HIYA! SakuraBubbles here. Well, another week, another chapter. The convention I went to was EHHH… but you guys are here for Gippalai goodness, not my rants!! No shoutouts this chapter… I still love you all, I swear!
Oh, and took off a really funny fanfiction of mine. I might put it up on a different site or something because I can't believe 's way of expressing a 'writer's license.' Urgh… well, again, NOT HERE for a rant… on with the fic.
Chapter Five: Enter the Meyvn
When he awoke at last, he was lying on his stomach and still had his right hand clasped onto Gippal's. The said man was asleep in the chair next to the operating table. Baralai tried not to move too much. His back was hurting so much after the amputation of his sliced wings, even with painkillers, potions, and an hour or two of rest. Another thing that was hurting was his ego.
Baralai didn't even want to look at himself. He was now completely wingless. At least before the amputation, they were still somewhat there. Now there was no proof that he was ever from Bevelle.
Or praetor, for that matter.
His eyes narrowed.
"It's all his fault," he said aloud weakly. "He was the one who cut them off in the first place!"
He wanted to fly.
"I hate him…"
He wanted to fly.
"How could he take my life away from me?! I can never get back to Bevelle! Not even for revenge!"
He wanted to--
"Frana drana'c y femm, drana'c y fyo."
Baralai looked over to the man who was holding his hand.
"What was that?"
"An old Al Bhed expression. Not exactly sure what the exact translation is, but it basically means as long as you want it, you can do it."
Baralai thought about a similar Bevellian expression.
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
"Oayr, that's it!"
"Impossible."
Gippal frowned at Baralai's newly found pessimism.
"Not necessarily."
"How am I supposed to make in into Bevelle without wings?"
"There are other ways to fly."
Baralai flinched, a sharp pain suddenly racking his body. He squeezed Gippal's hand. Gippal squeezed politely back.
"Something was removed from my body," Baralai stated the obvious. "My wings aren't just something on the surface. My bone structure has been altered."
Gippal hesitated.
"The tuldun said it should only take a week or so of recovery. With the physical therapy, white magic, and lots of pain killers, you'll be back on your feet in no time."
Baralai smiled slightly.
"'Tuldun?' Does that mean 'doctor?'"
"Oh… oayr. Forgot to translate."
They were silent for a bit and Baralai noticed that Gippal's thumb was rubbing the back of Baralai's hand lightly. It wasn't an extraordinary action, but it felt nice. The wingless man looked to the man with one eye, noticing suddenly that they were both missing something.
The door to the operating room opened slowly and an Al Bhed man with goggles hiding his eyes came in.
"Meyvn Nooj ryc lusa du teclicc syddanc ypuid cusadrehk ra haatc." (Meyvn Nooj has come to discuss matters about something he needs.)
Baralai eyed the man. Perhaps it was just an Al Bhed word but he could have sword he had said the name "Nooj."
"Ra ec? (He is?)" asked Gippal, letting go of Baralai's hand and standing. "Fryd tuac ra fyhd? (What does he want?)"
"Hud cina. (Not sure.)"
"Damm res e's pico yd dra susahd. (Tell him I'm busy at the moment.)"
He thought a moment.
"... Yldiymmo, damm res du lusa uh eh rana. (Actually, tell him to come on in here.)"
"Ugyo. (Okay.)"
The Al Bhed turned and left. Baralai tugged at Gippal's black pants.
"What was that all about?"
"My friend Nooj has stopped by."
"Nooj?"
"The meyvn--or leader--of the Youth League, a branch of the Crusaders that protect Lower Spira."
"I know him."
Gippal seemed surprised.
"You do?"
"Of course. Back in Bevelle--"
"It's been a while," came a voice. A man limped into the room, his cane clanking on the ground. His eyes were covered by thin spectacles and he was dressed all in red save for his right arm, which happened to be covered from shoulder to elbow in fluffy off-white fur while the rest of his arm was in a loose light pink sleeve. ((Nooj's outfit makes me and Magenta Fox want to die… ::hugs her::))
"'Sup Noojster?" Gippal greeted the man. Most of the man's left side was completely machine and fake. The man must have been in a great many battles. His hair was almost Guado-like in how long and stiff it was. It draped in a thin lock all the way down past the back of his knees and yet on his face, it was short and curly off to the right side. ((Nooj… is… so… weird…))
"Nooj?" asked Baralai, lifting his head to look at the meyvn. The man stared a moment.
"Baralai? Your wings…"
Nooj grinned sideways to Gippal.
"Did these barbarians rip them off?"
Gippal grinned in return.
"Well, it was me, to tell you the truth."
"How did I know?"
There was a pause. Baralai flinched in trying to sit up.
"Stay down," ordered Gippal, looking to him.
"It's rude."
"Crid ib. (Shut up.)"
"What?"
