A/N: Whew, finally got around to starting this chapter. ;_; I noticed that
it's taken me longer to get these chapters out than I intended. I'm glad
you all have the patience for me. ^^;;
{{ Chapter 4: Journey of the Heart }}
***
Rikku felt her pulse quicken as Gippal watched her, his gaze penetrating.
"Wh-what do you mean? You're actually thinking of coming along?" she managed to utter in shock. Gippal seemed to laugh at this.
"You sound surprised," he replied with ease. Seating himself down next to her on the bed, Gippal kicked off his boots and raised his legs on the mattress, leaning back against the pillows that he had propped up earlier. Rikku watched him in disbelief, amazed at how calm he seemed towards the situation.
She saw that one of his legs was almost touching the bare skin of her own. Catching this, she tried to discreetly move herself away in embarrassment. Rikku could feel her face flaming, and she sincerely hoped Gippal hadn't noticed.
"Do you think you can handle it out there on your own?" he asked again, his tone more serious.
"Hey! I helped defeat Vegnagun, y'know!" Rikku replied defensively. She crossed her arms at him, her anger getting the best of her. It didn't seem like he thought she could survive out there.
Rikku felt Gippal shift on the bed as he moved closer to her.
"That's my point, Rikku. You only "helped." You didn't beat it on your own, so you need someone to help you now, and—"
"You know what? I'm sick of hearing that!" Rikku suddenly interrupted, her voice rising sharply. She tore her gaze away from him.
Gippal froze at the tone of her voice and decided to stop. He sat up so he was sitting next to her now. His eye looked over her face hesitantly. He could see her eyes beginning to water.
"Hey, what's wrong? I was only trying to point out that—"
"No, you don't understand, Gippal! You can never understand..." Rikku interrupted again. Her voice had lowered this time and Gippal almost didn't hear her last statement. His eyes searched her face in confusion, trying to figure out what had caused this sudden outburst from her. She was always so cheerful and happy—
"Everyone always thinks that good ol' Rikku will always be happy and smiling. No one ever thinks I'm good enough for anything else besides being a sidekick, or...or just for backup," Rikku whispered. Her voice shook this time.
Gippal said nothing, his face serious as he listened to her words. He looked down at his own boots, hating himself for causing this reaction from her.
After a brief pause, he heard Rikku speak again, slowly this time.
"Since the beginning, I've always been the one who watched out for everyone...the one who always worried when no one else did. I was always the one who tried to make people smile when they were sad—the one who told them that everything was going to be ok even when I knew it wasn't. Everything I could do to see people smile, I did. Sometimes it hurt me that I had to lie to them just so their sadness would go away. I told them that...just because I knew how much it could take their pain away...if only for a little while. I did all that and more...and you know what?" Rikku asked quietly.
She turned to him this time, her eyes shining with tears.
Gippal felt his heart tear at the sight of her face, her shaking words and pain-filled eyes cutting deep within him. He forced himself to meet her gaze though.
"In all my years here in Spira...no person has ever done anything like that to me, Gippal. Nobody. Not my father, not my brother, not even Yuna or Paine..." Rikku whispered, her voice cracking. Tears flowed down her face freely as she could no longer control her feelings. She raised a hand to wipe her tears hastily away, trying to recompose herself. "I know I shouldn't complain about such a stupid thing like this, but sometimes I feel so lonely inside...sometimes I just want to feel as if I have some other purpose in this world. Something I can hold onto and look forward to the next day...I've always felt alone..."
"Rikku..."
She raised her eyes up to his, and she knew she looked like hell. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she knew her face was swollen from her sobbing. Turning herself away from him, Rikku wiped her tears away, suddenly feeling foolish that she had reacted this way towards him. He must have thought she was crazy now.
"You know what, Gippal. Forget it. I'm sorry I cried in front of you like this...I—"
"No, Rikku. You don't have to say it," Gippal suddenly said to her. He stood from the bed and sat down in the chair that was in front of Rikku so he could fully face her. She still refused to meet his gaze.
