And Baby Makes Three
Chapter Eleven - Sphere Pools & Apologies
By: Digi-Esca Girl
Disclaimer: I do not own FFX or anything associated with it; I'm just borrowing it for a little while (-_^)
***************************************************************************************
Most of the ten-minute car ride to the stadium was silent, despite the fact that little Kieran was positively buzzing with
excitement. He had never seen the inside of the Zanarkand Memorial Stadium before, with the exception of one or two TV
interviews he'd been allowed to watch at the orphanage. He couldn't have been more happy at the moment, and it was all he
could do to keep from wondering out loud why his parents didn't seem as excited as he was.
Yuna was simply staring out the window, looking like a nervous teenager at the police station. She was sitting with her back
straight, hands in her lap, eyes near unblinking, as if statue-like. She hadn't said a word since they'd left the house, and she
was giving off the impression that she didn't want to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing. As to the reason why she was
as nervous-looking as she was, no one could tell for sure.
Tidus was the same way, except he couldn't just stare off into space because he was driving. His hands were kept firmly on the
steering wheel at all times, and they never moved from their 10 and 2 o'clock positions. He seemed so intently focused that
not even the car full of screeching female fans that rolled up beside them at a stop light pulled his attention away from the
stretch of road ahead of him. He simply hit the gas when the light turned green, and left them in the dust, so to speak.
After about ten minutes, the stadium came into view, and suddenly, the mood inside the vehicle changed dramatically. Yuna
seemed more relaxed; she was now resting her cheek in her hand and was looking forward instead of off to the side. A slight
smile was also present on her face, and she appeared to be more calm than she was before. Tidus was also more relaxed,
and looked relieved that the enormous structure was finally looming ahead of them, drawing ever closer. Kieran was more
excited than he'd ever been in his life, but inside, a tiny little voice was gnawing at him, saying things like 'He's gonna turn
around any second now....This isn't happening; Nothing good ever happens to you....'. The boy simply shook his head, clearing
the thoughts and focusing on the building before him.
As Tidus pulled into a parking spot, Kieran already had his seatbelt off and was leaning against the door, as if ready to leap
out at any second. The minute the car slowed to a halt, he was out the door and literally bouncing beside Yuna's own door,
anxiously waiting for her to exit and stand beside him. She did so, and once Tidus had locked the vehicle up, the three of them
were walking in a straight line towards the stadium.
As they entered, Yuna caught sight of a young, blonde man behind the front desk that looked up and smiled at Tidus. They
approached, and Tidus leaned up against the desk, a smile on his own face as well.
"Hey Taylor," He said in greeting, "This is Yuna, and Kieran," He explained, motioning to each of them in turn.
"Brought the whole family today, hey?" Taylor teased, rifling through some files on his computer as he spoke. After about a
minute, he turned to the printer, picking up several sheets that were 'hot off the press'. He turned back to his friend and
smiled again, proving to Yuna that he was one of those really great people that's always in a good mood.
"Well, my files say that you have the sphere booked for five hours today; Is that right?" He continued at Tidus' nod, "Okay....
You know that drill, but I'm obliged to say this anyway....When you are in the sphere, no non-blitzball sport may be played
unless you have modified it to be within Official Blitzball Rules standards. Also, no rough-housing that is actually considered
dangerous, such as with weapons of any kind, will not be permitted and you will be asked to leave immediately."
Taylor continued on for a few minutes, mechanically spilling out all of the rules that they were supposed to follow. After about
seven more ground rules were laid out, he waved them off, telling them to have a good time and to cheer on the Abes when
they played their home game in three days. The trio nodded, following the signs towards the locker rooms, where Tidus took
Kieran and went one way, leaving Yuna to go the other.
Tidus simply changed into his regular game uniform, helping Kieran into the smaller version of the jersey-and-shorts outift
that he had given to him earlier that week. They were done in about five minutes, and went out onto the field to wait for Yuna.