"Were they just amputated?" asked Nooj, not giving a chance for Gippal to translate. Baralai nodded at Nooj's question, so he continued, "Ah. Don't worry, I've had more than one thing amputated."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"How'd you lose them?"
Gippal sat lazily.
"E'ja paah fyhdehk du ghuf duu. (I've been wanting to know, too.)"
"You wanna know?" asked Baralai. A nod and a tilt of a head were his response. He softly said, "… They were cut off."
Gippal grunted.
"Aw, c'mon!!!"
"He's a Yevonite. They keep secrets and lie through their teeth," said Nooj. Upon the look given to him by Baralai, he added, "It's tradition." ((props to Magenta Fox))
Gippal laughed. Baralai kept silent.
"And at the Youth League it's tradition to be as lazy and outlandish as possible. Oh, and you can't forget the daily routine to whine to the Crusaders."
Gippal laughed harder. Nooj leaned against a counter.
"Hey stop laughing for a minute. I was wondering if I could buy some machina off of you."
"What kind?" inquired Gippal, trying to keep a straight face.
"A bunch of different units… I need a lot."
"I'll have you check out the yard. You can fill in some papers there."
Gippal stood and looked down to Baralai.
"I'll be back soon, okay?"
"Sure," Baralai replied softly. Gippal and Nooj left, leaving the man resting on his stomach on the operating table, his arms propping his head up. He found that this position hurt his back a little so he placed his arms at his side, resting his face on its side, too, sighing. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
But his sleep, although granted, was plagued with nightmares of him. Him being the one who cut off his wings. Baralai hated him so very much for all of the things he's done to him. He was twisted and used others. Those he couldn't use, he got rid of, like he had done to Baralai and probably many others.
It also worried Baralai that Nooj needed so much machina. He knew that Nooj didn't think before acting out… there weren't many things to fight with machina; machina can only do so much against fiends. Were they preparing for war? But against who? Not the Al Bhed, or course. The Al Bhed could handle machina better than any other race, so it was useless to use machina against them. And if not the Al Bhed… Bevelle? There'd be no way small machina like that could do any damage to Bevelle. This matter confused Baralai and bothered him to no end so he decided to focus on something else.
His thoughts trailed to Gippal and he found himself calm. He wasn't the only gay man in Bevelle--the teachings of Yevon said nothing about homosexuality being wrong ((lucky bastards… ::shakes fist::)). However, it was hard for Baralai at the same time. Although it wasn't necessarily wrong, there were those who were disgusted and looked down upon it… to have a praetor like that, to some, was horrendous. And if he were seen with an Al Bhed man… oh imagine the press. But he didn't really care. After all, he wondered about Gippal's sexuality. He seemed as though he could go either way but he had gone out with Rikku. Baralai knew better than to fall for a straight man.
Of course, there was the Al Bhed potion incident.
Baralai blushed thinking about it. Would Gippal have stopped himself before… and all of the flirting! Baralai shook his head wildly as if trying to shake the memories from his head in order to prevent himself from having a fit of giggles.
/-/
Gippal looked down at Nooj's order form. Practically all of the machina they had at the yard was checked off.
"Tysh! That's a lot of stuff. What the hell are you guys up to?"
"It's not for the Youth League. I'm helping a friend of mine out."
"Um… does he have a machina license?"
Nooj looked to Gippal sideways.
"No, but I do."
"So you're simply buying them for him, illegally."
"Whatever it takes. You should keep quiet. I bet you need the gil."
"Crid ib!" yelled Gippal, narrowing his eye at the meyvn. "Listen, gil or not, I can't do that. Who knows what this friend of yours is gonna do with the machina?"
"I'll pay you double."
"It doesn't matter!"
"I'll pay you double and I'll get you out of here. I'll take you on a boat back to the main islands of Spira."
Gippal hesitated.
"… Can I bring someone?"
"As many as you'd like."
He thought on this. The Al Bhed weren't allowed to ride the boats. What Nooj was suggesting was actually forbidden since the Banishment.
"How're you gonna pull that one off?"
"That same friend who needs the machina. He's in the Zanarkand militia."
"So… free trip to Zanarkand?"
"You could say that. Just fill in the order and I'll be back in four days."
Gippal signed the order and handed it to his nearby Al Bhed attendant. Gippal and Nooj silently walked through the junkyard until Nooj spoke.
"Why is Baralai here?"
"He dropped in."
/-/
Much, much later in the night, Baralai woke up in the middle of the night, not due to pain, but to hunger. He was doing much better, he assumed, seeing as he hardly struggled to get up. He had woken up one other time to visit the men's room and needed help getting up… this fact in mind, he was doing great. He got to the door, his bare feet pattering against the tiled floor. He stopped though, hearing a feminine voice.
"I thought you'd dislike him instantly," said the voice. Baralai peeked around the doorframe to see Rikku and Gippal standing in front of a counter top. While Rikku was still wearing her normal orange sleeveless shirt and green shorts, Gippal was missing the shoulder armor that completed his elaborate outfit. Other than that, he was fully dressed. Rikku continued.