"You don't need to apologize at all. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you..." he continued. She raised her eyes to meet his this time and Gippal found the courage to speak some more. It hurt him to see her like this. And he knew he was partly to blame.
"You know. You've made me realize something about myself, Rikku," he chuckled lightly before his tone turned serious. She met his gaze with her own.
He scratched the back of his head before continuing. "All my life it's always been machina this, machina that. When I was a kid, I was already the youngest one who knew everything there was about machina. I even designed a few myself..." he trailed off for a moment, his good eye looking at the machina plans hanging around the room.
"I've uh...never really been too good at uh, showing my feelings. To be honest, I think I was too oblivious to anything else around me besides machina. When they made me the leader of the faction, it's like I had to grow up quicker than I really was. Hell, I'm only eighteen," Gippal spoke. He saw that Rikku's tears had stopped and she was now listening to him, her eyes clearer than before.
"I never really had time to talk about my feelings or any of that. But I think I'm finally starting to realize who I really am. On the outside I guess I...try to keep that tough guy attitude even if things are exploding all around me, y'know? I try to joke around with everyone, even if I don't always feel that way in the inside..." he seemed to trail off at this point.
"...I'm...sorry, Gippal," Rikku spoke softly when she heard him pause.
Gippal turned to her with a light smile. "Nah, don't be sorry 'bout me. None of this is your fault. If anyone's to blame, I blame myself. What you told me just now makes me remember all the times my mother used to comfort me...I guess I took her love for granted—and I regret it now that she's gone," Gippal said after a while.
A pause.
"I guess we're sorta similar then," Rikku replied quietly. She looked down at her hands, feeling Gippal's gaze on her.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
"I guess we are..."
A few more seconds of quiet passed between them, neither knowing what else to say to each other. A gentle knock at the door caused them both to look up.
Gippal promptly stood from the bed and brushed himself off.
"Who is it?" he asked in the direction of the door.
"We're awaiting your orders, sir," came an Al Bhed's voice from the other side.
Gippal paused and thought to himself before raising his head to reply.
"Guadosalam. If we start now, we can make it by sunset," Gippal replied firmly. He turned his gaze to Rikku, who was staring back at him. He offered her a reassuring smile. "Guess our journey starts here, doesn't it?"
Rikku smiled back, the familiar warmth of her green eyes returning as she met his gaze. "You drive a hard bargain."
Gippal simply nodded in response and wandered over to the chair again, feeling the airship's engines starting up. He sat down and let his one eye stare out into the window, the warm rays of light soothing him.
***
"How many more hours, Yuna?"
"According to the captain, we should be arriving to Macalania Forest in about three more hours," Yuna replied.
Paine groaned. "Macalania? Isn't that place dead already?"
Yuna couldn't help but giggle gently at her friend's blunt words.
"Well it's dying, yes, but it IS the closest to Zanarkand..."
"You have a point...but ah, damn. If we were on the Celsius, we would've already been there by now," Paine replied.
Yuna didn't answer to this. Thoughts of her old home with Brother, Buddy, and Shinra caused her heart to ache. She still remembered the pained look on Brother's face when she told them they were leaving. Buddy didn't understand why they wanted to leave. Since Shinra's strange disappearance after Vegnagun was destroyed, the two men didn't want to lose the other members of the Gullwings. But...it happened. In the end, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine had left their familiar home on the Celsius.
As much as she loved it there, time passed and Yuna just wanted to stay in one place that didn't involve remaining in the air. She knew it hurt Buddy and Brother, but the two men had let them go with reassuring smiles, saying that everything was going to be ok.
Paine's words cut through her thoughts. "You okay, Yuna?"
She turned to face her friend and smiled softly. "I'm fine."
***
Rikku sat facing Gippal, her green eyes watching him curiously.
Her sudden outburst earlier was just now sinking in, and she was slowly accepting the fact that she had just cried in front of him. The last person Rikku cried in front of was Yuna, and that was two years ago during the pilgrimage. She paused at the thought. Two years. Rikku hadn't cried in two years until now.