They didn't have to wait long, though, and when Tidus laid eyes on her, he was glad that he had invited her. She was wearing
a very tasteful one-piece bathing suit that dipped in the front and back in a V shape. It was white in color, decorated with
painted, pale blue lilies that complimented her eyes nicely. She wore her hair down, with nothing handy to tie it back with,
and had kept her necklace on. Despite the fact that this suit was NICE, Tidus still found himself wishing that she'd worn a
two-piece instead.....
"Shall we, boys?" She asked, smiling brightly as she noticed how wowed Kieran was. He hadn't stopped looking around in
wonder since they'd arrived, and this made Yuna very happy. Tidus managed to shake himself out of his stupor long enough
to nod at her, and take Kieran's hand, and leading him towards the jump platform below the sphere.
It was a simple device, put there for the purpose of giving the players the extra seven feet of height they needed to be able to
leap into the floating sphere of water. Tidus went up first, taking Kieran with him. Once he reached the top of the platform of
stairs, he hoisted the boy onto his shoulders, instructing him to stand up straight and just jump up.
Both he and Yuna could tell that, as excited as he was, little Kieran was also very nervous, and unsure of what to do. However,
he didn't let his apprehension get to him, and, with a bright smile set on his face, he stood up, and jumped into the pool.
"Come on; You should go next," Tidus called down to Yuna, motioning with his hand towards the sphere and the empty place
beside him at the summit of the platform.
Yuna nodded in reply, quickly ascending the navy blue staircase and coming to stand at Tidus' side.
"So....what do I do now?" She asked with a laugh.
Tidus kneeled down in front of her, clasping his hands together in front of him, and holding them out at her ankle level.
"I'm gonna help you into the sphere."
The statement was a simple one, but yet, in Yuna's mind, it didn't inspire much trust. Tidus noticed this, however, and took
action towards it.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna throw you over my head or anything," When she still didn't look convinced, he glanced up to meet
her gaze, adding a simple, "Trust me."
"I suppose I could....Just this once," She replied with a smile, placing her small, left foot into his hands.
He lifted her up at this point very quickly, causing her to sway slightly and grasp his shoulders with her hands for support. She
gasped in slight surprise, which caused an amused laugh from Tidus to bubble forth. Yuna simply stopped moving for a few
seconds, and took that time to realize that all she had to do was reach up and her arms would be inside the sphere.
"Just jump," Tidus said from beneath her, reaching down with his left hand to grab and support her remaining foot.
"That's it? Just jump?"
"On three; You jump, and I'll push, okay?" He explained, balancing her feet in the center of his hands and raising them to his
shoulder level.
"Okay...." Yuna agreed, looking up and preparing herself.
"One...." Tidus began, "Two............Three!" He shouted, pushing up as hard as he could with his arms and sending her into the
water-filled sphere faster than he'd thought he could. She had leaped at just the right time, which added more speed to her
entry, adding to the rush of being surrounded by breathe-able water.
She opened her eyes slowly, taking in her first breath as she did so. Her vision was clear, and she could see Kieran swimming
around the entire pool, as excited as ever. When she looked down at where she had just come from, Tidus was no longer
there. Puzzled, she turned around, looking for the missing blitzball star with increasing confusion.
'He was RIGHT there a second ago....' She mused to herself.
Unfortuneatly for her, she was so wrapped up in wondering where he could be, that she didn't take notice of the lithe figure
slithering through the water and coming up behind her...........
For a few long, tense minutes, both feuding "parents" could only look over at the confused child in the door frame. It appeared
as though they had no words, even though they had been literally bursting with hurtful ones mere moments before. No matter
how they thought of it, they knew what she'd seen, and they had to somehow try to erase it from her memory as best they
could. If she remained in the house with thoughts of her parents fighting, which was what they normally did, she just didn't see
it, then she could return to the orphanage with a bad vision of what family life was really like. Simple little occasions like this
could create irreversable stereoypes in the young girl's mind, poisoning her against wanting a family and possibly killing all of
the dreams she had built in her short life.
It sounds like a lot for a small fight, but children tend to remember the things we view as irrelevant, and pointless to think about
as something that was very important and monumental. Their perceptions of a short feud could be very, very different from the
views of a composed, educated 20-year-old.