"He's a Yevonite after all. You usually hate them."
"Well, I did, at first. But then I started to like him a bit. Baah… he's not that bad. Plus, he's got good aim. That was what really made me like him," replied Gippal, crossing his arms over his chest.
"That's fantabulous!" Rikku pouted sarcastically, making up words as usual and flailing her arms around, giving up. After a bit of silence, Rikku asked, "It's just how you are, I guess."
"What do you mean?"
"You always forgive a cute face."
Baralai's interest in the conversation skyrocketed. Gippal thinks I'm cute?
"Aw, c'mon now… I forgive you whenever you do something stupidish."
"So you think he's cute?"
"He's completely, adorably, hotly cute."
"I didn't need to hear all of that."
I did, Baralai thought, grinning like a child. Perhaps his own interest in Gippal wasn't for nothing.
"Well, he is."
"Groped him yet?"
"Wh--no way! … Well, accidentally."
"Oh yeah right!"
"It was an accident, really!"
"Betcha can't keep the 'accident' off of your mind."
Gippal said nothing in defense except for, "I was lathering some potion on his leg and accidentally slipped my hand up to his crotch…"
"'Potion?' Sounds more like lube to me."
Baralai had to laugh. It hurt to laugh, but he couldn't stop himself. He had a habit of laughing loudly and for a little while. Rikku and Gippal stared at him.
"You were listening?" asked Rikku, cheerfully, delighted by the fact that Gippal's opinion of Baralai had been heard by Baralai. The Yevonite grinned, walking up to Gippal and pulling on his tie.
"'Completely, adorably, hotly cute?'"
"If you weren't wounded, I'd kill you," Gippal said, yanking back his tie. There was a blush across his face.
"You already grabbed his crotch," Rikku noted.
"I told you that was an accident," Gippal defended, for at Rikku's comment, Baralai started to laugh again. Gippal looked at him and snapped, "And you! Go back to bed!"
"I'm hungry though!"
"Fine, Rikku feed him!"
"Feed me with your loooove, baby!" Baralai pulled on Gippal's tie again, emitting a shriek of giggles from Rikku. ((Hidama was right, Baralai should be careful of what he asks for ::rape rape::))
"Is the painkiller getting to your head?!" asked Gippal frantically, only a bit worried that Baralai was going to pounce him.
"Maybe…" Baralai cooed. Rikku giggled.
"I'll leave you two alone. Gippal, dnayd res famm, ev oui ghuf fryd e sayh…(treat him well, if you know what I mean…)"
Gippal's eye followed her, a blush over his face, as she skipped off happily. He noticed that Baralai was still pulling on his tie slightly.
"You… definitely need to eat."
"Aw, but this is more fun!"
Gippal grunted and gripped Baralai's arm.
"Leggo…"
"No."
"This is very unlike you."
"So? It's funny!"
When Baralai's grip of Gippal's tie was removed, he reached with his other hand. Gippal caught it.
"Eat. Now. Kitchen. We go."
With his hand intertwined with Baralai's, Gippal finally got the man into the kitchen. As they traveled, Baralai got more calm, and when Gippal ordered him to sit down at a table, he did. Baralai stared at the table with tired but not strained eyes and a warm smile stretching across his lips. Gippal was waiting for the chef to return to the kitchen, so he leaned against a doorframe, resting his back against it. His lips were slightly parted as if he was seeking something, though he wasn't sure what. He stared at Baralai with his only eye.
He was Gippal. He had gone out with every girl and every guy in Home that he was fond of. He was bisexual and wasn't afraid to flaunt it. Lately, he's had other feelings though… and Baralai's presence further confirmed his feelings.
He had broken up with Rikku for it. It wasn't his fault that he no longer felt attracted to girls… and it wasn't Rikku's fault either. He saw the male body and became more excited about it than he ever could with the female body. He was turned off by the female body and turned on by the male. ((this is hard to write… I feel just the opposite… bwahahhaa)) To Gippal, it was easier to "flow" with another man. He found that while he was with Rikku, he found that he felt… not disgusting, but not right whenever he kissed her, and soon he simply lost interest in her and saw her as a really good friend. He stopped dragging her along deeper into his confusing abyss and let her go. She knew that something was wrong, so she let him be for a while. But as it stood then they were great friends.
Baralai looked up to him and they shared a glance. They say that time stops when that sort of thing happens, but it didn't. In fact, it sped up, because the next thing Gippal knew, an Al Bhed woman was standing at his side.
"Oui'na milgo ouin haf puovneaht ec cu lida, udranfeca e fuimt pa ycmaab nekrd huf. (You're lucky your new boyfriend is so cute, otherwise I would be asleep right now.)"
"Ra'c hud sa puovneaht. (He's not my boyfriend.)"