Her gaze traveled to Gippal. He was staring out the window with a removed expression on his face. He didn't seem to see her at that moment.
What he had said earlier about her only "helping" and never really doing anything for herself caused her to pause. Although Rikku enjoyed her missions with the Gullwings, that emptiness inside her continued to haunt her—a constant struggle within that she didn't quite understand. What really bothered her? Why did Gippal's words cause her to react so angrily?
Rikku groaned softly in her own confusion and dropped down on the bed. Gippal looked over at her.
"Something the matter?" he asked.
"Nothing, nothing," Rikku replied from her position on the bed.
"Ok. If you say so," Gippal responded. Rikku could hear traces of a smile in his voice and she sat up, meeting his gaze.
"Hey, what's so funny?" she decided to ask.
Gippal smiled a little more this time as Rikku continued to glare at him in confusion.
"It's just that...well...your hair is..."
Rikku jumped off the bed and stood up, her hands going up into her hair instinctively. "What? What about my hair...oh..." she said softly, realizing what he was laughing at.
Gippal smiled back at her, the grin widening as Rikku rushed over to the small mirror on the other side of the room. A bubble of laughter escaped his lips as he saw Rikku's reflection from his position on the chair.
The girl's hair stuck out wildly in all directions, strands coming loose from her blue bandana. Gippal turned his head so he could fully see her with his good eye.
With a groan, he watched as Rikku raised her arms up to her hair and untied the bandana, letting her long hair and braids spill down her back. His eyes widened at the sight and he felt his mouth dropping slowly at her long hair. This was the first time he saw her hair out of the confines of the bandana. He couldn't seem to tear his gaze away.
Rikku unclasped the pins that held her braids up and she slowly began to straighten the strands again with her fingers. From her position in front of the mirror, she could see Gippal's reflection. He was watching her.
She turned around to face him, her golden locks spilling down her back. "May I ask what you are looking at?" Rikku asked playfully.
It took Gippal a moment to respond, his gaze unmoving as the long strands framed her face. He shook his thoughts away.
"I uh. It's just that I've never seen you with your hair like...this..." Gippal managed to respond after a while.
Rikku raised an eyebrow at him and turned back to the mirror, not quite knowing how to respond to his comment. She suddenly began to feel very self- conscious knowing that Gippal had been watching her. Quickly putting her long braids and strands up into place again, she began to reach over for the blue bandana.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but...uh..." Gippal spoke up from behind her.
She looked at him through their reflections in the mirror. Still holding her hair up with both hands, Rikku turned to face him.
"Hm? What is it?"
Gippal paused again. "You should really think of leaving your hair down like that. It uh...suits you."
Rikku couldn't help but laugh out loud, prompting Gippal to stand up in surprise.
"What's so...funny?" he asked her, crossing his arms.
She quickly tied the bandana around her head, setting her hair back into its normal style. "You know Gippal. You can make fun of me once, but now it's just getting old," Rikku giggled.
"Huh? What are you talkin' about?" Gippal asked in confusion. He watched as she turned around, a small smile on her face.
She rolled her eyes and walked past him, seating herself on his bed again. Bending down to retrieve her boots, Rikku quietly pulled them on.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about. Care to explain?" Gippal continued. He wasn't going to let her get away with whatever the hell she was saying. All he did was give her a simple compliment, right?
"My hair. You laughed at me because it was messy. So I fixed it now. I'm not letting you make fun of me some more by keeping it down," Rikku replied, still laughing softly. Straightening her arm ribbons, she stood up and faced him.
Gippal stood his ground, completely caught off guard at what she had said. "That's not what I meant..." he began.
"Fine, fine. Whatever you say..." Rikku responded as she cut him off.
Without waiting for his reply, she walked to the door and opened it, stepping outside.
"I'll be up at the deck if you need me..." she told him.
Gippal watched as the door shut behind her. He scratched the back of his head, a habit he was doing so much lately. Total confusion washed over him at what had just happened, but he decided to brush it away. Deciding to head to the bridge to give the men his orders, he exited his bedroom as well.
