And Baby Makes Three
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Chapter Sixteen - Even Dents Need Friends...
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By: Digi-Esca Girl
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Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!!! *sniff* what do you people want from me?!?!?!
*sobs uncontrollably*
NOTE: I talk about some ballet terms in this chapter, and may do so later on in the story as well, so I apologize in advance if I screw anything up, get any terms wrong, etc. I have never danced ballet in my life, and I simply read up on some terms for the purpose of the story. I hope I don't bugger it up too bad!
-------------------------------------------------------- Later on in the morning, at around 7:45 approximately, yet another teenager on the quiet residential street was roused from her slumber. The high, shrill sound of a chirping bird caused her eyelids to flutter and open, revealing stunning burgundy eyes that were thought by some to be the handiwork of a devil. They were not, and it was of no consequence to the black mage whose pale face they were set into. In fact the only thing on her mind at the moment, though she didn't know quite why, was a certain Besaidian blitzer she believed to be sound asleep in the room next to hers.
Her slowly wakening mind wandered again to the memory of their smouldering kiss, and she felt a chill race up her spine that made her skin break out into goose bumps. She shook her head, reminding herself that she had only known the guy for a week and that he wasn't rumoured to be a very nice individual, especially in regards to women. Clearing her mind of thoughts, she sat up in her bed and folded her legs into a pretzel-like position. Placing her hands on her knees palms down, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate on the singing birds outside, and the gentle rustle of her silk curtains as the breeze blew through them.
It took a couple minutes, but the mage's body finally thoroughly relaxed as she sunk into her meditative state. Her breathing became deeper and more even and there was no thought in her usually cluttered mind. She stayed that way until the clock by her bed read 8:17, at which time she opened her eyes slowly and breathed a deep sigh of seeming relief. A small smile spread onto her lips, and she reached her arms up into the air in a stretch, trying to wake herself up completely.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up, a yawn escaped her, causing her to rub at her eyes with her fingers. She blinked for a few seconds before continuing on her way towards her bathroom. Once she got there, she stripped off her nightgown and climbed eagerly into her shower, turning on the water and waiting until it got hot. Once it did, she proceeded to wash her body twice over with her favourite lavender scented body lotion before moving on to the daunting task of washing her hair.
She began by pouring a coin sized dab of shampoo into her palm and scrubbing it into her dark locks until lather was produced. She then rinsed it out and repeated the process once more with shampoo, and a final time with some conditioner that smelled of strawberries and moon lilies; a bizarre combination, to be sure, but an effectively pleasant smelling one nonetheless.
Finally satisfied that she was clean, she stepped out and dried herself off, slipping into her robe and taking her hair dryer out of its drawer to the left of the sink. Even though it took her nearly 45 minutes on high heat to do it, she finally had dry hair cascading down her back in shining waves of obsidian. Walking into the bedroom she then plucked a black, knee- length skirt and red baby t-shirt with a low neckline from her closet, throwing them onto the bed beside her other clothing items.
After getting dressed, brushing her teeth and putting on some light makeup, Lulu headed towards Jade's bedroom to see if the child was already awake. When she cracked open the door, she was surprised to see the little girl sitting up in bed with her lamp on, reading a book. Even though it was only a 23 page picture book with letters that were bigger than grapes, it was still an impressive sight.
"Jade?" The mage called softly. The girl's head jerked up, and a smile lit her face that spread immediately to her bright viridian eyes. Her eyes were so vividly green that Lulu was beginning to believe that somewhere in her family there were Al Bhed genes. "Are you hungry? I was just going to go downstairs and make us some breakfast."
"Yeah! Can I come help?" Her voice sounded timid, but at least she was asking at all; a good sign that she was beginning to come out of her shell.
Lulu smiled softly, pushing the door open wider. "Of course you can. Come on." She motioned with her hands towards the hallway and Jade crawled out of bed and joined her at the door, shutting her lamp off and book-marking her book beforehand.
The two of them made their way down stairs and into the kitchen, where Lulu noticed the bright yellow Post-It note stuck to the fridge. She scanned it with her eyes and let a small sigh escape her lips. 'At least he told me where he was going.Still.he was supposed to come with Jade and me today to that ballet school. Oh well.' She thought, folding up the note and tossing it into the garbage can next to the dishwasher.
After making and enjoying a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, Lulu reminded Jade that she had made plans to go and check out a ballet school in the inner city. The smile that lit the girl's face travelled up to her eyes and set off the vivid green like emerald firecrackers shooting up into a night sky. She squealed in delight and charged up the stairs to get dressed in record time for someone so small. Lulu shook her head, a smile spreading slowly across her face.
She then turned and made her way over to the phone, where she punched in a memorized number she somehow dreaded calling. The ring sounded five times before a voicemail messaging system intervened.
'Hey! This is Wakka! Don't feel like talkin' to ya right now, so leave a message!'
"Typical." Lulu sighed, waiting for the customary BEEP before she started talking. "Wakka, this is Lulu. I just wanted to let you know that Jade and I are going downtown for the day so we can take a look at a ballet school. I have my cell-phone with me if you need to get a hold of me."
She pushed the "End Call" button just as a bouncy, wide awake little girl bounded down the stairs, fully dressed with her hair brushed and ready to go. The smile on her face could have replaced the sun for all its radiance, and it made the mage feel warm inside to know how happy she was making this child.
"Well, we better get going!" She said with another smile, something she was beginning to get accustomed to. "Don't want to be late now, do we?"
"Nope!" Jade agreed firmly, nodding her head vigorously as she slipped on her new sandals. She had chosen them specifically for the orange stars displayed on the straps, loving both the bright color and the star shape itself. She bounced out the door and headed for the black car parked by itself in the driveway, drops of condensation that had formed on its surface reflecting the morning sunlight.
Upon noticing the absence on Wakka's bright yellow pickup truck, she turned and posed a question to the mage currently walking towards her. "Where'd Daddy go?"
Lulu separated the car door key from the other keys on the ring, unlocking the rear door before answering Jade's quietly brought up inquiry. "He went to go practice early this morning. He's got a big tournament tomorrow that he really." She paused, remembering what was to unfold in Luca's favour the next day. ".wants to win." She finished with a smile, closing the door behind Jade as she clambered into her seat.
Walking around to the driver's side door, Lulu unlocked it and got in, turning the ignition and adjusting the heater to blow warm air into the vehicle. "You buckled up?" She asked, turning in her seat to glance at Jade while she snapped her own seat belt into place.
"Yep!" Jade answered, her smile set in place again.
"We're off then." Lulu sighed again, something else she was beginning to do a lot more often, releasing the brake and backing the car out of the driveway. As she drove off down the wakening residential street, her thoughts suddenly wandered back to the night not very long ago when Wakka had stumbled in the doorway bruised and bleeding. He had looked so broken, and so utterly defeated that Lulu hadn't been sure at first if it was the same Besaidian that had walked through the door.
'It HAS only been a week.Maybe his attitude will change and he'll become..'Hundreds of words buzzed around in her mind that could have filled that space, but she shook her head and focused on the road, letting Jade's quiet humming soothe her nerves. She sighed almost inaudibly.
".tolerable."
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"You're going DOWN Jaxon!!!"
"Bring it on, wussie-man!"
Wakka's smirk turned into a full blown evil grin as he ran at an increasing speed towards the soccer net. The white poles made ¾ of a rectangle around his friend, but current enemy, Jaxon, who was flexing his fingers ready to block the shot his team-mate was about to attempt.
