And Baby Makes Three
Chapter Five - Post-Game Activities
By: Digi-Esca Girl
Disclaimer: Standard. You already know what I'm gonna say, so why bother, eh? lol....
**************************************************************************
"Kieran!" Yuna called upstairs, "The game's on!"
"Coming!" The little boy answered, rushing down the stairs as fast as could without tripping. He dashed past Yuna
and into the living room, clambering up onto the navy blue couch just as the game returned from commercials.
"Wow! Dad was telling the truth!" Kieran said, seeing Tidus on the screen. It still felt weird to call someone Dad.....
"Of course he was. He's one of the star players, you know," Yuna explained, taking a seat beside him.
"D'you think.....he could teach me some....stuff...?" The boy asked hesitantly, looking down at his hands.
"Well, we can ask him when he comes home, okay? How's that?"
"Good!" The cheeriness returned, and the two of them relaxed to watch the game together.
***************************
"What's Daddy doing?" Jade asked, pointing at the screen with all the ignorance of the child she was.
"He's playing a fun game in the water. He does it really well so they put him on TV whenever he plays." Lulu
explained, hoping she would understand.
"Does he have fun?"
"Of course! It's his favorite sport, you know."
"Really? Mine's ballet.....is that a sport?" Jade questioned, meeting Lulu's burgandy gaze with her own hazel one.
"I guess so. I'll tell you what..." The mage said, kneeling down beside the couch so she was eye-to-eye with the
girl, "We can get you into ballet lessons if you want....?"
"........R-really?" Jade stuttered, unable to beileve her ears. At the orphanage, the workers always told her that
her dreams might come true, and she thought they all had when she was adopted. But now this??
"Definatly. We'll talk to your-"
"Thank you!" Jade squealed, launching her arms around Lulu's neck. The mage sighed and wrapped her own arms
around her, wondering how she could have developed so strong a bond to her so quickly.
***************************
"Tidus!" Leathen called, throwing him the ball just as Gravv came up from behind and tackled him right out of the
sphere. Tidus caught the ball, gritting his teeth as he saw some fans trying to help Leathen get his bearings. He
swam quickly towards the net, twisting his body like a sea snake to avoid the meddlesome defensemen. Once he
was close enough, he steadied the ball ahead of him and set up a Jecht Shot as two players began swimming
up to him. He smirked, smacking the sphere into the first ones forehead with his fist. He almost laughed everytime
he did this, performing a perfect backwards sommersault and launching the ball at the remaining player's head.
With the ball coming right for him, he shot up, spinning over ten times faster than the human eye could count,
slowing to a stop and snapping out his leg just as the ball came into contact with his body.
It sailed towards the net, but was intercepted by Bickson, who smirked and took off. Tidus growled deep in the
back of his throat, cursing the redhead in his mind. The cursing turned into laughter, however, as Wakka came
up on the unsuspecting forwards right side, tackling him and sending him flying into the grandstands.
Unfortuneatly, the ball went with him, and the teams had to set up again and wait for the ball to be returned.
Tidus swam up, high-fiving his friend and smiling brightly as his eyes lighted on the disoriented Bickson, being
quickly checked over by paramedics.
Ten minutes later saw Leathen, Bickson, and the ball back inside the sphere and ready for more.
Just before the blitzoff, Tidus looked at Wakka, holding up four fingers.
'Play number 4....' Wakka's mind registered, nodding at the blonde. He returned the gesture, turning back to the
game as the ball shot upwards. Lucian and Graav followed it, but Graav got there first. He swiped the ball, carrying
it off before Lucian could tackle him. Wakka swam by him and held up four fingers, and the brunette smiled, heading
for the Luca net.
Just as Graav set up for a shot, Jarvis came, seemingly out of nowhere, and snatched the ball away. Graav kicked the
water, his anger apparant.
Jarvis saw Lucian, open to the left side of the oppositions net. He passed it over to him, his PA almost running out
on the ball as it traveled, but it made it. Lucian began setting up for a shot, but then deked out and passed it behind
him to the waiting Wakka.
The fans cheered, as the advancing players from Luca were momentarily confused. Seconds were all they needed.
Wakka reeled back performing a perfect sphere shot and sending the ball hurdling towards the net. Bickson made for
another grab, but Leathen was there, tackling him out of the way. The ball was losing it's SH, and the fans, and players,
were on edge, wondering if it would make it.