***
Rikku walked slowly to the elevator, making her way up to sit on the deck of the airship. She marveled at how similar the interior of Gippal's airship was to the Celsius. Almost everything was the same, except that this airship was bigger and had three cabins instead of one.
As the elevator arrived to the top, Rikku found herself wandering over to the balcony of the deck. She let herself lean against the railings, the wind tousling her hair. It was a little past noon, but the air was surprisingly cool. She guessed they were approaching Guadosalam already.
Her eyes gazed out into the endless blue, the white clouds passing her by. She found her thoughts drifting back to the conversation she had with Gippal moments ago. For some reason, his words still echoed in her mind. She didn't know why it had bothered her that he commented upon her hair. It seemed like such a small thing to get herself worked up about, but Rikku couldn't quite understand what she was feeling.
She wasn't going to lie though. Rikku knew that she had deliberately pretended that he hadn't complimented her. To be honest, she didn't even know why she was trying to avoid it. Instead of saying "thank you" she made it seem as if he was just trying to make fun of her.
Rikku squeezed her eyes shut and raised a hand to her head in frustration with herself.
"I'm such an dummy. Tysh...what's wrong with me?" she asked herself aloud.
Trying to sort out her feelings, she tried to remember what had happened back then. Gippal had implied that she looked nice with her hair down. Rikku froze at the thought. She wasn't used to receiving compliments, so Rikku guessed the feeling was new to her. When Gippal said that to her, it made her feel...pretty—something she wasn't so used to.
Coming in terms with herself, she decided to offer an apology. But not with words.
Reaching back up to her hair, her fingers found the knot in the bandana. She pulled it off her head in one quick motion, feeling her long hair falling down around her again. The wind blew her strands wildly about, no longer in the familiar bandana she had grown used to.
With a short nod to herself, Rikku turned back towards the lift, hoping that Gippal would understand what she was trying to do by letting her hair down for him.
***
A/N: Awww, over already? ;_; Don't worry, Chapter 5 coming soon. ^^ And thanks again for all the wonderful, (and I mean WONDERFUL) reviews!
In case you guys don't know:
TRANSLATION: "Tysh." -- "Damn."
^^;
{{ Chapter 4: Journey of the Heart }}
***
Rikku felt her pulse quicken as Gippal watched her, his gaze penetrating.
"Wh-what do you mean? You're actually thinking of coming along?" she managed to utter in shock. Gippal seemed to laugh at this.
"You sound surprised," he replied with ease. Seating himself down next to her on the bed, Gippal kicked off his boots and raised his legs on the mattress, leaning back against the pillows that he had propped up earlier. Rikku watched him in disbelief, amazed at how calm he seemed towards the situation.
She saw that one of his legs was almost touching the bare skin of her own. Catching this, she tried to discreetly move herself away in embarrassment. Rikku could feel her face flaming, and she sincerely hoped Gippal hadn't noticed.
"Do you think you can handle it out there on your own?" he asked again, his tone more serious.
"Hey! I helped defeat Vegnagun, y'know!" Rikku replied defensively. She crossed her arms at him, her anger getting the best of her. It didn't seem like he thought she could survive out there.
Rikku felt Gippal shift on the bed as he moved closer to her.
"That's my point, Rikku. You only "helped." You didn't beat it on your own, so you need someone to help you now, and—"
"You know what? I'm sick of hearing that!" Rikku suddenly interrupted, her voice rising sharply. She tore her gaze away from him.
Gippal froze at the tone of her voice and decided to stop. He sat up so he was sitting next to her now. His eye looked over her face hesitantly. He could see her eyes beginning to water.
"Hey, what's wrong? I was only trying to point out that—"
"No, you don't understand, Gippal! You can never understand..." Rikku interrupted again. Her voice had lowered this time and Gippal almost didn't hear her last statement. His eyes searched her face in confusion, trying to figure out what had caused this sudden outburst from her. She was always so cheerful and happy—
"Everyone always thinks that good ol' Rikku will always be happy and smiling. No one ever thinks I'm good enough for anything else besides being a sidekick, or...or just for backup," Rikku whispered. Her voice shook this time.