Knowing exactly what could happen if she didn't take action, Lulu at last stepped forward, kneeling down in front of Jade and
setting a small smile on her pallid face. She wsn't completely sure what she was going to say, but she hoped that whatever
spilled from her lips would satisfy the child's natural curiosity.
"Jade, Mommy just had a bad day. It was wrong of me to yell at Daddy," She explained, glancing over her shoulder to Wakka,
who was watching for the girl's expression with what looked to be a very slight hint of satisfaction at the woman's words.
"......Well, if you were wrong, wouldn't it be nice to 'pologize?" Jade replied after a moment of contemplation, trying her hardest
to properly pronounce the words she used. The look on her face was one of pure and utter ignorance.
Underlying agitation was present in Lulu's facial features, but no one took notice as she nodded her reply. She slowly rose to her
feet, eyes closed in what appeared to be weariness. She simply stood for a second, then put her right foot forward, followed by
her left, and repeated these routine actions several times until she stopped directly in fron ot Wakka. She had never imagined
that taking just a few steps could damage her ego so much....
"I'm sorry I yelled at you," She said, not looking up to meet his gaze, "I had no reason to...." This she added almost to herself,
but the ever observant blitzer caught it, and smirked ever so slightly.
Despite this, however, slight shock took over Wakka's senses for a moment, and he wondered why Lulu had swayed so easily
in her decision to apologize. He deduced that it had everything to do with Jade and absolutely nothing to do with him, and he
left it at that, trying not to overwork his brain.
Surprising even himself, Wakka then reached out, laying his hand gently on the mage's shoulder in what he hoped was a
peaceful gesture. His hand lingered there, resting atop the smooth fabric of her t-shirt sleeve, as he waited for some kind of
reaction to appear on her face.
Her response was a mere twitch of the corners of her mouth, but it was enough for Wakka. He did nothing else, mainly because
he didn't ant to end up like his poor punching bag....
"I'm.....sorry too, I guess...." He muttered, so quietly it seemed he did so under his breath. At this, the twitch that had been the
mere beginnings of a smile turned into a full, bright one, a rare sight indeed in regards to Lulu.
A pause followed, somewhat tense, yet somewhat relaxed as well, seeing as they had both admitted they were sorry. Lulu
couldn't help but wonder, however, if Wakka's declaration had been serious. The silence was soon broken, however, by little
Jade's velvet-soft, obliviously innocent voice.
"Is it time for my nap now?" She asked, sounding mildly disappointed. Even though she really didn't think nap-time was a great
thing, she had been brought up to be obidient, and she KNEW when it was time for her nap.
"Ya, it is. C'mon, let's go upstairs, okay?" Wakka replied, moving forward to scoop the child up into his arms.
She giggled when he over-swung her, moving her around like she was flying. After a minute or two, he brought her down to sit
on his shoulders, and turned to face Lulu. Jade was still busy laughing, and was the only one in the room making any noise.
Wakka then opened his mouth, moving it, but not speaking. "We'll talk later," Were the clearly conveyed words.
Lulu merely nodded, watching as he turned back around and headed for the stairs. She sighed once he disappeared from sight,
and moved to stand in front of the icicle that was formerly Wakka's punching bag.
With a sudden hand movement almost to quick to catch, the mage had used her powers and turned the ice chunk into a flaming
ball hanging from the ceiling. She watched it burn, losing herself in the depths of the flames as she sunk into contemplation.
What was she going to say to Wakka when he returned? What would he say in reply?
The biggest question on her mind, however was.......
What in Spira had possessed her to kiss him?
And what had come over him....that allowed him to kiss her right back.....??
******************************************************************
Sorry for the long wait on this one, but I had lots and lots and lots of school work, plus I had a little case of Writers Block.
I'll try to get the next one out in about a week, but I can't make any promises.
Thanks for all the reviews!! Keep 'em coming!!