Then, there was Tidus. He came up beside the ball, swimming ahead of it just as it's SH disappeared, and kicked
it forcefully towards the net, renewing it's SH to an astonishing 63! It sailed past the goalie just as the timer hit 00:00
on the second half, making the final score Zanarkand : 3, Luca : 2.
The stands erupted as every person present stood and cheered, the stadium almost exploding with noise as the Abes
came together inside the sphere for a victory dance they'd made up one rainy day.
"What a win, you guys!" Jecht called over the excited team in the locker room, " I'm proud of ya!"
"An excellent way to start the season," Auron agreed, his deep barotone booming out over the chattering players.
"Now, now listen up!!" Jecht yelled, the team quieting instantly, "Auron and I have to go to a press conference, like,
right now, so I trust you guys know by now how to avoid the media?"
"Yeah!" Jarvis called out.
"Good, good. I'll see ya in two days for practice alright? 7:00AM right here."
"And I'll see you all in class...." Auron finished, smirking as his older students remembered the assignment he'd
given them that was due tomorrow.
"So are we gonna go, or what?" Leathen asked, looking at Wakka.
"Yeah, Luca'll be leaving soon," Lucian agreed.
Tidus stood on a counter top, his head almost grazing the ceiling.
"We'll go, but we only get a couple of them. The whole team would cause too much trouble."
"I can't believe we lost to those...those...." Bickson ranted, kicking the nearby dumpster so hard he left a dent. He
and Graav had escaped the locker room before their coach could make his usual speech about losing gracefully,
slipping outside behind the stadium to have a smoke. Graav took a long drag on his cigarette before answering.
"Losers? Idiots? Imbeciles? Mother-"
"That's enough. I get the point."
"Well we don't, ya?"
Both Luca players looked up at the sound of a voice they knew all too well from past press conferences. Their eyes
were met with that of the five Zanarkand players that had beaten them just moments ago. It had been Wakka who
spoke, one powerfully muscled arm bent at the elbow and supporting his weight as he leaned against the wall.
"What were you gonna say, Graav?" Leathen asked, stepping closer.
"Yeah, we didn't quite catch it." Jarvis agreed.
"And what were you saying before that? Idiots, are we? Imbeclies?" Lucian asked, walking forward beside his friends.
"You forgot losers, "Tidus corrected, a smirk forming on his lips, " Oh wait. That you guys, isn't it?"
"What do you guys want?" Bickson asked, obviously annoyed, but a tiny undertone of fear was present in his voice.
"We just want to put your girlfriends to the test," Jarvis said.
"What do you mean?" Graav asked, taking a step forward.
"How long d-you think they'd wait up for you, huh?" Leathen asked, beginning to circle the players.
"Oh, I'd wager....at least until 12:00, hey guys?" Tidus proposed, earning nods and smirks.
"Why does it matter to you?" Bickson questioned again.
"Well, if you're lyin 'ere unconscious past 12:00, will they get suspicious, ya?" Wakka finished, stepping right up
into Bickson's face, standing about four inches taller than him.
Both the Luca players exchanged looks, then bolted, running towards the still crowded stadium.
"Wrong answer...." Tidus growled, his smile fading. His right leg reached out and as soon as it hit ground, he was
tearing off behind them.
He caught up fairly easy, and flung Bickson into the wall as he reached him.
"Tackle me? No no no no no...." He smirked, reeling back and letting his fist fly.......
"Where's Daddy?" Kieran asked, yawning with the effort of staying awake. It was past 12:00 and Yuna had already
asked him if he wanted to go to bed, but he wasn't going to until Tidus came home. So, they were sitting in the
living room on the couch, watching the door as the TV flashed in the background, waiting for him to arrive.
Suddenly, a car door slam was heard, and the two of them looked up, watching as Tidus once again stumbled towards
the door. Yuna sighed, picking Kieran up and placing him on the stairs.
"Go upstairs. I'll call you down in a minute, okay?"
"But why?"
"I need to talk to Daddy alone," Yuna exaplined, watching him come up the walkway. Kieran reluctantly nodded,
walking tiredly up the stairs towards his room. Right after he disappered from view, Tidus stepped through the
front door.
"Tidus!" Yuna gasped, for he was not drunk as she'd suspected.
Instead, the bruise that had been presnt on his cheek earlier had grown, and his left eye was black and starting to
swell. He had blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth, and his clothes, mostly his shirt, was torn.