The team, all of whom but Tidus and Damien had shown up, decided that they should play with a blitzball with several added weights on it to strengthen their arms. After they agreed on this, they came up with the idea that their legs weren't being pushed enough when they practiced in the sphere pool. Taking this into consideration, they decided to utilize the soccer field that was on the grass below the sphere. They still played with most of the traditional blitzball rules, altering them just a tad, and set up the soccer nets in preparation. They then divided into teams and began playing their land-locked soccer-blitzball hybrid game, forgetting about the ominously looming day ahead of them for just this short time.
Wakka advanced even closer to the net, his smirk never wavering. 'Oh I will.Count on it!' He thought, suddenly stopping short and turning his body to the left. He made eye contact with Leathen and threw the blitzball, which had weights attached to it for better strength training, watching the surprise on Jaxon's face out of the corner of his eye. Leathen's smile was just as wide as he caught the ball and hurled it at the net with the amount of force it would take to throw a human adult in the same way. Since it was coming from the corner, and there was no water with which to better propel himself towards the speeding sphere, Jaxon was unable to block the shot. It slammed into the back of the net and landed on the grass with a surprisingly loud THUD.
"That's right, ya?!?! Who got OWNED?!?!" Wakka's triumphant cheers brought a smile to everyone's face, even the face of the goalie that was currently on his stomach.
"Nice setup Wakka; Think you could try that at tomorrow's game?" Ayden asked with a smile. He winced a second later, however, as he realized what he'd said. No, Wakka couldn't try that shot tomorrow.against Luca anyways. But it was Luca that they so badly wanted to humiliate, as they always did.
"Yeah.against Kilika probably, eh guys?" Wakka replied, trying to get the topic of conversation off of the dreaded day ahead of them. An assortment of nods met his response.
"Let's take a break; my throat feels like sandpaper!" Jaxon said, getting to his feet with Dante's help. "Thanks Damien!" He said, mistaking the twin for his brother.again. "Oh shit! Sorry Dante!" He corrected himself when he received a glare courtesy of the aforementioned younger sibling. He chuckled and scratched his head sheepishly. Dante just shook his head, punching the older blitzer good-naturedly in the shoulder as they turned to walk towards the cooler at the sidelines.
Leathen reached the plastic container first and pried it open. He dug through the ice, pulling out four bottles of water once he'd found them. He passed them out to the four team-mates closest to him, and went back into the cooler for more. Once everyone had something to drink, he grabbed one for himself and joined the rest of the team, sitting in a rough circle on the grass.
Reaching up to brush a strand of ebony hair from his ice-blue eyes, Dante began a conversation based on what he saw out of the corner of his eye. "Hey Wakka? Your cell-phone is blinking."
Wakka lowered the water bottle from his lips. "Huh?" He glanced over at the benches to see that the younger man was right; the blue light on his phone indicating messages was blinking on and off steadily.
"It's probably his girlfriend." Jaxon joked, smirking up at the Besaidian as he rose to his feet.
"Nah.Wakka never keeps girls longer than one night, remember?" Leathen winked over at Ayden, who chuckled and watched for Wakka's expression to change.
Shaking his head with a smile, Wakka continued towards the bench. He sat down, grabbing his phone and snapping it open. He pushed the 'Check Mail' button and put the small device up to his ear. He stiffened slightly when Lulu's voice floated through the phone and into his ear.
"Hey man, who is it?" Dante called over, craning his neck so he could see the red-haired youth over Jaxon's head.
Wakka waved him off, trying to listen to the mage's voice. He had made up his mind that he wanted to try and get along with her better, and listening to what she had to say was always a good start. He had heard the part about the ballet school, but Dante's voice had prevented him from hearing anything else except: "get a hold of me."
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"Mommy!" Kieran raced over to Yuna's still form, not caring that the purple force-field was still in place around her. Tidus' long strides caught up with the boy's easily, and he scooped him up before he crashed into the thin barrier. He was struggling, trying his best to wriggle out of Tidus' arms and get to Yuna.
"Wait, Kieran! There's a force-field, remember?" Tidus' words ceased the boy's squirming, but his desire to reach the young woman's side still shone fiercely in his dark eyes.
Just as the words left his mouth, the lavender light began to dim and fade away. It began at the base of the shield, so within a minute Tidus and Kieran were able to duck underneath the vanishing barrier and finally reach the unconscious summoner.
Kneeling down beside her, Kieran took her lithe hand into his tiny ones, holding it to his chest as if this would wake her up. Tidus contemplated what to do for only a brief second before he acted. He reached underneath her knees with his right arm as his left went around her small shoulders, lifting her up into his arms. Kieran was forced to release his hold on her hand, so he latched onto to Tidus' pyjama pant leg as compensation.
When they got to the patio doors, all that was left of the hybrid spell was the circling pyreflies that were slowly disappearing into the atmosphere. Kieran decided to be helpful, and he let go of Tidus' clothing long enough to pry open the heavy glass door and let them inside.
"Kieran?" Tidus asked, making his way towards the couch in the living room. "Go to the phone, put it on speaker and press 'Speed Dial # 1', okay?" He glanced over his shoulder to see that the little boy was already getting a chair from the kitchen to stand on so he could reach the wall-mounted phone.
He gently laid Yuna down on the couch, placing one of the fluffy cushions under her head. A sheen of sweat made her clothes cling to her body, and even though this was a potentially dangerous situation, Tidus' hormones couldn't help but respond to her beauty. He groaned and tried not to focus on how uncomfortable his lower body seemed to be becoming.
"Are you Kieran?" He heard a deep voice ask from the kitchen. Tidus sighed in relief. If there was one way to get your mind out of the gutter, it was to hear your coach's voice. It was a lot like a cold shower, and it was having the desired effects on Tidus.
"Yeah." Kieran replied, not sure of why he was talking to this scary looking man with sunglasses.
"Hey Auron." Tidus came up from behind Kieran, waving at his coach nonchalantly. He kneeled down and whispered to the boy to go and watch Yuna.
"Is something wrong with Yuna?" Auron asked immediately, recalling their conversation mere hours before.
Tidus looked surprised that he had asked. 'Man, this guy doesn't miss anything, does he?' He shook his head, clearing his throat before he began. "I'm not sure exactly.Kieran woke up this morning and saw her outside. She had some kind of force-field around her, and she was fighting a fiend inside it. Then she used this spell, I dunno what it was, and she passed out. Which is why I called *you*." The teen concluded.
"There's nothing wrong with her; she just used a spell she hasn't been trained in yet." Auron stroked his chin with his thumb and forefinger several times before he leaned towards the screen and asked, "Did it work?"
"If you mean did it turn the fucker-" Tidus semi-cringed and looked over towards Kieran, who hadn't heard him as he'd feared. He lowered his voice slightly. "-into a bunch of pyreflies, then yes."
"Hmmm.Impressive." Auron appeared to lose himself in thought for a moment, then snapped out of it and returned his attention to the blonde, who was tapping his bare foot on the tiled floor in impatience. "Tell her to come and see me straight away when she wakes up."
Tidus nodded, reaching forward to press the 'End Call' button.
"Oh and Tidus?"
He glanced back up at the screen.
"Don't forget to practice."
"Practice what? Losing? Yeah, whatever." Rolling his cerulean eyes, he punched the button and watched as the screen shorted and went black.
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As Jade stepped out of the car, her mouth dropped open in the astonishment only a child can possess. Her viridian eyes widened slightly as they took in the sight of the large, important looking building before her. Although it looked none too spectacular on the outside, the only extravagant thing being the sign announcing "Julienne Delacroix School of Dance", the little girl was already imagining what kind of fanciful things awaited her inside.
"C'mon Lulu!" She cried, rushing over and grabbing the mage's hand.