Laterz,
Digi-Esca Girl
laurie_22@hotmail.com
Chapter Eleven - Sphere Pools & Apologies
By: Digi-Esca Girl
Disclaimer: I do not own FFX or anything associated with it; I'm just borrowing it for a little while (-_^)
***************************************************************************************
Most of the ten-minute car ride to the stadium was silent, despite the fact that little Kieran was positively buzzing with
excitement. He had never seen the inside of the Zanarkand Memorial Stadium before, with the exception of one or two TV
interviews he'd been allowed to watch at the orphanage. He couldn't have been more happy at the moment, and it was all he
could do to keep from wondering out loud why his parents didn't seem as excited as he was.
Yuna was simply staring out the window, looking like a nervous teenager at the police station. She was sitting with her back
straight, hands in her lap, eyes near unblinking, as if statue-like. She hadn't said a word since they'd left the house, and she
was giving off the impression that she didn't want to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing. As to the reason why she was
as nervous-looking as she was, no one could tell for sure.
Tidus was the same way, except he couldn't just stare off into space because he was driving. His hands were kept firmly on the
steering wheel at all times, and they never moved from their 10 and 2 o'clock positions. He seemed so intently focused that
not even the car full of screeching female fans that rolled up beside them at a stop light pulled his attention away from the
stretch of road ahead of him. He simply hit the gas when the light turned green, and left them in the dust, so to speak.
After about ten minutes, the stadium came into view, and suddenly, the mood inside the vehicle changed dramatically. Yuna
seemed more relaxed; she was now resting her cheek in her hand and was looking forward instead of off to the side. A slight
smile was also present on her face, and she appeared to be more calm than she was before. Tidus was also more relaxed,
and looked relieved that the enormous structure was finally looming ahead of them, drawing ever closer. Kieran was more
excited than he'd ever been in his life, but inside, a tiny little voice was gnawing at him, saying things like 'He's gonna turn
around any second now....This isn't happening; Nothing good ever happens to you....'. The boy simply shook his head, clearing
the thoughts and focusing on the building before him.
As Tidus pulled into a parking spot, Kieran already had his seatbelt off and was leaning against the door, as if ready to leap
out at any second. The minute the car slowed to a halt, he was out the door and literally bouncing beside Yuna's own door,
anxiously waiting for her to exit and stand beside him. She did so, and once Tidus had locked the vehicle up, the three of them
were walking in a straight line towards the stadium.
As they entered, Yuna caught sight of a young, blonde man behind the front desk that looked up and smiled at Tidus. They
approached, and Tidus leaned up against the desk, a smile on his own face as well.
"Hey Taylor," He said in greeting, "This is Yuna, and Kieran," He explained, motioning to each of them in turn.
"Brought the whole family today, hey?" Taylor teased, rifling through some files on his computer as he spoke. After about a
minute, he turned to the printer, picking up several sheets that were 'hot off the press'. He turned back to his friend and
smiled again, proving to Yuna that he was one of those really great people that's always in a good mood.
"Well, my files say that you have the sphere booked for five hours today; Is that right?" He continued at Tidus' nod, "Okay....
You know that drill, but I'm obliged to say this anyway....When you are in the sphere, no non-blitzball sport may be played
unless you have modified it to be within Official Blitzball Rules standards. Also, no rough-housing that is actually considered
dangerous, such as with weapons of any kind, will not be permitted and you will be asked to leave immediately."
Taylor continued on for a few minutes, mechanically spilling out all of the rules that they were supposed to follow. After about
seven more ground rules were laid out, he waved them off, telling them to have a good time and to cheer on the Abes when
they played their home game in three days. The trio nodded, following the signs towards the locker rooms, where Tidus took
Kieran and went one way, leaving Yuna to go the other.
Tidus simply changed into his regular game uniform, helping Kieran into the smaller version of the jersey-and-shorts outift
that he had given to him earlier that week. They were done in about five minutes, and went out onto the field to wait for Yuna.