Yuna reached out to him, bringing him into the large bathroom downstairs and running some warm bath water.
"Now, I don't know what kind of wounds you have, and I'm not going to ask how you got them," She began, turning
the taps off as the water filled to the point she wanted, "Just get in here and clean yourself off. I can see some dirt on
you so I'm assuming this happened outside....Just try to get all the dirt and dry blood off, okay? Call me when you're
done and have put this on. Oh....hold still for a second."
She closed her eyes, focusing her magic energy into her hands. They began to glow a soft white after a moment,
and Tidus watched amazed. The white light suddenly left her hands and floated over to him, where it slowly
absorbed into his chest. Almost all of his pain was instantly gone, and he sighed before opening his eyes.
"A cure spell," She explained, laying a white bath robe down on the counter as she finished, handing him a soft beige
washcloth. Ne said nothing, merely nodding his thanks and beginning to take off his shirt. She looked away, turning and
leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
"Where have you been!" Lulu cried, helping the injured Besaidian stand up straight.
"Out." He replied, not looking at her.
"Out getting the shit kicked out of you?!" She asked, looking him up and down to determine the full extent of his injuries.
"Sure, ya?" He answered, still not meeting her gaze.
"Come over here," She said, pulling him over to the bathroom. She started running a hot shower, and cast a Cure
spell Yuna had taught her on him while they waited from the water to get hot. His pain went away and he almost
thanked her, but decided against it, hanging his head and slowly pulling off his shirt, mindful of the drying blood.
Lulu just nodded, leaving the room and heading upstairs. Jade was standing in the hallway, eager for an explaination.
One that Lulu didn't have at the moment.
"Daddy's tired, but he wants to get clean before he goes to bed, okay?" Was all she could come up with. It wasn't a
total lie, right?
"Can...can I sleep with you, then? I don't like bein alone...." The girl asked, looking down at her feet sheepishly.
Lulu smiled, reaching down to hoist the girl up into her arms. Jade smiled with her and they both went across the
hall towards Lulu's bedroom to get some much needed closure on the day.
************************************************************************
Hey everybody! Here's a little tidbit to last you for a while! Keep those reviews coming!!!
Til Next Time,
Digi-Esca Girl
laurie_22@hotmail.com
Chapter Five - Post-Game Activities
By: Digi-Esca Girl
Disclaimer: Standard. You already know what I'm gonna say, so why bother, eh? lol....
**************************************************************************
"Kieran!" Yuna called upstairs, "The game's on!"
"Coming!" The little boy answered, rushing down the stairs as fast as could without tripping. He dashed past Yuna
and into the living room, clambering up onto the navy blue couch just as the game returned from commercials.
"Wow! Dad was telling the truth!" Kieran said, seeing Tidus on the screen. It still felt weird to call someone Dad.....
"Of course he was. He's one of the star players, you know," Yuna explained, taking a seat beside him.
"D'you think.....he could teach me some....stuff...?" The boy asked hesitantly, looking down at his hands.
"Well, we can ask him when he comes home, okay? How's that?"
"Good!" The cheeriness returned, and the two of them relaxed to watch the game together.
***************************
"What's Daddy doing?" Jade asked, pointing at the screen with all the ignorance of the child she was.
"He's playing a fun game in the water. He does it really well so they put him on TV whenever he plays." Lulu
explained, hoping she would understand.
"Does he have fun?"
"Of course! It's his favorite sport, you know."
"Really? Mine's ballet.....is that a sport?" Jade questioned, meeting Lulu's burgandy gaze with her own hazel one.
"I guess so. I'll tell you what..." The mage said, kneeling down beside the couch so she was eye-to-eye with the
girl, "We can get you into ballet lessons if you want....?"
"........R-really?" Jade stuttered, unable to beileve her ears. At the orphanage, the workers always told her that
her dreams might come true, and she thought they all had when she was adopted. But now this??
"Definatly. We'll talk to your-"
"Thank you!" Jade squealed, launching her arms around Lulu's neck. The mage sighed and wrapped her own arms
around her, wondering how she could have developed so strong a bond to her so quickly.
***************************
"Tidus!" Leathen called, throwing him the ball just as Gravv came up from behind and tackled him right out of the
sphere. Tidus caught the ball, gritting his teeth as he saw some fans trying to help Leathen get his bearings. He
swam quickly towards the net, twisting his body like a sea snake to avoid the meddlesome defensemen. Once he
was close enough, he steadied the ball ahead of him and set up a Jecht Shot as two players began swimming
up to him. He smirked, smacking the sphere into the first ones forehead with his fist. He almost laughed everytime
he did this, performing a perfect backwards sommersault and launching the ball at the remaining player's head.