"Oui't mega res du pa? (You'd like him to be?)"
"Hud cina. Tuh'd ghuf res famm ahuikr. (Not sure. Don't know him well enough.)"
"Rikku cyet oui knyppat rec lnudlr! (Rikku said you grabbed his crotch!)"
"Jeez… Funt dnyjamc vycd... yht e teth'd sayh du! Yht, e teth'd aqyldmo 'knyp' ed... so ryht cmebbat ib rec drekr. (Jeez… word travels fast… and I didn't mean to! And, I didn't exactly 'grab' it... my hand slipped up his thigh.)"
The girl laughed loudly. Baralai looked over.
"What's going on?"
"Hudrehk--ah, I mean nothing."
"Doesn't seem that way."
"Ra'c kud y hela juela, duu (He's got a nice voice, too)," said the Al Bhed girl as she prepared some food for Baralai. Gippal eyed her and then Baralai.
"Tuth'd naseht sa. (Don't remind me.)"
Baralai thanked the woman as she placed the tray of food onto the table in front of him. Although she couldn't understand him, she figured out what he was saying and nodded to him. Gippal took a seat across from Baralai, watching him.
Baralai stopped his fork midair.
"If you would kindly not watch me as I eat--"
"Does your back still hurt?" Gippal interrupted him, his eye not moving.
"Well, yes. I think that it will hurt for a while."
"But you can walk?"
"Yes. The doctor said that the painkiller would see to it that I could."
"The painkiller also drives you insane."
"I'm allowed to be out-of-it every once and a while."
They were silent and Gippal looked elsewhere after stealing some of Baralai's ham; Baralai hadn't minded.
"What did you and Nooj talk about?" asked Baralai, thinking about it suddenly. Gippal looked back to him.
"He needed some machina from me."
"For what?"
The entire thing still bugged Gippal.
"Supplies for the Youth League. Th-the Crusaders cut some of their funding."
Oh boy he could lie well. His eye was on Baralai's neck because for some reason, he couldn't look him in the face. Yevonites lied, so this should have been nothing-to-it. But in front of Baralai, Gippal couldn't say what exactly Nooj had told him. The boat trip crossed his mind and he prepared to tell Baralai about it--
"Gippal."
The Al Bhed's eye found Baralai's two brown ones.
"Cid mentioned being a mechanic, right?"
"Oayr."
"… That means yes?"
"Al Bhed slang for yes."
"Could Cid maybe build me something to get me back up to Bevelle?"
Don't you want to come with me?
"… Like what?"
"Up in Bevelle, there are platforms that glide through the air based upon the user's will."
"You guys have wings though."
"They are used by the maesters of Yevon who don't have wings. Also, if someone has a hurt wing."
Baralai paused.
"Or…"
"Or what?" Gippal wanted to know. Baralai looked up to the ceiling, tilting his head. "If the flier is too intoxicated to continue flying."
"Has that happened to you before?"
Baralai chuckled. Gippal rested his elbows on the table.
"So it has?"
"I'd rather not speak of it."
"Were you like you were tonight?"
"Worse."
"I've gotta get you some liquor then!"
Baralai flashed a smile in Gippal's direction.
"I'd r-rather you didn't…"
Gippal frowned and got up, asking, "You're still in pain?" He crossed over to Baralai as the Yevonite responded, "How many times are you going to ask me that?"
"Until it stops hurting," said Gippal, placing a hand on Baralai's back and sitting down in the chair next to him. "What about this--does this hurt?"
He trailed his fingers to where Baralai's wings once spread. Baralai shook his head. "As long as there's not much pressure on it; it's more of an internal pain anyway."
Gippal traced his fingers lightly over the stitches. Baralai winced.
"Okay, I lied."
Baralai faced him, studying his face suddenly.
"What happened to your eye?"
"Tried to stowaway onto a boat heading for Luca. Paid an odd price. I have a proper eye patch, but it broke."
"So why wear the gauze?"
"To cover the eye, what else? Cid's makin' me a new patch… he made my last one."
"So we're both broken men, huh?"
"Not quite. You just look like a normal lower Spiran now."
"I suppose so."
"It's not that bad, y'know. I mean, we can't fly…"
"It's not as though I've never used my feet before."
"True."
They sat in silence as Baralai finished eating, all the while Gippal tracing his fingers along Baralai's back. He was surprised that the Yevonite didn't mind. Baralai covered his mouth as he yawned.
"Want me to take you to bed?" asked Gippal. Baralai nodded, looking at the Al Bhed. They got up, walking back through the hall. They got to the room and Gippal gestured toward the bed.
"Well, g'night, Baralai."
Baralai leaned over, kissing Gippal's neck softly. Gippal's swirly green eye widened, then softened. Baralai turned.
"Good night."