Lulu smiled down at her, watching her auburn hair bounce as they walked hurriedly towards the entrance. The automatic doors hissed open as they approached them, and as they stepped inside Jade discovered that she had been right in her imaginative predictions.
The first thing you noticed upon entering the building was the sheer size of it. It most certainly did not look so voluminous from the outside, but appeared to be larger than several blitzball stadiums to the little girl currently admiring it. The second thing that came into sight was the gleaming crystal statue situated in the center of the main foyer. It depicted, in exquisite detail, two ballet dancers in the middle of performing a complex-looking pas de deux, the male dancer lifting the female into the air, her body posed in a graceful arabesque.
The walls were painted off-white, and marble pillars could be found in two parallel rows that ran from one end of the room to the other. As they walked down a black carpet towards a mahogany desk at the far end of the room, Lulu and Jade both looked to the side. Beyond the pillars the walls were glass and could be seen into. They watched classes going on as they strolled slowly towards the desk, seeing people of all ages, and both sexes notably, practicing the fine art in different rooms. Right before the carpet stopped at the tall desk, Jade caught sight of a class of five and six year old girls just to her right. A grin appeared on her face, and Lulu couldn't help but smile as she watched a spark ignite in the girl's eyes.
"Good morning," An elderly woman behind the desk greeted. She smiled, making the few laugh lines that existed on her face to slightly crinkle her small blue eyes, giving her the look of a kindly grandmother. "Are you here to register?" She knew to ask, because the signed-up dancers would simply walk past the desk and into the respective change rooms at the rear of the building.
"We're here to check things out, right Jade?" Lulu answered. She looked to the girl, who nodded vigorously in agreement. "We just want to see if the classes will suit her or not."
"Wonderful!" The woman replied, seeming genuinely happy that they were there. "I'll show you around the place." She offered, rising from her chair. She turned and tapped another woman with dark brown hair on the shoulder, telling her that she would be back shortly and to sit at the front for a while. The woman nodded and handed the elderly woman her glasses, which had been sitting on the desk near her computer screen.
"This way, please," The woman, whose name tag labelled her as 'Linda', gestured them towards the area behind the desk once she'd stepped out. "I'll show you the change rooms."
They followed her around the circular desk platform and kept going straight, walking through the doors that bore the faceplate with 'Femelles' engraved into it in flowing script. The change rooms were nothing spectacular: Lockers, benches and some showers for the older women to use after rehearsal.
"Now, if you'll follow me, I'll take you into one of the classrooms." Linda said with a warm smile, noticing right away how Jade's eyes lit up at the mere mention of the idea.
They walked out of the change rooms and headed to the left, where Lulu observed that there was a hallway leading to an emergency fire exit. Along the right side of the corridor, however, there were doors that lead into the classrooms. Each door was neatly labelled with a number, and Linda stopped walking nearly as soon as they entered the hall.
She had stopped at the door to the classroom Jade had been watching from in front of the desk, Room Number 18. Knocking lightly, Linda turned to Lulu to giver her some information. "This is the only class we have for younger girls. The ages here will range only from three to seven, at which age the children are moved up to a middle-childhood type of class. It is very laid- back, you'll find."
The door suddenly swung open and a beautiful young woman in a tight jumpsuit and loose skirt filled their vision. She was tall, taller than Lulu at least, and most of her height came from the length of her legs. She had her hair tied back in a bun, and Lulu could tell that the dirty blonde locks would be long if they were let down. Her warm chocolate eyes fell immediately onto Jade, and a smile parted her lips revealing pristine white teeth set into two straight rows.
"I see I have another prospective student." She commented to Linda and Lulu in a light French accent. At Linda's nod, she bent down to Jade's height, peering into the girl's eyes.
"Hello." Jade whispered, raising her hand and bending her fingers twice at the middle knuckle in a tiny wave.
"Bonjour, little one. My name is Tuvia." The woman cooed quietly. "Would you like to come in and watch the class?"
When Jade nodded, Tuvia cast her brown eyes up at Lulu to seek her approval. The mage nodded quickly, waving her hand towards the classroom to show her enthusiasm at the idea. Tuvia smiled, taking Jade's hand and leading her inside, closing the door gently behind her.
"You can go watch her, if you like." Linda informed her, putting her hand on the young woman's shoulders and guiding her back out to the front, where the glass walls were currently being used as viewing areas by people other than just her.
"Thank you," Lulu said quietly, casting a small smile in the older woman's direction. "I'm sure we'll be back very soon to register her."
"I look forward to seeing you again, dear. Have a good day." Linda patted Lulu's shoulder, smiling one last time before turning and walking back towards the desk.
The mage then turned her attention to the classroom, where Jade had been put into one of the single-file lines of children in the middle of the large room. She looked nervous and very excited at the same time, and it made Lulu feel her very first pang of maternal anxiety deep in the pit of her stomach.
She relaxed however, when Tuvia began to lead the class in a set of semi- simultaneous piles and Jade fit right in. The fact that she wasn't in proper attire didn't seem to be an issue at all, and for the Lulu was very glad. The mage folded her arms loosely across her chest, sighing lightly as she watched the tiny girl at the front of the class follow them in their routine exercises, seeming to have not a care in the world.
"Sorry I'm late."
Lulu whirled around at the familiar lilting voice, colliding with its source's tall 5'11 frame. Her hands automatically came up to rest flat against his chest, ready to push him away if necessary. Burgundy eyes clashed with those of warm russet, and Lulu relaxed inwardly as her mind registered both the sight and scent of her Besaidian "house-mate".
"Wakka." The mage started up at him questioningly, her head tilted slightly so she could look directly into his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I got your message, so I called you, ya? But you never answered, so I figured I'd better just come here and see what you wanted so you wouldn't get all pissed at me again." The blitzer replied, realizing that the petite woman's hands were still resting on his chest. His shirt was thin and he could feel that her lithe fingers were as cold as they looked.
"Well, all I said in my message was that you could get a hold of me if you needed to. I don't know what you heard, but it obviously wasn't that." Lulu countered, finally remembering that her hands were still touching something warm that wasn't the wall or her sides. He pulled her hands away as if burned, crossing her arms tightly over her ample chest, which exposed even more cleavage than normal to Wakka's wandering gaze.
"Well, either way I'm here now!" Wakka responded, sounding a slight bit annoyed that he'd had to leave his practice for nothing. That annoyance dissipated, however, at the sight of Jade doing some beginner level leg- lifts with the rest of the child's ballet class. He tore his eyes away from Lulu's curvaceous form and watched her do the exercises, smiling brightly all the while. He couldn't suppress the smile that came to his lips, and he stepped closer to the glass, his shoulder lightly brushing Lulu's as he did so.
The tingle that he felt from the contact was the same as the lingering sensations he could still feel on his chest, and he secretly enjoyed them. Although he would never admit it out loud to anyone other than Tidus or Leathen, Wakka felt strong inklings of hormonal lust aimed at the so-called "Ice Queen" that stood beside him. They were the kind of feelings that you weren't sure whether you should embrace them or try and forget about them. At the moment, however, the blitzer wanted nothing more than to pin the lithe girl at his side against the glass wall and kiss her senseless.
He quickly banished those thoughts as Lulu came to stand directly beside him, her elbow lightly touching his arm as a result of her proximity. He sighed, folding his own arms over his chest and opting to wait until later to think about playing tonsil hockey with the gorgeous young woman he was 'unfortunately blessed' to be living with.
"I'm going to register her here before we leave, okay?" Lulu asked after a few moments of silence had passed and the group inside had moved on to the barre for exercises.
Wakka shrugged. "Sure, whatever." He stole a glance sideways at the lower half of the mage's body, and found himself wishing he hadn't.