Gippal said nothing, his face serious as he listened to her words. He looked down at his own boots, hating himself for causing this reaction from her.
After a brief pause, he heard Rikku speak again, slowly this time.
"Since the beginning, I've always been the one who watched out for everyone...the one who always worried when no one else did. I was always the one who tried to make people smile when they were sad—the one who told them that everything was going to be ok even when I knew it wasn't. Everything I could do to see people smile, I did. Sometimes it hurt me that I had to lie to them just so their sadness would go away. I told them that...just because I knew how much it could take their pain away...if only for a little while. I did all that and more...and you know what?" Rikku asked quietly.
She turned to him this time, her eyes shining with tears.
Gippal felt his heart tear at the sight of her face, her shaking words and pain-filled eyes cutting deep within him. He forced himself to meet her gaze though.
"In all my years here in Spira...no person has ever done anything like that to me, Gippal. Nobody. Not my father, not my brother, not even Yuna or Paine..." Rikku whispered, her voice cracking. Tears flowed down her face freely as she could no longer control her feelings. She raised a hand to wipe her tears hastily away, trying to recompose herself. "I know I shouldn't complain about such a stupid thing like this, but sometimes I feel so lonely inside...sometimes I just want to feel as if I have some other purpose in this world. Something I can hold onto and look forward to the next day...I've always felt alone..."
"Rikku..."
She raised her eyes up to his, and she knew she looked like hell. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she knew her face was swollen from her sobbing. Turning herself away from him, Rikku wiped her tears away, suddenly feeling foolish that she had reacted this way towards him. He must have thought she was crazy now.
"You know what, Gippal. Forget it. I'm sorry I cried in front of you like this...I—"
"No, Rikku. You don't have to say it," Gippal suddenly said to her. He stood from the bed and sat down in the chair that was in front of Rikku so he could fully face her. She still refused to meet his gaze.
"You don't need to apologize at all. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you..." he continued. She raised her eyes to meet his this time and Gippal found the courage to speak some more. It hurt him to see her like this. And he knew he was partly to blame.
"You know. You've made me realize something about myself, Rikku," he chuckled lightly before his tone turned serious. She met his gaze with her own.
He scratched the back of his head before continuing. "All my life it's always been machina this, machina that. When I was a kid, I was already the youngest one who knew everything there was about machina. I even designed a few myself..." he trailed off for a moment, his good eye looking at the machina plans hanging around the room.
"I've uh...never really been too good at uh, showing my feelings. To be honest, I think I was too oblivious to anything else around me besides machina. When they made me the leader of the faction, it's like I had to grow up quicker than I really was. Hell, I'm only eighteen," Gippal spoke. He saw that Rikku's tears had stopped and she was now listening to him, her eyes clearer than before.
"I never really had time to talk about my feelings or any of that. But I think I'm finally starting to realize who I really am. On the outside I guess I...try to keep that tough guy attitude even if things are exploding all around me, y'know? I try to joke around with everyone, even if I don't always feel that way in the inside..." he seemed to trail off at this point.
"...I'm...sorry, Gippal," Rikku spoke softly when she heard him pause.
Gippal turned to her with a light smile. "Nah, don't be sorry 'bout me. None of this is your fault. If anyone's to blame, I blame myself. What you told me just now makes me remember all the times my mother used to comfort me...I guess I took her love for granted—and I regret it now that she's gone," Gippal said after a while.
A pause.
"I guess we're sorta similar then," Rikku replied quietly. She looked down at her hands, feeling Gippal's gaze on her.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.
"I guess we are..."
A few more seconds of quiet passed between them, neither knowing what else to say to each other. A gentle knock at the door caused them both to look up.
Gippal promptly stood from the bed and brushed himself off.
"Who is it?" he asked in the direction of the door.
"We're awaiting your orders, sir," came an Al Bhed's voice from the other side.
Gippal paused and thought to himself before raising his head to reply.
"Guadosalam. If we start now, we can make it by sunset," Gippal replied firmly. He turned his gaze to Rikku, who was staring back at him. He offered her a reassuring smile. "Guess our journey starts here, doesn't it?"