Whew. Long chapter. In my notebook, that chapter is ch. 5 and 6, but I combined them. Expect the next ch. in a while… action and major EVIL in the next ch… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. REVIEW!! ::bows and runs away::
Oh, and took off a really funny fanfiction of mine. I might put it up on a different site or something because I can't believe 's way of expressing a 'writer's license.' Urgh… well, again, NOT HERE for a rant… on with the fic.
When he awoke at last, he was lying on his stomach and still had his right hand clasped onto Gippal's. The said man was asleep in the chair next to the operating table. Baralai tried not to move too much. His back was hurting so much after the amputation of his sliced wings, even with painkillers, potions, and an hour or two of rest. Another thing that was hurting was his ego.
Baralai didn't even want to look at himself. He was now completely wingless. At least before the amputation, they were still somewhat there. Now there was no proof that he was ever from Bevelle.
Or praetor, for that matter.
His eyes narrowed.
"It's all his fault," he said aloud weakly. "He was the one who cut them off in the first place!"
He wanted to fly.
"I hate him…"
He wanted to fly.
"How could he take my life away from me?! I can never get back to Bevelle! Not even for revenge!"
He wanted to--
"Frana drana'c y femm, drana'c y fyo."
Baralai looked over to the man who was holding his hand.
"What was that?"
"An old Al Bhed expression. Not exactly sure what the exact translation is, but it basically means as long as you want it, you can do it."
Baralai thought about a similar Bevellian expression.
"Where there's a will, there's a way."
"Oayr, that's it!"
"Impossible."
Gippal frowned at Baralai's newly found pessimism.
"Not necessarily."
"How am I supposed to make in into Bevelle without wings?"
"There are other ways to fly."
Baralai flinched, a sharp pain suddenly racking his body. He squeezed Gippal's hand. Gippal squeezed politely back.
"Something was removed from my body," Baralai stated the obvious. "My wings aren't just something on the surface. My bone structure has been altered."
Gippal hesitated.
"The tuldun said it should only take a week or so of recovery. With the physical therapy, white magic, and lots of pain killers, you'll be back on your feet in no time."
Baralai smiled slightly.
"'Tuldun?' Does that mean 'doctor?'"
"Oh… oayr. Forgot to translate."
They were silent for a bit and Baralai noticed that Gippal's thumb was rubbing the back of Baralai's hand lightly. It wasn't an extraordinary action, but it felt nice. The wingless man looked to the man with one eye, noticing suddenly that they were both missing something.
The door to the operating room opened slowly and an Al Bhed man with goggles hiding his eyes came in.
"Meyvn Nooj ryc lusa du teclicc syddanc ypuid cusadrehk ra haatc." (Meyvn Nooj has come to discuss matters about something he needs.)
Baralai eyed the man. Perhaps it was just an Al Bhed word but he could have sword he had said the name "Nooj."
"Ra ec? (He is?)" asked Gippal, letting go of Baralai's hand and standing. "Fryd tuac ra fyhd? (What does he want?)"
"Hud cina. (Not sure.)"
"Damm res e's pico yd dra susahd. (Tell him I'm busy at the moment.)"
He thought a moment.
"... Yldiymmo, damm res du lusa uh eh rana. (Actually, tell him to come on in here.)"
"Ugyo. (Okay.)"
The Al Bhed turned and left. Baralai tugged at Gippal's black pants.
"What was that all about?"
"My friend Nooj has stopped by."
"Nooj?"
"The meyvn--or leader--of the Youth League, a branch of the Crusaders that protect Lower Spira."
"I know him."
Gippal seemed surprised.
"You do?"
"Of course. Back in Bevelle--"
"It's been a while," came a voice. A man limped into the room, his cane clanking on the ground. His eyes were covered by thin spectacles and he was dressed all in red save for his right arm, which happened to be covered from shoulder to elbow in fluffy off-white fur while the rest of his arm was in a loose light pink sleeve. ((Nooj's outfit makes me and Magenta Fox want to die… ::hugs her::))
"'Sup Noojster?" Gippal greeted the man. Most of the man's left side was completely machine and fake. The man must have been in a great many battles. His hair was almost Guado-like in how long and stiff it was. It draped in a thin lock all the way down past the back of his knees and yet on his face, it was short and curly off to the right side. ((Nooj… is… so… weird…))
"Nooj?" asked Baralai, lifting his head to look at the meyvn. The man stared a moment.
"Baralai? Your wings…"
Nooj grinned sideways to Gippal.
"Did these barbarians rip them off?"
Gippal grinned in return.
"Well, it was me, to tell you the truth."
"How did I know?"
There was a pause. Baralai flinched in trying to sit up.
"Stay down," ordered Gippal, looking to him.
"It's rude."
"Crid ib. (Shut up.)"
"What?"
"Were they just amputated?" asked Nooj, not giving a chance for Gippal to translate. Baralai nodded at Nooj's question, so he continued, "Ah. Don't worry, I've had more than one thing amputated."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"How'd you lose them?"