'Damn!' He thought, shaking his head ever-so-slightly. 'I have a new-found love of skirts.'
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Tidus let an angered sigh escape his lips as he thought of the impending tournament that was taking place in less than 24 hours time. He clenched his fists at his sides at the mere idea of losing on purpose to the snivelling Goers. Never once did the thought that this whole situation was the result of a mistake he himself made cross his mind. He growled deep in the back of his throat, having the sudden urge to retreat into the workout room near the back of the house and take his frustration out on the punching bag and weights installed there.
"Da.Tidus?" Came a quiet question from the living room. In his anger, the blonde had never heard the child hesitate before calling him 'Daddy' again, opting instead to settle for his name. He turned his head in that general direction and found Kieran kneeling on the floor beside the couch, holding Yuna's lithe hand as if it was a piece of glass. Tidus strolled over to the dark blue furniture in four long strides, taking a knee beside the boy.
"Is she gonna be okay?" He asked in a quiet whisper, watching her serene face with worry in his oceanic eyes.
"Sir Auron said she'll be fine." Tidus answered, deciding to use the elder man's formal title.
"When will she wake up?" Kieran raised his eyes to Tidus for an answer.
Just as the blitzer began to shake his head, Yuna stirred as if on queue. Her fingers twitched, compulsively getting a grip on Kieran's small hand, and her eyelids fluttered. She brought her other hand up to rub her temples, concealing her eyes for a moment, before slowly sitting up and bringing her hand back down to her side.
Tidus was once again stunned by how differently beautiful this young woman's eyes were. In his mind, which was obviously poetic at heart, Tidus chose to describe them as a blue that could rival the brightest Besaidian sky, and a green that put the rainforests near Kilika to shame. He moved nearer to her side to tell her about Auron, when she suddenly moaned and began to fall backwards again. Blitzball-honed reflexes enabled Tidus' arm to shoot out and encircle her back, cradling her gently and preventing her from falling.
When her head didn't hit the pillow again, as she thought it would, Yuna's eyes fluttered open again only to be met with the most stunning pair of cerulean orbs she'd ever seen. The twin oceans were swimming with worry and apprehension that she had never seen the blonde show before, and it surprised her to think that he'd be concerned about her. Then she remembered why.
She could recall using her Holy spell and vaporizing the fiend that she'd summoned, and remembered that her last conscious thought was of hearing Kieran's terrified shout and Tidus' cry for him to stay back. They had most likely seen all the important things there were to see, and it was this that made Yuna's bi-colored eyes sparkle with the same worry that Tidus displayed.
"Yuna? Are you alright?" Tidus asked quietly.
The summoner could feel his warm breath against her cheek, and she shivered despite herself. Though she had never been the kind of person to express most of her feelings out loud, she was most certain that she would never tell anyone of the thoughts in her mind at the moment. She was, at present, imagining briefly what it would feel like to have that breath and that mouth elsewhere on her body, like her neck to name one place. She also could help but notice the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and she took great pleasure in glancing down at the washboard stomach his smooth golden skin stretched across. She looked at her hands for a quick second, and couldn't help but wonder what his chest would feel like under her roving fingers. She shivered yet again, and began berating herself for having such thoughts about someone she barely knew, let alone liked.
"Are you cold Mommy?" Kieran asked, having seen her shake briefly. He had also noticed something that the two teens hadn't. Tidus had unconsciously pulled her closer when she shivered, acting on his instinct to warm her up.
When Yuna realized that she wasn't cold at all, she shook her head, leaning slightly into the warmth that Tidus was providing her with. All of a sudden her mind was flooded with the images of the dream she'd had, for the seventh time in a week, just hours earlier. She squeezed her eyes shut, bringing one hand up from its resting place on Tidus forearm to rub at them almost tiredly.
"You okay?" Tidus asked, sounding slightly offhandedly concerned.
Yuna removed her hand and turned to smile up at him warmly. "I'm fine, don't worry."
"No problem; I won't." As soon as the words left his mouth, Tidus felt something that he couldn't remember feeling for a very long time. He felt instantaneous regret; the kind of lament that tugged at the proverbial strings of one's soul.
The hurt that usually results from actions that cause such deploring was reflected clearly in the young summoner's eyes, though it was only visible for a moment. Yuna's eyes flickered with pangs of hurt before she lowered her gaze to look at her lap, where both her hands now rested.
Kieran broke the uneasy silence before anything else could be said or done. "An old man called here for you, Mommy." He said, gesturing to the wall- mounted video phone with his small hand.
"Sir Auron? He called?" Yuna raised her eyes back up to Tidus', this time searching for an answer to her question instead of feelings she only imagined existed.
"Not really." The blonde hesitated, pulling away from Yuna and rising to his feet. "I called him when we brought you inside. He said he wanted you to go see him as soon as you woke up." He ran a hand through his hair and panicked when some happiness passed into Yuna's gaze at the idea of him worrying about her, which was the truth no matter how much he told himself it wasn't. "I wanted to know what the hell you were doing out there."
"Tidus!" Yuna snapped, gesturing to Kieran with a nod of her head. "Don't curse around him."
"So what? I'm sure he's heard worse before anyway!" Tidus' voice had risen to a yell in volume, and the little boy standing to the side was beginning to look a little scared.
Yuna rose slowly to her feet, glaring blue and green daggers at the slightly taller blonde. Without removing her eyes from his, which were just as icy as hers were, she spoke to Kieran. "Go get your shoes and coat on, please Kieran. We're going to go visit Sir Auron, okay?" Her voice was warm and calm even though her eyes told the story that she was ready to kill the blitzer standing in front of her.
As the little boy nodded and scurried over to the front door to do as she'd asked, Tidus chose to speak. "What are you getting so worked up over?" He demanded in a harsh whisper, which was still fairly loud. "Like I said; I'm sure he's heard *way* worse at the orphanage."
Yuna shook her head, an exasperated chuckle escaping her lips. "You just don't get it, do you Tidus?" Her voice was quiet and even, but it emanated anger just as well as a shout would have. "We have him so that we can help him *forget* what happened in that place, not remind him. If you aren't interested in doing that, then I don't want you anywhere near him." She added the rest as a sort of afterthought, more so to herself, but still audible. "No child should have to live with someone they're afraid of."
With this having been said, Yuna turned and walked towards the door. She didn't seem to notice that she was still dressed in her summoner's clothing, or that said clothing was clinging to her body as a result of perspiration. She simply grabbed her thin jacket and car keys, ushering Kieran out the door and closing it behind them without so much as a backward glance at Tidus.
The blitzer stood beside the couch, fists clenched and breathing slightly heavy out of anger. He watched as Yuna's silver car pulled out of the driveway and drove to the left in the direction of Auron's home. He growled in frustration, stalking towards the weight room and searching the wall for something. He found the dent he'd made when he'd thrown the barbell, and he shook his head, remembering how angry he'd been then. Without any warning whatsoever, he reeled back and threw a punch into the wall using his whole body as extra force. He wasn't concerned that his knuckles were bleeding as he turned, leaned his back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting with his knees pulled up to his neck.
The only thing he was concerned about was the fact that he was getting so worked up over nothing. So what if Yuna was mad at him? It's not like it was the end of the world.
He had simply decided that that dent needed a friend, that was all...Right?
***********************************************************************
Well there ya go folks! I know it's been more than 30 days, but I hope that this chapter was enough to keep ya'll satisfied for a while! I know it was kinda boring, but I'll make up for that next time I promise!!