They didn't have to wait long, though, and when Tidus laid eyes on her, he was glad that he had invited her. She was wearing
a very tasteful one-piece bathing suit that dipped in the front and back in a V shape. It was white in color, decorated with
painted, pale blue lilies that complimented her eyes nicely. She wore her hair down, with nothing handy to tie it back with,
and had kept her necklace on. Despite the fact that this suit was NICE, Tidus still found himself wishing that she'd worn a
two-piece instead.....
"Shall we, boys?" She asked, smiling brightly as she noticed how wowed Kieran was. He hadn't stopped looking around in
wonder since they'd arrived, and this made Yuna very happy. Tidus managed to shake himself out of his stupor long enough
to nod at her, and take Kieran's hand, and leading him towards the jump platform below the sphere.
It was a simple device, put there for the purpose of giving the players the extra seven feet of height they needed to be able to
leap into the floating sphere of water. Tidus went up first, taking Kieran with him. Once he reached the top of the platform of
stairs, he hoisted the boy onto his shoulders, instructing him to stand up straight and just jump up.
Both he and Yuna could tell that, as excited as he was, little Kieran was also very nervous, and unsure of what to do. However,
he didn't let his apprehension get to him, and, with a bright smile set on his face, he stood up, and jumped into the pool.
"Come on; You should go next," Tidus called down to Yuna, motioning with his hand towards the sphere and the empty place
beside him at the summit of the platform.
Yuna nodded in reply, quickly ascending the navy blue staircase and coming to stand at Tidus' side.
"So....what do I do now?" She asked with a laugh.
Tidus kneeled down in front of her, clasping his hands together in front of him, and holding them out at her ankle level.
"I'm gonna help you into the sphere."
The statement was a simple one, but yet, in Yuna's mind, it didn't inspire much trust. Tidus noticed this, however, and took
action towards it.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna throw you over my head or anything," When she still didn't look convinced, he glanced up to meet
her gaze, adding a simple, "Trust me."
"I suppose I could....Just this once," She replied with a smile, placing her small, left foot into his hands.
He lifted her up at this point very quickly, causing her to sway slightly and grasp his shoulders with her hands for support. She
gasped in slight surprise, which caused an amused laugh from Tidus to bubble forth. Yuna simply stopped moving for a few
seconds, and took that time to realize that all she had to do was reach up and her arms would be inside the sphere.
"Just jump," Tidus said from beneath her, reaching down with his left hand to grab and support her remaining foot.
"That's it? Just jump?"
"On three; You jump, and I'll push, okay?" He explained, balancing her feet in the center of his hands and raising them to his
shoulder level.
"Okay...." Yuna agreed, looking up and preparing herself.
"One...." Tidus began, "Two............Three!" He shouted, pushing up as hard as he could with his arms and sending her into the
water-filled sphere faster than he'd thought he could. She had leaped at just the right time, which added more speed to her
entry, adding to the rush of being surrounded by breathe-able water.
She opened her eyes slowly, taking in her first breath as she did so. Her vision was clear, and she could see Kieran swimming
around the entire pool, as excited as ever. When she looked down at where she had just come from, Tidus was no longer
there. Puzzled, she turned around, looking for the missing blitzball star with increasing confusion.
'He was RIGHT there a second ago....' She mused to herself.
Unfortuneatly for her, she was so wrapped up in wondering where he could be, that she didn't take notice of the lithe figure
slithering through the water and coming up behind her...........
For a few long, tense minutes, both feuding "parents" could only look over at the confused child in the door frame. It appeared
as though they had no words, even though they had been literally bursting with hurtful ones mere moments before. No matter
how they thought of it, they knew what she'd seen, and they had to somehow try to erase it from her memory as best they
could. If she remained in the house with thoughts of her parents fighting, which was what they normally did, she just didn't see
it, then she could return to the orphanage with a bad vision of what family life was really like. Simple little occasions like this
could create irreversable stereoypes in the young girl's mind, poisoning her against wanting a family and possibly killing all of
the dreams she had built in her short life.
It sounds like a lot for a small fight, but children tend to remember the things we view as irrelevant, and pointless to think about
as something that was very important and monumental. Their perceptions of a short feud could be very, very different from the
views of a composed, educated 20-year-old.