Gippal sat lazily.
"E'ja paah fyhdehk du ghuf duu. (I've been wanting to know, too.)"
"You wanna know?" asked Baralai. A nod and a tilt of a head were his response. He softly said, "… They were cut off."
Gippal grunted.
"Aw, c'mon!!!"
"He's a Yevonite. They keep secrets and lie through their teeth," said Nooj. Upon the look given to him by Baralai, he added, "It's tradition." ((props to Magenta Fox))
Gippal laughed. Baralai kept silent.
"And at the Youth League it's tradition to be as lazy and outlandish as possible. Oh, and you can't forget the daily routine to whine to the Crusaders."
Gippal laughed harder. Nooj leaned against a counter.
"Hey stop laughing for a minute. I was wondering if I could buy some machina off of you."
"What kind?" inquired Gippal, trying to keep a straight face.
"A bunch of different units… I need a lot."
"I'll have you check out the yard. You can fill in some papers there."
Gippal stood and looked down to Baralai.
"I'll be back soon, okay?"
"Sure," Baralai replied softly. Gippal and Nooj left, leaving the man resting on his stomach on the operating table, his arms propping his head up. He found that this position hurt his back a little so he placed his arms at his side, resting his face on its side, too, sighing. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
But his sleep, although granted, was plagued with nightmares of him. Him being the one who cut off his wings. Baralai hated him so very much for all of the things he's done to him. He was twisted and used others. Those he couldn't use, he got rid of, like he had done to Baralai and probably many others.
It also worried Baralai that Nooj needed so much machina. He knew that Nooj didn't think before acting out… there weren't many things to fight with machina; machina can only do so much against fiends. Were they preparing for war? But against who? Not the Al Bhed, or course. The Al Bhed could handle machina better than any other race, so it was useless to use machina against them. And if not the Al Bhed… Bevelle? There'd be no way small machina like that could do any damage to Bevelle. This matter confused Baralai and bothered him to no end so he decided to focus on something else.
His thoughts trailed to Gippal and he found himself calm. He wasn't the only gay man in Bevelle--the teachings of Yevon said nothing about homosexuality being wrong ((lucky bastards… ::shakes fist::)). However, it was hard for Baralai at the same time. Although it wasn't necessarily wrong, there were those who were disgusted and looked down upon it… to have a praetor like that, to some, was horrendous. And if he were seen with an Al Bhed man… oh imagine the press. But he didn't really care. After all, he wondered about Gippal's sexuality. He seemed as though he could go either way but he had gone out with Rikku. Baralai knew better than to fall for a straight man.
Of course, there was the Al Bhed potion incident.
Baralai blushed thinking about it. Would Gippal have stopped himself before… and all of the flirting! Baralai shook his head wildly as if trying to shake the memories from his head in order to prevent himself from having a fit of giggles.
/-/
Gippal looked down at Nooj's order form. Practically all of the machina they had at the yard was checked off.
"Tysh! That's a lot of stuff. What the hell are you guys up to?"
"It's not for the Youth League. I'm helping a friend of mine out."
"Um… does he have a machina license?"
Nooj looked to Gippal sideways.
"No, but I do."
"So you're simply buying them for him, illegally."
"Whatever it takes. You should keep quiet. I bet you need the gil."
"Crid ib!" yelled Gippal, narrowing his eye at the meyvn. "Listen, gil or not, I can't do that. Who knows what this friend of yours is gonna do with the machina?"
"I'll pay you double."
"It doesn't matter!"
"I'll pay you double and I'll get you out of here. I'll take you on a boat back to the main islands of Spira."
Gippal hesitated.
"… Can I bring someone?"
"As many as you'd like."
He thought on this. The Al Bhed weren't allowed to ride the boats. What Nooj was suggesting was actually forbidden since the Banishment.
"How're you gonna pull that one off?"
"That same friend who needs the machina. He's in the Zanarkand militia."
"So… free trip to Zanarkand?"
"You could say that. Just fill in the order and I'll be back in four days."
Gippal signed the order and handed it to his nearby Al Bhed attendant. Gippal and Nooj silently walked through the junkyard until Nooj spoke.
"Why is Baralai here?"
"He dropped in."
/-/
Much, much later in the night, Baralai woke up in the middle of the night, not due to pain, but to hunger. He was doing much better, he assumed, seeing as he hardly struggled to get up. He had woken up one other time to visit the men's room and needed help getting up… this fact in mind, he was doing great. He got to the door, his bare feet pattering against the tiled floor. He stopped though, hearing a feminine voice.
"I thought you'd dislike him instantly," said the voice. Baralai peeked around the doorframe to see Rikku and Gippal standing in front of a counter top. While Rikku was still wearing her normal orange sleeveless shirt and green shorts, Gippal was missing the shoulder armor that completed his elaborate outfit. Other than that, he was fully dressed. Rikku continued.