Rikku smiled back, the familiar warmth of her green eyes returning as she met his gaze. "You drive a hard bargain."
Gippal simply nodded in response and wandered over to the chair again, feeling the airship's engines starting up. He sat down and let his one eye stare out into the window, the warm rays of light soothing him.
***
"How many more hours, Yuna?"
"According to the captain, we should be arriving to Macalania Forest in about three more hours," Yuna replied.
Paine groaned. "Macalania? Isn't that place dead already?"
Yuna couldn't help but giggle gently at her friend's blunt words.
"Well it's dying, yes, but it IS the closest to Zanarkand..."
"You have a point...but ah, damn. If we were on the Celsius, we would've already been there by now," Paine replied.
Yuna didn't answer to this. Thoughts of her old home with Brother, Buddy, and Shinra caused her heart to ache. She still remembered the pained look on Brother's face when she told them they were leaving. Buddy didn't understand why they wanted to leave. Since Shinra's strange disappearance after Vegnagun was destroyed, the two men didn't want to lose the other members of the Gullwings. But...it happened. In the end, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine had left their familiar home on the Celsius.
As much as she loved it there, time passed and Yuna just wanted to stay in one place that didn't involve remaining in the air. She knew it hurt Buddy and Brother, but the two men had let them go with reassuring smiles, saying that everything was going to be ok.
Paine's words cut through her thoughts. "You okay, Yuna?"
She turned to face her friend and smiled softly. "I'm fine."
***
Rikku sat facing Gippal, her green eyes watching him curiously.
Her sudden outburst earlier was just now sinking in, and she was slowly accepting the fact that she had just cried in front of him. The last person Rikku cried in front of was Yuna, and that was two years ago during the pilgrimage. She paused at the thought. Two years. Rikku hadn't cried in two years until now.
Her gaze traveled to Gippal. He was staring out the window with a removed expression on his face. He didn't seem to see her at that moment.
What he had said earlier about her only "helping" and never really doing anything for herself caused her to pause. Although Rikku enjoyed her missions with the Gullwings, that emptiness inside her continued to haunt her—a constant struggle within that she didn't quite understand. What really bothered her? Why did Gippal's words cause her to react so angrily?
Rikku groaned softly in her own confusion and dropped down on the bed. Gippal looked over at her.
"Something the matter?" he asked.
"Nothing, nothing," Rikku replied from her position on the bed.
"Ok. If you say so," Gippal responded. Rikku could hear traces of a smile in his voice and she sat up, meeting his gaze.
"Hey, what's so funny?" she decided to ask.
Gippal smiled a little more this time as Rikku continued to glare at him in confusion.
"It's just that...well...your hair is..."
Rikku jumped off the bed and stood up, her hands going up into her hair instinctively. "What? What about my hair...oh..." she said softly, realizing what he was laughing at.
Gippal smiled back at her, the grin widening as Rikku rushed over to the small mirror on the other side of the room. A bubble of laughter escaped his lips as he saw Rikku's reflection from his position on the chair.
The girl's hair stuck out wildly in all directions, strands coming loose from her blue bandana. Gippal turned his head so he could fully see her with his good eye.
With a groan, he watched as Rikku raised her arms up to her hair and untied the bandana, letting her long hair and braids spill down her back. His eyes widened at the sight and he felt his mouth dropping slowly at her long hair. This was the first time he saw her hair out of the confines of the bandana. He couldn't seem to tear his gaze away.
Rikku unclasped the pins that held her braids up and she slowly began to straighten the strands again with her fingers. From her position in front of the mirror, she could see Gippal's reflection. He was watching her.
She turned around to face him, her golden locks spilling down her back. "May I ask what you are looking at?" Rikku asked playfully.
It took Gippal a moment to respond, his gaze unmoving as the long strands framed her face. He shook his thoughts away.
"I uh. It's just that I've never seen you with your hair like...this..." Gippal managed to respond after a while.