Next time we'll check in with Rikku, Carter and their child, join Lulu, Wakka and Jade for some ice cream [with a side order of naughty thoughts (- _^)], find out what Auron has to say to Yuna, and begin the dreaded tournament of DOOM!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Ja ne, Digi-Esca Girl
laurie_22@hotmail.com
NOTE: I talk about some ballet terms in this chapter, and may do so later on in the story as well, so I apologize in advance if I screw anything up, get any terms wrong, etc. I have never danced ballet in my life, and I simply read up on some terms for the purpose of the story. I hope I don't bugger it up too bad!
-------------------------------------------------------- Later on in the morning, at around 7:45 approximately, yet another teenager on the quiet residential street was roused from her slumber. The high, shrill sound of a chirping bird caused her eyelids to flutter and open, revealing stunning burgundy eyes that were thought by some to be the handiwork of a devil. They were not, and it was of no consequence to the black mage whose pale face they were set into. In fact the only thing on her mind at the moment, though she didn't know quite why, was a certain Besaidian blitzer she believed to be sound asleep in the room next to hers.
Her slowly wakening mind wandered again to the memory of their smouldering kiss, and she felt a chill race up her spine that made her skin break out into goose bumps. She shook her head, reminding herself that she had only known the guy for a week and that he wasn't rumoured to be a very nice individual, especially in regards to women. Clearing her mind of thoughts, she sat up in her bed and folded her legs into a pretzel-like position. Placing her hands on her knees palms down, she closed her eyes and began to concentrate on the singing birds outside, and the gentle rustle of her silk curtains as the breeze blew through them.
It took a couple minutes, but the mage's body finally thoroughly relaxed as she sunk into her meditative state. Her breathing became deeper and more even and there was no thought in her usually cluttered mind. She stayed that way until the clock by her bed read 8:17, at which time she opened her eyes slowly and breathed a deep sigh of seeming relief. A small smile spread onto her lips, and she reached her arms up into the air in a stretch, trying to wake herself up completely.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up, a yawn escaped her, causing her to rub at her eyes with her fingers. She blinked for a few seconds before continuing on her way towards her bathroom. Once she got there, she stripped off her nightgown and climbed eagerly into her shower, turning on the water and waiting until it got hot. Once it did, she proceeded to wash her body twice over with her favourite lavender scented body lotion before moving on to the daunting task of washing her hair.
She began by pouring a coin sized dab of shampoo into her palm and scrubbing it into her dark locks until lather was produced. She then rinsed it out and repeated the process once more with shampoo, and a final time with some conditioner that smelled of strawberries and moon lilies; a bizarre combination, to be sure, but an effectively pleasant smelling one nonetheless.
Finally satisfied that she was clean, she stepped out and dried herself off, slipping into her robe and taking her hair dryer out of its drawer to the left of the sink. Even though it took her nearly 45 minutes on high heat to do it, she finally had dry hair cascading down her back in shining waves of obsidian. Walking into the bedroom she then plucked a black, knee- length skirt and red baby t-shirt with a low neckline from her closet, throwing them onto the bed beside her other clothing items.
After getting dressed, brushing her teeth and putting on some light makeup, Lulu headed towards Jade's bedroom to see if the child was already awake. When she cracked open the door, she was surprised to see the little girl sitting up in bed with her lamp on, reading a book. Even though it was only a 23 page picture book with letters that were bigger than grapes, it was still an impressive sight.
"Jade?" The mage called softly. The girl's head jerked up, and a smile lit her face that spread immediately to her bright viridian eyes. Her eyes were so vividly green that Lulu was beginning to believe that somewhere in her family there were Al Bhed genes. "Are you hungry? I was just going to go downstairs and make us some breakfast."
"Yeah! Can I come help?" Her voice sounded timid, but at least she was asking at all; a good sign that she was beginning to come out of her shell.
Lulu smiled softly, pushing the door open wider. "Of course you can. Come on." She motioned with her hands towards the hallway and Jade crawled out of bed and joined her at the door, shutting her lamp off and book-marking her book beforehand.
The two of them made their way down stairs and into the kitchen, where Lulu noticed the bright yellow Post-It note stuck to the fridge. She scanned it with her eyes and let a small sigh escape her lips. 'At least he told me where he was going.Still.he was supposed to come with Jade and me today to that ballet school. Oh well.' She thought, folding up the note and tossing it into the garbage can next to the dishwasher.
After making and enjoying a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, Lulu reminded Jade that she had made plans to go and check out a ballet school in the inner city. The smile that lit the girl's face travelled up to her eyes and set off the vivid green like emerald firecrackers shooting up into a night sky. She squealed in delight and charged up the stairs to get dressed in record time for someone so small. Lulu shook her head, a smile spreading slowly across her face.
She then turned and made her way over to the phone, where she punched in a memorized number she somehow dreaded calling. The ring sounded five times before a voicemail messaging system intervened.
'Hey! This is Wakka! Don't feel like talkin' to ya right now, so leave a message!'
"Typical." Lulu sighed, waiting for the customary BEEP before she started talking. "Wakka, this is Lulu. I just wanted to let you know that Jade and I are going downtown for the day so we can take a look at a ballet school. I have my cell-phone with me if you need to get a hold of me."
She pushed the "End Call" button just as a bouncy, wide awake little girl bounded down the stairs, fully dressed with her hair brushed and ready to go. The smile on her face could have replaced the sun for all its radiance, and it made the mage feel warm inside to know how happy she was making this child.
"Well, we better get going!" She said with another smile, something she was beginning to get accustomed to. "Don't want to be late now, do we?"
"Nope!" Jade agreed firmly, nodding her head vigorously as she slipped on her new sandals. She had chosen them specifically for the orange stars displayed on the straps, loving both the bright color and the star shape itself. She bounced out the door and headed for the black car parked by itself in the driveway, drops of condensation that had formed on its surface reflecting the morning sunlight.
Upon noticing the absence on Wakka's bright yellow pickup truck, she turned and posed a question to the mage currently walking towards her. "Where'd Daddy go?"
Lulu separated the car door key from the other keys on the ring, unlocking the rear door before answering Jade's quietly brought up inquiry. "He went to go practice early this morning. He's got a big tournament tomorrow that he really." She paused, remembering what was to unfold in Luca's favour the next day. ".wants to win." She finished with a smile, closing the door behind Jade as she clambered into her seat.
Walking around to the driver's side door, Lulu unlocked it and got in, turning the ignition and adjusting the heater to blow warm air into the vehicle. "You buckled up?" She asked, turning in her seat to glance at Jade while she snapped her own seat belt into place.
"Yep!" Jade answered, her smile set in place again.
"We're off then." Lulu sighed again, something else she was beginning to do a lot more often, releasing the brake and backing the car out of the driveway. As she drove off down the wakening residential street, her thoughts suddenly wandered back to the night not very long ago when Wakka had stumbled in the doorway bruised and bleeding. He had looked so broken, and so utterly defeated that Lulu hadn't been sure at first if it was the same Besaidian that had walked through the door.
'It HAS only been a week.Maybe his attitude will change and he'll become..'Hundreds of words buzzed around in her mind that could have filled that space, but she shook her head and focused on the road, letting Jade's quiet humming soothe her nerves. She sighed almost inaudibly.
".tolerable."
******************************
"You're going DOWN Jaxon!!!"
"Bring it on, wussie-man!"
Wakka's smirk turned into a full blown evil grin as he ran at an increasing speed towards the soccer net. The white poles made ¾ of a rectangle around his friend, but current enemy, Jaxon, who was flexing his fingers ready to block the shot his team-mate was about to attempt.
The team, all of whom but Tidus and Damien had shown up, decided that they should play with a blitzball with several added weights on it to strengthen their arms. After they agreed on this, they came up with the idea that their legs weren't being pushed enough when they practiced in the sphere pool. Taking this into consideration, they decided to utilize the soccer field that was on the grass below the sphere. They still played with most of the traditional blitzball rules, altering them just a tad, and set up the soccer nets in preparation. They then divided into teams and began playing their land-locked soccer-blitzball hybrid game, forgetting about the ominously looming day ahead of them for just this short time.