"He's a Yevonite after all. You usually hate them."
"Well, I did, at first. But then I started to like him a bit. Baah… he's not that bad. Plus, he's got good aim. That was what really made me like him," replied Gippal, crossing his arms over his chest.
"That's fantabulous!" Rikku pouted sarcastically, making up words as usual and flailing her arms around, giving up. After a bit of silence, Rikku asked, "It's just how you are, I guess."
"What do you mean?"
"You always forgive a cute face."
Baralai's interest in the conversation skyrocketed. Gippal thinks I'm cute?
"Aw, c'mon now… I forgive you whenever you do something stupidish."
"So you think he's cute?"
"He's completely, adorably, hotly cute."
"I didn't need to hear all of that."
I did, Baralai thought, grinning like a child. Perhaps his own interest in Gippal wasn't for nothing.
"Well, he is."
"Groped him yet?"
"Wh--no way! … Well, accidentally."
"Oh yeah right!"
"It was an accident, really!"
"Betcha can't keep the 'accident' off of your mind."
Gippal said nothing in defense except for, "I was lathering some potion on his leg and accidentally slipped my hand up to his crotch…"
"'Potion?' Sounds more like lube to me."
Baralai had to laugh. It hurt to laugh, but he couldn't stop himself. He had a habit of laughing loudly and for a little while. Rikku and Gippal stared at him.
"You were listening?" asked Rikku, cheerfully, delighted by the fact that Gippal's opinion of Baralai had been heard by Baralai. The Yevonite grinned, walking up to Gippal and pulling on his tie.
"'Completely, adorably, hotly cute?'"
"If you weren't wounded, I'd kill you," Gippal said, yanking back his tie. There was a blush across his face.
"You already grabbed his crotch," Rikku noted.
"I told you that was an accident," Gippal defended, for at Rikku's comment, Baralai started to laugh again. Gippal looked at him and snapped, "And you! Go back to bed!"
"I'm hungry though!"
"Fine, Rikku feed him!"
"Feed me with your loooove, baby!" Baralai pulled on Gippal's tie again, emitting a shriek of giggles from Rikku. ((Hidama was right, Baralai should be careful of what he asks for ::rape rape::))
"Is the painkiller getting to your head?!" asked Gippal frantically, only a bit worried that Baralai was going to pounce him.
"Maybe…" Baralai cooed. Rikku giggled.
"I'll leave you two alone. Gippal, dnayd res famm, ev oui ghuf fryd e sayh…(treat him well, if you know what I mean…)"
Gippal's eye followed her, a blush over his face, as she skipped off happily. He noticed that Baralai was still pulling on his tie slightly.
"You… definitely need to eat."
"Aw, but this is more fun!"
Gippal grunted and gripped Baralai's arm.
"Leggo…"
"No."
"This is very unlike you."
"So? It's funny!"
When Baralai's grip of Gippal's tie was removed, he reached with his other hand. Gippal caught it.
"Eat. Now. Kitchen. We go."
With his hand intertwined with Baralai's, Gippal finally got the man into the kitchen. As they traveled, Baralai got more calm, and when Gippal ordered him to sit down at a table, he did. Baralai stared at the table with tired but not strained eyes and a warm smile stretching across his lips. Gippal was waiting for the chef to return to the kitchen, so he leaned against a doorframe, resting his back against it. His lips were slightly parted as if he was seeking something, though he wasn't sure what. He stared at Baralai with his only eye.
He was Gippal. He had gone out with every girl and every guy in Home that he was fond of. He was bisexual and wasn't afraid to flaunt it. Lately, he's had other feelings though… and Baralai's presence further confirmed his feelings.
He had broken up with Rikku for it. It wasn't his fault that he no longer felt attracted to girls… and it wasn't Rikku's fault either. He saw the male body and became more excited about it than he ever could with the female body. He was turned off by the female body and turned on by the male. ((this is hard to write… I feel just the opposite… bwahahhaa)) To Gippal, it was easier to "flow" with another man. He found that while he was with Rikku, he found that he felt… not disgusting, but not right whenever he kissed her, and soon he simply lost interest in her and saw her as a really good friend. He stopped dragging her along deeper into his confusing abyss and let her go. She knew that something was wrong, so she let him be for a while. But as it stood then they were great friends.
Baralai looked up to him and they shared a glance. They say that time stops when that sort of thing happens, but it didn't. In fact, it sped up, because the next thing Gippal knew, an Al Bhed woman was standing at his side.
"Oui'na milgo ouin haf puovneaht ec cu lida, udranfeca e fuimt pa ycmaab nekrd huf. (You're lucky your new boyfriend is so cute, otherwise I would be asleep right now.)"
"Ra'c hud sa puovneaht. (He's not my boyfriend.)"
"Oui't mega res du pa? (You'd like him to be?)"
