update =D
Anna: I do believe that Gippal and Tidus shall become friends later on in this fic - we'll just see about that, hmm? I'll try to add more funniness!
Imloveless: Glad you thought it was good. Here's chapter three.
Kiwifroot: Sorry it was so short! I tried to make this one a long one. Tidus isn't that dumb, he just doesn't think about what he's going to say before he says it. At least I've always thought of him like that.
dragonmaster: It seems you hit the review button twice XD Glad that you like the story!
the flaming angel: Thank you so much for adding me to your favorites! I'm very very happy
tonkeli: I didn't mean to make Tidus 'the stupid one', he was meant to be the comedic relief from all the tension that was going on. Don't worry, I'll try my best to write an insightful Tidus later (because yes, I do have plans for him to be intuitive later on) in the fic to balance out everything else.
Rikku1: Glad you think it's awesome!
Al bhed Princess: Glad you don't think they're OOC. Sorry about the "soon" - ness.
xpunky-galx: Wohh!! What a cool word. I'm delighted you think this story of mine is great =]
A Nobody: Glad you're liking what you're reading!
I really appreciate all the feedback I'm getting. Thank you guys for your support!