Wakka advanced even closer to the net, his smirk never wavering. 'Oh I will.Count on it!' He thought, suddenly stopping short and turning his body to the left. He made eye contact with Leathen and threw the blitzball, which had weights attached to it for better strength training, watching the surprise on Jaxon's face out of the corner of his eye. Leathen's smile was just as wide as he caught the ball and hurled it at the net with the amount of force it would take to throw a human adult in the same way. Since it was coming from the corner, and there was no water with which to better propel himself towards the speeding sphere, Jaxon was unable to block the shot. It slammed into the back of the net and landed on the grass with a surprisingly loud THUD.
"That's right, ya?!?! Who got OWNED?!?!" Wakka's triumphant cheers brought a smile to everyone's face, even the face of the goalie that was currently on his stomach.
"Nice setup Wakka; Think you could try that at tomorrow's game?" Ayden asked with a smile. He winced a second later, however, as he realized what he'd said. No, Wakka couldn't try that shot tomorrow.against Luca anyways. But it was Luca that they so badly wanted to humiliate, as they always did.
"Yeah.against Kilika probably, eh guys?" Wakka replied, trying to get the topic of conversation off of the dreaded day ahead of them. An assortment of nods met his response.
"Let's take a break; my throat feels like sandpaper!" Jaxon said, getting to his feet with Dante's help. "Thanks Damien!" He said, mistaking the twin for his brother.again. "Oh shit! Sorry Dante!" He corrected himself when he received a glare courtesy of the aforementioned younger sibling. He chuckled and scratched his head sheepishly. Dante just shook his head, punching the older blitzer good-naturedly in the shoulder as they turned to walk towards the cooler at the sidelines.
Leathen reached the plastic container first and pried it open. He dug through the ice, pulling out four bottles of water once he'd found them. He passed them out to the four team-mates closest to him, and went back into the cooler for more. Once everyone had something to drink, he grabbed one for himself and joined the rest of the team, sitting in a rough circle on the grass.
Reaching up to brush a strand of ebony hair from his ice-blue eyes, Dante began a conversation based on what he saw out of the corner of his eye. "Hey Wakka? Your cell-phone is blinking."
Wakka lowered the water bottle from his lips. "Huh?" He glanced over at the benches to see that the younger man was right; the blue light on his phone indicating messages was blinking on and off steadily.
"It's probably his girlfriend." Jaxon joked, smirking up at the Besaidian as he rose to his feet.
"Nah.Wakka never keeps girls longer than one night, remember?" Leathen winked over at Ayden, who chuckled and watched for Wakka's expression to change.
Shaking his head with a smile, Wakka continued towards the bench. He sat down, grabbing his phone and snapping it open. He pushed the 'Check Mail' button and put the small device up to his ear. He stiffened slightly when Lulu's voice floated through the phone and into his ear.
"Hey man, who is it?" Dante called over, craning his neck so he could see the red-haired youth over Jaxon's head.
Wakka waved him off, trying to listen to the mage's voice. He had made up his mind that he wanted to try and get along with her better, and listening to what she had to say was always a good start. He had heard the part about the ballet school, but Dante's voice had prevented him from hearing anything else except: "get a hold of me."
**********************
"Mommy!" Kieran raced over to Yuna's still form, not caring that the purple force-field was still in place around her. Tidus' long strides caught up with the boy's easily, and he scooped him up before he crashed into the thin barrier. He was struggling, trying his best to wriggle out of Tidus' arms and get to Yuna.
"Wait, Kieran! There's a force-field, remember?" Tidus' words ceased the boy's squirming, but his desire to reach the young woman's side still shone fiercely in his dark eyes.
Just as the words left his mouth, the lavender light began to dim and fade away. It began at the base of the shield, so within a minute Tidus and Kieran were able to duck underneath the vanishing barrier and finally reach the unconscious summoner.
Kneeling down beside her, Kieran took her lithe hand into his tiny ones, holding it to his chest as if this would wake her up. Tidus contemplated what to do for only a brief second before he acted. He reached underneath her knees with his right arm as his left went around her small shoulders, lifting her up into his arms. Kieran was forced to release his hold on her hand, so he latched onto to Tidus' pyjama pant leg as compensation.
When they got to the patio doors, all that was left of the hybrid spell was the circling pyreflies that were slowly disappearing into the atmosphere. Kieran decided to be helpful, and he let go of Tidus' clothing long enough to pry open the heavy glass door and let them inside.
"Kieran?" Tidus asked, making his way towards the couch in the living room. "Go to the phone, put it on speaker and press 'Speed Dial # 1', okay?" He glanced over his shoulder to see that the little boy was already getting a chair from the kitchen to stand on so he could reach the wall-mounted phone.
He gently laid Yuna down on the couch, placing one of the fluffy cushions under her head. A sheen of sweat made her clothes cling to her body, and even though this was a potentially dangerous situation, Tidus' hormones couldn't help but respond to her beauty. He groaned and tried not to focus on how uncomfortable his lower body seemed to be becoming.
"Are you Kieran?" He heard a deep voice ask from the kitchen. Tidus sighed in relief. If there was one way to get your mind out of the gutter, it was to hear your coach's voice. It was a lot like a cold shower, and it was having the desired effects on Tidus.
"Yeah." Kieran replied, not sure of why he was talking to this scary looking man with sunglasses.
"Hey Auron." Tidus came up from behind Kieran, waving at his coach nonchalantly. He kneeled down and whispered to the boy to go and watch Yuna.
"Is something wrong with Yuna?" Auron asked immediately, recalling their conversation mere hours before.
Tidus looked surprised that he had asked. 'Man, this guy doesn't miss anything, does he?' He shook his head, clearing his throat before he began. "I'm not sure exactly.Kieran woke up this morning and saw her outside. She had some kind of force-field around her, and she was fighting a fiend inside it. Then she used this spell, I dunno what it was, and she passed out. Which is why I called *you*." The teen concluded.
"There's nothing wrong with her; she just used a spell she hasn't been trained in yet." Auron stroked his chin with his thumb and forefinger several times before he leaned towards the screen and asked, "Did it work?"
"If you mean did it turn the fucker-" Tidus semi-cringed and looked over towards Kieran, who hadn't heard him as he'd feared. He lowered his voice slightly. "-into a bunch of pyreflies, then yes."
"Hmmm.Impressive." Auron appeared to lose himself in thought for a moment, then snapped out of it and returned his attention to the blonde, who was tapping his bare foot on the tiled floor in impatience. "Tell her to come and see me straight away when she wakes up."
Tidus nodded, reaching forward to press the 'End Call' button.
"Oh and Tidus?"
He glanced back up at the screen.
"Don't forget to practice."
"Practice what? Losing? Yeah, whatever." Rolling his cerulean eyes, he punched the button and watched as the screen shorted and went black.
*****************************
As Jade stepped out of the car, her mouth dropped open in the astonishment only a child can possess. Her viridian eyes widened slightly as they took in the sight of the large, important looking building before her. Although it looked none too spectacular on the outside, the only extravagant thing being the sign announcing "Julienne Delacroix School of Dance", the little girl was already imagining what kind of fanciful things awaited her inside.
"C'mon Lulu!" She cried, rushing over and grabbing the mage's hand.
Lulu smiled down at her, watching her auburn hair bounce as they walked hurriedly towards the entrance. The automatic doors hissed open as they approached them, and as they stepped inside Jade discovered that she had been right in her imaginative predictions.