"Hud cina. Tuh'd ghuf res famm ahuikr. (Not sure. Don't know him well enough.)"
"Rikku cyet oui knyppat rec lnudlr! (Rikku said you grabbed his crotch!)"
"Jeez… Funt dnyjamc vycd... yht e teth'd sayh du! Yht, e teth'd aqyldmo 'knyp' ed... so ryht cmebbat ib rec drekr. (Jeez… word travels fast… and I didn't mean to! And, I didn't exactly 'grab' it... my hand slipped up his thigh.)"
The girl laughed loudly. Baralai looked over.
"What's going on?"
"Hudrehk--ah, I mean nothing."
"Doesn't seem that way."
"Ra'c kud y hela juela, duu (He's got a nice voice, too)," said the Al Bhed girl as she prepared some food for Baralai. Gippal eyed her and then Baralai.
"Tuth'd naseht sa. (Don't remind me.)"
Baralai thanked the woman as she placed the tray of food onto the table in front of him. Although she couldn't understand him, she figured out what he was saying and nodded to him. Gippal took a seat across from Baralai, watching him.
Baralai stopped his fork midair.
"If you would kindly not watch me as I eat--"
"Does your back still hurt?" Gippal interrupted him, his eye not moving.
"Well, yes. I think that it will hurt for a while."
"But you can walk?"
"Yes. The doctor said that the painkiller would see to it that I could."
"The painkiller also drives you insane."
"I'm allowed to be out-of-it every once and a while."
They were silent and Gippal looked elsewhere after stealing some of Baralai's ham; Baralai hadn't minded.
"What did you and Nooj talk about?" asked Baralai, thinking about it suddenly. Gippal looked back to him.
"He needed some machina from me."
"For what?"
The entire thing still bugged Gippal.
"Supplies for the Youth League. Th-the Crusaders cut some of their funding."
Oh boy he could lie well. His eye was on Baralai's neck because for some reason, he couldn't look him in the face. Yevonites lied, so this should have been nothing-to-it. But in front of Baralai, Gippal couldn't say what exactly Nooj had told him. The boat trip crossed his mind and he prepared to tell Baralai about it--
"Gippal."
The Al Bhed's eye found Baralai's two brown ones.
"Cid mentioned being a mechanic, right?"
"Oayr."
"… That means yes?"
"Al Bhed slang for yes."
"Could Cid maybe build me something to get me back up to Bevelle?"
Don't you want to come with me?
"… Like what?"
"Up in Bevelle, there are platforms that glide through the air based upon the user's will."
"You guys have wings though."
"They are used by the maesters of Yevon who don't have wings. Also, if someone has a hurt wing."
Baralai paused.
"Or…"
"Or what?" Gippal wanted to know. Baralai looked up to the ceiling, tilting his head. "If the flier is too intoxicated to continue flying."
"Has that happened to you before?"
Baralai chuckled. Gippal rested his elbows on the table.
"So it has?"
"I'd rather not speak of it."
"Were you like you were tonight?"
"Worse."
"I've gotta get you some liquor then!"
Baralai flashed a smile in Gippal's direction.
"I'd r-rather you didn't…"
Gippal frowned and got up, asking, "You're still in pain?" He crossed over to Baralai as the Yevonite responded, "How many times are you going to ask me that?"
"Until it stops hurting," said Gippal, placing a hand on Baralai's back and sitting down in the chair next to him. "What about this--does this hurt?"
He trailed his fingers to where Baralai's wings once spread. Baralai shook his head. "As long as there's not much pressure on it; it's more of an internal pain anyway."
Gippal traced his fingers lightly over the stitches. Baralai winced.
"Okay, I lied."
Baralai faced him, studying his face suddenly.
"What happened to your eye?"
"Tried to stowaway onto a boat heading for Luca. Paid an odd price. I have a proper eye patch, but it broke."
"So why wear the gauze?"
"To cover the eye, what else? Cid's makin' me a new patch… he made my last one."
"So we're both broken men, huh?"
"Not quite. You just look like a normal lower Spiran now."
"I suppose so."
"It's not that bad, y'know. I mean, we can't fly…"
"It's not as though I've never used my feet before."
"True."
They sat in silence as Baralai finished eating, all the while Gippal tracing his fingers along Baralai's back. He was surprised that the Yevonite didn't mind. Baralai covered his mouth as he yawned.
"Want me to take you to bed?" asked Gippal. Baralai nodded, looking at the Al Bhed. They got up, walking back through the hall. They got to the room and Gippal gestured toward the bed.
"Well, g'night, Baralai."
Baralai leaned over, kissing Gippal's neck softly. Gippal's swirly green eye widened, then softened. Baralai turned.
"Good night."
Whew. Long chapter. In my notebook, that chapter is ch. 5 and 6, but I combined them. Expect the next ch. in a while… action and major EVIL in the next ch… BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. REVIEW!! ::bows and runs away::