With the ball coming right for him, he shot up, spinning over ten times faster than the human eye could count,
slowing to a stop and snapping out his leg just as the ball came into contact with his body.
It sailed towards the net, but was intercepted by Bickson, who smirked and took off. Tidus growled deep in the
back of his throat, cursing the redhead in his mind. The cursing turned into laughter, however, as Wakka came
up on the unsuspecting forwards right side, tackling him and sending him flying into the grandstands.
Unfortuneatly, the ball went with him, and the teams had to set up again and wait for the ball to be returned.
Tidus swam up, high-fiving his friend and smiling brightly as his eyes lighted on the disoriented Bickson, being
quickly checked over by paramedics.
Ten minutes later saw Leathen, Bickson, and the ball back inside the sphere and ready for more.
Just before the blitzoff, Tidus looked at Wakka, holding up four fingers.
'Play number 4....' Wakka's mind registered, nodding at the blonde. He returned the gesture, turning back to the
game as the ball shot upwards. Lucian and Graav followed it, but Graav got there first. He swiped the ball, carrying
it off before Lucian could tackle him. Wakka swam by him and held up four fingers, and the brunette smiled, heading
for the Luca net.
Just as Graav set up for a shot, Jarvis came, seemingly out of nowhere, and snatched the ball away. Graav kicked the
water, his anger apparant.
Jarvis saw Lucian, open to the left side of the oppositions net. He passed it over to him, his PA almost running out
on the ball as it traveled, but it made it. Lucian began setting up for a shot, but then deked out and passed it behind
him to the waiting Wakka.
The fans cheered, as the advancing players from Luca were momentarily confused. Seconds were all they needed.
Wakka reeled back performing a perfect sphere shot and sending the ball hurdling towards the net. Bickson made for
another grab, but Leathen was there, tackling him out of the way. The ball was losing it's SH, and the fans, and players,
were on edge, wondering if it would make it.
Then, there was Tidus. He came up beside the ball, swimming ahead of it just as it's SH disappeared, and kicked
it forcefully towards the net, renewing it's SH to an astonishing 63! It sailed past the goalie just as the timer hit 00:00
on the second half, making the final score Zanarkand : 3, Luca : 2.
The stands erupted as every person present stood and cheered, the stadium almost exploding with noise as the Abes
came together inside the sphere for a victory dance they'd made up one rainy day.
"What a win, you guys!" Jecht called over the excited team in the locker room, " I'm proud of ya!"
"An excellent way to start the season," Auron agreed, his deep barotone booming out over the chattering players.
"Now, now listen up!!" Jecht yelled, the team quieting instantly, "Auron and I have to go to a press conference, like,
right now, so I trust you guys know by now how to avoid the media?"
"Yeah!" Jarvis called out.
"Good, good. I'll see ya in two days for practice alright? 7:00AM right here."
"And I'll see you all in class...." Auron finished, smirking as his older students remembered the assignment he'd
given them that was due tomorrow.
"So are we gonna go, or what?" Leathen asked, looking at Wakka.
"Yeah, Luca'll be leaving soon," Lucian agreed.
Tidus stood on a counter top, his head almost grazing the ceiling.
"We'll go, but we only get a couple of them. The whole team would cause too much trouble."
"I can't believe we lost to those...those...." Bickson ranted, kicking the nearby dumpster so hard he left a dent. He
and Graav had escaped the locker room before their coach could make his usual speech about losing gracefully,
slipping outside behind the stadium to have a smoke. Graav took a long drag on his cigarette before answering.
"Losers? Idiots? Imbeciles? Mother-"
"That's enough. I get the point."
"Well we don't, ya?"
Both Luca players looked up at the sound of a voice they knew all too well from past press conferences. Their eyes
were met with that of the five Zanarkand players that had beaten them just moments ago. It had been Wakka who
spoke, one powerfully muscled arm bent at the elbow and supporting his weight as he leaned against the wall.
"What were you gonna say, Graav?" Leathen asked, stepping closer.
"Yeah, we didn't quite catch it." Jarvis agreed.
"And what were you saying before that? Idiots, are we? Imbeclies?" Lucian asked, walking forward beside his friends.