The first thing you noticed upon entering the building was the sheer size of it. It most certainly did not look so voluminous from the outside, but appeared to be larger than several blitzball stadiums to the little girl currently admiring it. The second thing that came into sight was the gleaming crystal statue situated in the center of the main foyer. It depicted, in exquisite detail, two ballet dancers in the middle of performing a complex-looking pas de deux, the male dancer lifting the female into the air, her body posed in a graceful arabesque.
The walls were painted off-white, and marble pillars could be found in two parallel rows that ran from one end of the room to the other. As they walked down a black carpet towards a mahogany desk at the far end of the room, Lulu and Jade both looked to the side. Beyond the pillars the walls were glass and could be seen into. They watched classes going on as they strolled slowly towards the desk, seeing people of all ages, and both sexes notably, practicing the fine art in different rooms. Right before the carpet stopped at the tall desk, Jade caught sight of a class of five and six year old girls just to her right. A grin appeared on her face, and Lulu couldn't help but smile as she watched a spark ignite in the girl's eyes.
"Good morning," An elderly woman behind the desk greeted. She smiled, making the few laugh lines that existed on her face to slightly crinkle her small blue eyes, giving her the look of a kindly grandmother. "Are you here to register?" She knew to ask, because the signed-up dancers would simply walk past the desk and into the respective change rooms at the rear of the building.
"We're here to check things out, right Jade?" Lulu answered. She looked to the girl, who nodded vigorously in agreement. "We just want to see if the classes will suit her or not."
"Wonderful!" The woman replied, seeming genuinely happy that they were there. "I'll show you around the place." She offered, rising from her chair. She turned and tapped another woman with dark brown hair on the shoulder, telling her that she would be back shortly and to sit at the front for a while. The woman nodded and handed the elderly woman her glasses, which had been sitting on the desk near her computer screen.
"This way, please," The woman, whose name tag labelled her as 'Linda', gestured them towards the area behind the desk once she'd stepped out. "I'll show you the change rooms."
They followed her around the circular desk platform and kept going straight, walking through the doors that bore the faceplate with 'Femelles' engraved into it in flowing script. The change rooms were nothing spectacular: Lockers, benches and some showers for the older women to use after rehearsal.
"Now, if you'll follow me, I'll take you into one of the classrooms." Linda said with a warm smile, noticing right away how Jade's eyes lit up at the mere mention of the idea.
They walked out of the change rooms and headed to the left, where Lulu observed that there was a hallway leading to an emergency fire exit. Along the right side of the corridor, however, there were doors that lead into the classrooms. Each door was neatly labelled with a number, and Linda stopped walking nearly as soon as they entered the hall.
She had stopped at the door to the classroom Jade had been watching from in front of the desk, Room Number 18. Knocking lightly, Linda turned to Lulu to giver her some information. "This is the only class we have for younger girls. The ages here will range only from three to seven, at which age the children are moved up to a middle-childhood type of class. It is very laid- back, you'll find."
The door suddenly swung open and a beautiful young woman in a tight jumpsuit and loose skirt filled their vision. She was tall, taller than Lulu at least, and most of her height came from the length of her legs. She had her hair tied back in a bun, and Lulu could tell that the dirty blonde locks would be long if they were let down. Her warm chocolate eyes fell immediately onto Jade, and a smile parted her lips revealing pristine white teeth set into two straight rows.
"I see I have another prospective student." She commented to Linda and Lulu in a light French accent. At Linda's nod, she bent down to Jade's height, peering into the girl's eyes.
"Hello." Jade whispered, raising her hand and bending her fingers twice at the middle knuckle in a tiny wave.
"Bonjour, little one. My name is Tuvia." The woman cooed quietly. "Would you like to come in and watch the class?"
When Jade nodded, Tuvia cast her brown eyes up at Lulu to seek her approval. The mage nodded quickly, waving her hand towards the classroom to show her enthusiasm at the idea. Tuvia smiled, taking Jade's hand and leading her inside, closing the door gently behind her.
"You can go watch her, if you like." Linda informed her, putting her hand on the young woman's shoulders and guiding her back out to the front, where the glass walls were currently being used as viewing areas by people other than just her.
"Thank you," Lulu said quietly, casting a small smile in the older woman's direction. "I'm sure we'll be back very soon to register her."
"I look forward to seeing you again, dear. Have a good day." Linda patted Lulu's shoulder, smiling one last time before turning and walking back towards the desk.
The mage then turned her attention to the classroom, where Jade had been put into one of the single-file lines of children in the middle of the large room. She looked nervous and very excited at the same time, and it made Lulu feel her very first pang of maternal anxiety deep in the pit of her stomach.
She relaxed however, when Tuvia began to lead the class in a set of semi- simultaneous piles and Jade fit right in. The fact that she wasn't in proper attire didn't seem to be an issue at all, and for the Lulu was very glad. The mage folded her arms loosely across her chest, sighing lightly as she watched the tiny girl at the front of the class follow them in their routine exercises, seeming to have not a care in the world.
"Sorry I'm late."
Lulu whirled around at the familiar lilting voice, colliding with its source's tall 5'11 frame. Her hands automatically came up to rest flat against his chest, ready to push him away if necessary. Burgundy eyes clashed with those of warm russet, and Lulu relaxed inwardly as her mind registered both the sight and scent of her Besaidian "house-mate".
"Wakka." The mage started up at him questioningly, her head tilted slightly so she could look directly into his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I got your message, so I called you, ya? But you never answered, so I figured I'd better just come here and see what you wanted so you wouldn't get all pissed at me again." The blitzer replied, realizing that the petite woman's hands were still resting on his chest. His shirt was thin and he could feel that her lithe fingers were as cold as they looked.
"Well, all I said in my message was that you could get a hold of me if you needed to. I don't know what you heard, but it obviously wasn't that." Lulu countered, finally remembering that her hands were still touching something warm that wasn't the wall or her sides. He pulled her hands away as if burned, crossing her arms tightly over her ample chest, which exposed even more cleavage than normal to Wakka's wandering gaze.
"Well, either way I'm here now!" Wakka responded, sounding a slight bit annoyed that he'd had to leave his practice for nothing. That annoyance dissipated, however, at the sight of Jade doing some beginner level leg- lifts with the rest of the child's ballet class. He tore his eyes away from Lulu's curvaceous form and watched her do the exercises, smiling brightly all the while. He couldn't suppress the smile that came to his lips, and he stepped closer to the glass, his shoulder lightly brushing Lulu's as he did so.
The tingle that he felt from the contact was the same as the lingering sensations he could still feel on his chest, and he secretly enjoyed them. Although he would never admit it out loud to anyone other than Tidus or Leathen, Wakka felt strong inklings of hormonal lust aimed at the so-called "Ice Queen" that stood beside him. They were the kind of feelings that you weren't sure whether you should embrace them or try and forget about them. At the moment, however, the blitzer wanted nothing more than to pin the lithe girl at his side against the glass wall and kiss her senseless.
He quickly banished those thoughts as Lulu came to stand directly beside him, her elbow lightly touching his arm as a result of her proximity. He sighed, folding his own arms over his chest and opting to wait until later to think about playing tonsil hockey with the gorgeous young woman he was 'unfortunately blessed' to be living with.
"I'm going to register her here before we leave, okay?" Lulu asked after a few moments of silence had passed and the group inside had moved on to the barre for exercises.
Wakka shrugged. "Sure, whatever." He stole a glance sideways at the lower half of the mage's body, and found himself wishing he hadn't.
'Damn!' He thought, shaking his head ever-so-slightly. 'I have a new-found love of skirts.'