Rikku raised an eyebrow at him and turned back to the mirror, not quite knowing how to respond to his comment. She suddenly began to feel very self- conscious knowing that Gippal had been watching her. Quickly putting her long braids and strands up into place again, she began to reach over for the blue bandana.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but...uh..." Gippal spoke up from behind her.
She looked at him through their reflections in the mirror. Still holding her hair up with both hands, Rikku turned to face him.
"Hm? What is it?"
Gippal paused again. "You should really think of leaving your hair down like that. It uh...suits you."
Rikku couldn't help but laugh out loud, prompting Gippal to stand up in surprise.
"What's so...funny?" he asked her, crossing his arms.
She quickly tied the bandana around her head, setting her hair back into its normal style. "You know Gippal. You can make fun of me once, but now it's just getting old," Rikku giggled.
"Huh? What are you talkin' about?" Gippal asked in confusion. He watched as she turned around, a small smile on her face.
She rolled her eyes and walked past him, seating herself on his bed again. Bending down to retrieve her boots, Rikku quietly pulled them on.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about. Care to explain?" Gippal continued. He wasn't going to let her get away with whatever the hell she was saying. All he did was give her a simple compliment, right?
"My hair. You laughed at me because it was messy. So I fixed it now. I'm not letting you make fun of me some more by keeping it down," Rikku replied, still laughing softly. Straightening her arm ribbons, she stood up and faced him.
Gippal stood his ground, completely caught off guard at what she had said. "That's not what I meant..." he began.
"Fine, fine. Whatever you say..." Rikku responded as she cut him off.
Without waiting for his reply, she walked to the door and opened it, stepping outside.
"I'll be up at the deck if you need me..." she told him.
Gippal watched as the door shut behind her. He scratched the back of his head, a habit he was doing so much lately. Total confusion washed over him at what had just happened, but he decided to brush it away. Deciding to head to the bridge to give the men his orders, he exited his bedroom as well.
***
Rikku walked slowly to the elevator, making her way up to sit on the deck of the airship. She marveled at how similar the interior of Gippal's airship was to the Celsius. Almost everything was the same, except that this airship was bigger and had three cabins instead of one.
As the elevator arrived to the top, Rikku found herself wandering over to the balcony of the deck. She let herself lean against the railings, the wind tousling her hair. It was a little past noon, but the air was surprisingly cool. She guessed they were approaching Guadosalam already.
Her eyes gazed out into the endless blue, the white clouds passing her by. She found her thoughts drifting back to the conversation she had with Gippal moments ago. For some reason, his words still echoed in her mind. She didn't know why it had bothered her that he commented upon her hair. It seemed like such a small thing to get herself worked up about, but Rikku couldn't quite understand what she was feeling.
She wasn't going to lie though. Rikku knew that she had deliberately pretended that he hadn't complimented her. To be honest, she didn't even know why she was trying to avoid it. Instead of saying "thank you" she made it seem as if he was just trying to make fun of her.
Rikku squeezed her eyes shut and raised a hand to her head in frustration with herself.
"I'm such an dummy. Tysh...what's wrong with me?" she asked herself aloud.
Trying to sort out her feelings, she tried to remember what had happened back then. Gippal had implied that she looked nice with her hair down. Rikku froze at the thought. She wasn't used to receiving compliments, so Rikku guessed the feeling was new to her. When Gippal said that to her, it made her feel...pretty—something she wasn't so used to.
Coming in terms with herself, she decided to offer an apology. But not with words.
Reaching back up to her hair, her fingers found the knot in the bandana. She pulled it off her head in one quick motion, feeling her long hair falling down around her again. The wind blew her strands wildly about, no longer in the familiar bandana she had grown used to.
With a short nod to herself, Rikku turned back towards the lift, hoping that Gippal would understand what she was trying to do by letting her hair down for him.
***
A/N: Awww, over already? ;_; Don't worry, Chapter 5 coming soon. ^^ And thanks again for all the wonderful, (and I mean WONDERFUL) reviews!
In case you guys don't know:
TRANSLATION: "Tysh." -- "Damn."
^^;