Knowing exactly what could happen if she didn't take action, Lulu at last stepped forward, kneeling down in front of Jade and
setting a small smile on her pallid face. She wsn't completely sure what she was going to say, but she hoped that whatever
spilled from her lips would satisfy the child's natural curiosity.
"Jade, Mommy just had a bad day. It was wrong of me to yell at Daddy," She explained, glancing over her shoulder to Wakka,
who was watching for the girl's expression with what looked to be a very slight hint of satisfaction at the woman's words.
"......Well, if you were wrong, wouldn't it be nice to 'pologize?" Jade replied after a moment of contemplation, trying her hardest
to properly pronounce the words she used. The look on her face was one of pure and utter ignorance.
Underlying agitation was present in Lulu's facial features, but no one took notice as she nodded her reply. She slowly rose to her
feet, eyes closed in what appeared to be weariness. She simply stood for a second, then put her right foot forward, followed by
her left, and repeated these routine actions several times until she stopped directly in fron ot Wakka. She had never imagined
that taking just a few steps could damage her ego so much....
"I'm sorry I yelled at you," She said, not looking up to meet his gaze, "I had no reason to...." This she added almost to herself,
but the ever observant blitzer caught it, and smirked ever so slightly.
Despite this, however, slight shock took over Wakka's senses for a moment, and he wondered why Lulu had swayed so easily
in her decision to apologize. He deduced that it had everything to do with Jade and absolutely nothing to do with him, and he
left it at that, trying not to overwork his brain.
Surprising even himself, Wakka then reached out, laying his hand gently on the mage's shoulder in what he hoped was a
peaceful gesture. His hand lingered there, resting atop the smooth fabric of her t-shirt sleeve, as he waited for some kind of
reaction to appear on her face.
Her response was a mere twitch of the corners of her mouth, but it was enough for Wakka. He did nothing else, mainly because
he didn't ant to end up like his poor punching bag....
"I'm.....sorry too, I guess...." He muttered, so quietly it seemed he did so under his breath. At this, the twitch that had been the
mere beginnings of a smile turned into a full, bright one, a rare sight indeed in regards to Lulu.
A pause followed, somewhat tense, yet somewhat relaxed as well, seeing as they had both admitted they were sorry. Lulu
couldn't help but wonder, however, if Wakka's declaration had been serious. The silence was soon broken, however, by little
Jade's velvet-soft, obliviously innocent voice.
"Is it time for my nap now?" She asked, sounding mildly disappointed. Even though she really didn't think nap-time was a great
thing, she had been brought up to be obidient, and she KNEW when it was time for her nap.
"Ya, it is. C'mon, let's go upstairs, okay?" Wakka replied, moving forward to scoop the child up into his arms.
She giggled when he over-swung her, moving her around like she was flying. After a minute or two, he brought her down to sit
on his shoulders, and turned to face Lulu. Jade was still busy laughing, and was the only one in the room making any noise.
Wakka then opened his mouth, moving it, but not speaking. "We'll talk later," Were the clearly conveyed words.
Lulu merely nodded, watching as he turned back around and headed for the stairs. She sighed once he disappeared from sight,
and moved to stand in front of the icicle that was formerly Wakka's punching bag.
With a sudden hand movement almost to quick to catch, the mage had used her powers and turned the ice chunk into a flaming
ball hanging from the ceiling. She watched it burn, losing herself in the depths of the flames as she sunk into contemplation.
What was she going to say to Wakka when he returned? What would he say in reply?
The biggest question on her mind, however was.......
What in Spira had possessed her to kiss him?
And what had come over him....that allowed him to kiss her right back.....??
******************************************************************
Sorry for the long wait on this one, but I had lots and lots and lots of school work, plus I had a little case of Writers Block.
I'll try to get the next one out in about a week, but I can't make any promises.
Thanks for all the reviews!! Keep 'em coming!!
Laterz,
Digi-Esca Girl
laurie_22@hotmail.com