**********************************
Tidus let an angered sigh escape his lips as he thought of the impending tournament that was taking place in less than 24 hours time. He clenched his fists at his sides at the mere idea of losing on purpose to the snivelling Goers. Never once did the thought that this whole situation was the result of a mistake he himself made cross his mind. He growled deep in the back of his throat, having the sudden urge to retreat into the workout room near the back of the house and take his frustration out on the punching bag and weights installed there.
"Da.Tidus?" Came a quiet question from the living room. In his anger, the blonde had never heard the child hesitate before calling him 'Daddy' again, opting instead to settle for his name. He turned his head in that general direction and found Kieran kneeling on the floor beside the couch, holding Yuna's lithe hand as if it was a piece of glass. Tidus strolled over to the dark blue furniture in four long strides, taking a knee beside the boy.
"Is she gonna be okay?" He asked in a quiet whisper, watching her serene face with worry in his oceanic eyes.
"Sir Auron said she'll be fine." Tidus answered, deciding to use the elder man's formal title.
"When will she wake up?" Kieran raised his eyes to Tidus for an answer.
Just as the blitzer began to shake his head, Yuna stirred as if on queue. Her fingers twitched, compulsively getting a grip on Kieran's small hand, and her eyelids fluttered. She brought her other hand up to rub her temples, concealing her eyes for a moment, before slowly sitting up and bringing her hand back down to her side.
Tidus was once again stunned by how differently beautiful this young woman's eyes were. In his mind, which was obviously poetic at heart, Tidus chose to describe them as a blue that could rival the brightest Besaidian sky, and a green that put the rainforests near Kilika to shame. He moved nearer to her side to tell her about Auron, when she suddenly moaned and began to fall backwards again. Blitzball-honed reflexes enabled Tidus' arm to shoot out and encircle her back, cradling her gently and preventing her from falling.
When her head didn't hit the pillow again, as she thought it would, Yuna's eyes fluttered open again only to be met with the most stunning pair of cerulean orbs she'd ever seen. The twin oceans were swimming with worry and apprehension that she had never seen the blonde show before, and it surprised her to think that he'd be concerned about her. Then she remembered why.
She could recall using her Holy spell and vaporizing the fiend that she'd summoned, and remembered that her last conscious thought was of hearing Kieran's terrified shout and Tidus' cry for him to stay back. They had most likely seen all the important things there were to see, and it was this that made Yuna's bi-colored eyes sparkle with the same worry that Tidus displayed.
"Yuna? Are you alright?" Tidus asked quietly.
The summoner could feel his warm breath against her cheek, and she shivered despite herself. Though she had never been the kind of person to express most of her feelings out loud, she was most certain that she would never tell anyone of the thoughts in her mind at the moment. She was, at present, imagining briefly what it would feel like to have that breath and that mouth elsewhere on her body, like her neck to name one place. She also could help but notice the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and she took great pleasure in glancing down at the washboard stomach his smooth golden skin stretched across. She looked at her hands for a quick second, and couldn't help but wonder what his chest would feel like under her roving fingers. She shivered yet again, and began berating herself for having such thoughts about someone she barely knew, let alone liked.
"Are you cold Mommy?" Kieran asked, having seen her shake briefly. He had also noticed something that the two teens hadn't. Tidus had unconsciously pulled her closer when she shivered, acting on his instinct to warm her up.
When Yuna realized that she wasn't cold at all, she shook her head, leaning slightly into the warmth that Tidus was providing her with. All of a sudden her mind was flooded with the images of the dream she'd had, for the seventh time in a week, just hours earlier. She squeezed her eyes shut, bringing one hand up from its resting place on Tidus forearm to rub at them almost tiredly.
"You okay?" Tidus asked, sounding slightly offhandedly concerned.
Yuna removed her hand and turned to smile up at him warmly. "I'm fine, don't worry."
"No problem; I won't." As soon as the words left his mouth, Tidus felt something that he couldn't remember feeling for a very long time. He felt instantaneous regret; the kind of lament that tugged at the proverbial strings of one's soul.
The hurt that usually results from actions that cause such deploring was reflected clearly in the young summoner's eyes, though it was only visible for a moment. Yuna's eyes flickered with pangs of hurt before she lowered her gaze to look at her lap, where both her hands now rested.
Kieran broke the uneasy silence before anything else could be said or done. "An old man called here for you, Mommy." He said, gesturing to the wall- mounted video phone with his small hand.
"Sir Auron? He called?" Yuna raised her eyes back up to Tidus', this time searching for an answer to her question instead of feelings she only imagined existed.
"Not really." The blonde hesitated, pulling away from Yuna and rising to his feet. "I called him when we brought you inside. He said he wanted you to go see him as soon as you woke up." He ran a hand through his hair and panicked when some happiness passed into Yuna's gaze at the idea of him worrying about her, which was the truth no matter how much he told himself it wasn't. "I wanted to know what the hell you were doing out there."
"Tidus!" Yuna snapped, gesturing to Kieran with a nod of her head. "Don't curse around him."
"So what? I'm sure he's heard worse before anyway!" Tidus' voice had risen to a yell in volume, and the little boy standing to the side was beginning to look a little scared.
Yuna rose slowly to her feet, glaring blue and green daggers at the slightly taller blonde. Without removing her eyes from his, which were just as icy as hers were, she spoke to Kieran. "Go get your shoes and coat on, please Kieran. We're going to go visit Sir Auron, okay?" Her voice was warm and calm even though her eyes told the story that she was ready to kill the blitzer standing in front of her.
As the little boy nodded and scurried over to the front door to do as she'd asked, Tidus chose to speak. "What are you getting so worked up over?" He demanded in a harsh whisper, which was still fairly loud. "Like I said; I'm sure he's heard *way* worse at the orphanage."
Yuna shook her head, an exasperated chuckle escaping her lips. "You just don't get it, do you Tidus?" Her voice was quiet and even, but it emanated anger just as well as a shout would have. "We have him so that we can help him *forget* what happened in that place, not remind him. If you aren't interested in doing that, then I don't want you anywhere near him." She added the rest as a sort of afterthought, more so to herself, but still audible. "No child should have to live with someone they're afraid of."
With this having been said, Yuna turned and walked towards the door. She didn't seem to notice that she was still dressed in her summoner's clothing, or that said clothing was clinging to her body as a result of perspiration. She simply grabbed her thin jacket and car keys, ushering Kieran out the door and closing it behind them without so much as a backward glance at Tidus.
The blitzer stood beside the couch, fists clenched and breathing slightly heavy out of anger. He watched as Yuna's silver car pulled out of the driveway and drove to the left in the direction of Auron's home. He growled in frustration, stalking towards the weight room and searching the wall for something. He found the dent he'd made when he'd thrown the barbell, and he shook his head, remembering how angry he'd been then. Without any warning whatsoever, he reeled back and threw a punch into the wall using his whole body as extra force. He wasn't concerned that his knuckles were bleeding as he turned, leaned his back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting with his knees pulled up to his neck.
The only thing he was concerned about was the fact that he was getting so worked up over nothing. So what if Yuna was mad at him? It's not like it was the end of the world.
He had simply decided that that dent needed a friend, that was all...Right?
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Well there ya go folks! I know it's been more than 30 days, but I hope that this chapter was enough to keep ya'll satisfied for a while! I know it was kinda boring, but I'll make up for that next time I promise!!
Next time we'll check in with Rikku, Carter and their child, join Lulu, Wakka and Jade for some ice cream [with a side order of naughty thoughts (- _^)], find out what Auron has to say to Yuna, and begin the dreaded tournament of DOOM!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
Ja ne, Digi-Esca Girl
laurie_22@hotmail.com