"You forgot losers, "Tidus corrected, a smirk forming on his lips, " Oh wait. That you guys, isn't it?"
"What do you guys want?" Bickson asked, obviously annoyed, but a tiny undertone of fear was present in his voice.
"We just want to put your girlfriends to the test," Jarvis said.
"What do you mean?" Graav asked, taking a step forward.
"How long d-you think they'd wait up for you, huh?" Leathen asked, beginning to circle the players.
"Oh, I'd wager....at least until 12:00, hey guys?" Tidus proposed, earning nods and smirks.
"Why does it matter to you?" Bickson questioned again.
"Well, if you're lyin 'ere unconscious past 12:00, will they get suspicious, ya?" Wakka finished, stepping right up
into Bickson's face, standing about four inches taller than him.
Both the Luca players exchanged looks, then bolted, running towards the still crowded stadium.
"Wrong answer...." Tidus growled, his smile fading. His right leg reached out and as soon as it hit ground, he was
tearing off behind them.
He caught up fairly easy, and flung Bickson into the wall as he reached him.
"Tackle me? No no no no no...." He smirked, reeling back and letting his fist fly.......
"Where's Daddy?" Kieran asked, yawning with the effort of staying awake. It was past 12:00 and Yuna had already
asked him if he wanted to go to bed, but he wasn't going to until Tidus came home. So, they were sitting in the
living room on the couch, watching the door as the TV flashed in the background, waiting for him to arrive.
Suddenly, a car door slam was heard, and the two of them looked up, watching as Tidus once again stumbled towards
the door. Yuna sighed, picking Kieran up and placing him on the stairs.
"Go upstairs. I'll call you down in a minute, okay?"
"But why?"
"I need to talk to Daddy alone," Yuna exaplined, watching him come up the walkway. Kieran reluctantly nodded,
walking tiredly up the stairs towards his room. Right after he disappered from view, Tidus stepped through the
front door.
"Tidus!" Yuna gasped, for he was not drunk as she'd suspected.
Instead, the bruise that had been presnt on his cheek earlier had grown, and his left eye was black and starting to
swell. He had blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth, and his clothes, mostly his shirt, was torn.
Yuna reached out to him, bringing him into the large bathroom downstairs and running some warm bath water.
"Now, I don't know what kind of wounds you have, and I'm not going to ask how you got them," She began, turning
the taps off as the water filled to the point she wanted, "Just get in here and clean yourself off. I can see some dirt on
you so I'm assuming this happened outside....Just try to get all the dirt and dry blood off, okay? Call me when you're
done and have put this on. Oh....hold still for a second."
She closed her eyes, focusing her magic energy into her hands. They began to glow a soft white after a moment,
and Tidus watched amazed. The white light suddenly left her hands and floated over to him, where it slowly
absorbed into his chest. Almost all of his pain was instantly gone, and he sighed before opening his eyes.
"A cure spell," She explained, laying a white bath robe down on the counter as she finished, handing him a soft beige
washcloth. Ne said nothing, merely nodding his thanks and beginning to take off his shirt. She looked away, turning and
leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
"Where have you been!" Lulu cried, helping the injured Besaidian stand up straight.
"Out." He replied, not looking at her.
"Out getting the shit kicked out of you?!" She asked, looking him up and down to determine the full extent of his injuries.
"Sure, ya?" He answered, still not meeting her gaze.
"Come over here," She said, pulling him over to the bathroom. She started running a hot shower, and cast a Cure
spell Yuna had taught her on him while they waited from the water to get hot. His pain went away and he almost
thanked her, but decided against it, hanging his head and slowly pulling off his shirt, mindful of the drying blood.
Lulu just nodded, leaving the room and heading upstairs. Jade was standing in the hallway, eager for an explaination.
One that Lulu didn't have at the moment.
"Daddy's tired, but he wants to get clean before he goes to bed, okay?" Was all she could come up with. It wasn't a
total lie, right?
"Can...can I sleep with you, then? I don't like bein alone...." The girl asked, looking down at her feet sheepishly.
Lulu smiled, reaching down to hoist the girl up into her arms. Jade smiled with her and they both went across the
hall towards Lulu's bedroom to get some much needed closure on the day.
************************************************************************
Hey everybody! Here's a little tidbit to last you for a while! Keep those reviews coming!!!
Til Next Time,
Digi-Esca Girl
laurie_22@hotmail.com