This chapter is boring, sorry…
Chapter 10: Sleep On It
The silence between them seemed to scream in volumes as they drove; neither feeling compelled to bring up the scene they witnessed at the club in Luca. The trees, chocobos and machina along the contours of the Mi'hen were blended together creating a daiquiri of leaves, feathers and metal as Gippal's hover raced toward Djose. The quicker they got home, the sooner this night could be a memory although they weren't sure why the sight of Baralai and Rikku together was bothering them.
"I'm glad they found each other." Paine reasoned, staring out of her window into the infinite darkness. She leaned on her right hand, her chin cradled by the leather surface of her glove. From his angle, Gippal couldn't see her face, but the reflection in the window revealed a look of discontent, disturbed by pain or worry. He wasn't adept at reading Paine very well, but he could sense somehow she wasn't all that confident in what she just said.
"You say that a little apprehensively Paine is there a reason?" Gippal asked, placing his right hand to her left thigh, caressing the denim surface gently. Paine shifted her gaze from the scenery to Gippal's face, staring at him with an emotionless expression. She took a breath and thought for a moment as if trying to find the right words before answering the question.
"No. No reason, why should I care what those two do? It's none of my business." She countered, a hint of annoyance sprinkled in her tone. Gippal shook his head and removing his hand back to the steering wheel and pressing downward on the gas pedal, he accelerated across the Highroad Bridge around the bend to where Mushroom Rock Road began. She switched her attention back outside the window and sighed heavily. She hoped she wouldn't have to explain to him that she was feeling some hesitation about her comment. Luckily, Gippal didn't respond in protest; he too wasn't in the mood to indulge this conversation seeing as he was a little uneasy about it himself.
He agreed with Paine. Why should they care what Baralai and Rikku did? It wasn't like it would affect their lives in any way, well, maybe a little. As far as Gippal knew he was the only one Rikku had ever been with and seeing her with another man brought out something inside him he'd never felt before. Was it jealousy? He couldn't put his finger on it, but he wasn't pleased with the feeling nonetheless. Baralai was a good guy; Gippal knew this, yet he still felt like Baralai was impure, treading over sacred territory. He laughed in a quiet, hardly audible manner at that thought: Rikku: sacred territory. She would have been highly irate had she heard him use her in that analogy; Rikku never liked it when he acted like he owned her.
By Yevon's good graces, the two made it home. Exiting the hover, they hurried up the stairs to their apartment on the second floor. Still enshrouded in a cloak of silence, they retired to their bedroom, eager to sleep this night away. Climbing into bed, they lie back to back, each facing their side of the wall in front of them. It was painfully obvious at this point that this was going to be an issue and it would have to be dealt with accordingly. Just not tonight: they weren't up for the challenge.
---Kilika, Baralai's house: the same night---
Baralai sat uneasy in his black leather armchair, his nightly glass of red wine cradled in his hand. The fire was the only light the study was illuminated by; it caused shadows of the furniture to bounce off the wall in a distorted fashion. He stared into space, and all he could think of was the events of the night: the dancing, drinking, and the most inevitable memory: the kiss. Baralai cursed himself for crossing that line with Rikku; he wanted to blame the alcohol, but something wouldn't let him use it as an excuse. He knew what he was doing; he had to have…didn't he? It annoyed him that it perplexed him so, after all, Rikku didn't seem too bothered by it as he recalled what she had said to him when he apologized for his actions.
"It's ok. It was just for fun! Don't think anything of it." Baralai wanted to take comfort in those words, but at the same time they chided him. Did he want her to feel something other than friendship for him? No, they had decided against love, it was easier than putting themselves out there just to get smacked back down all over again. They promised to watch over each other; getting involved would only cloud all that reasoning. He still loved Paine, or so he thought. Wasn't that why he kissed Rikku in the first place? To make her jealous somehow? Not that it worked, its not like she came barreling through the sea of people ripping Rikku out of his grasp and dragging him off someplace begging him to take her back. Instead, she left, and with Gippal, not him. If that wasn't the pin to deflate Baralai's ego, then he wasn't sure what would at that point.
Even when it seems like you'll never win their love back; there is always this flicker of hope that it could happen. That's the last feeling to go: the hope, and Baralai still had that in spades, that is, unless he really felt something deeper than friendship for Rikku and he was confusing that with his feelings for Paine.
Reaching a hand into the drawer of the nightstand to his left, he pulled out a bottle of sleeping tablets. Occasionally, when the stresses of New Yevon would keep him awake for nights on end, he'd take one to help him sleep and tonight, he felt the need to indulge. He knew his thoughts weren't going to let him be and he wanted to relax with an empty mind, free of confusion and chaos. Shaking the little red pill out of the safety of its container, he threw it in his mouth and chased it down with the wine. Then, standing up, he extinguished the fire and exited the study, heading for his bedroom. Tomorrow was a clean slate, a fresh start, and he made a deal with himself to call Rikku in the morning and straighten this whole situation out, even if she wasn't concerned with it- he was, and he needed to do this for himself, if at all.
---Djose, Rikku's apartment---
Her bedroom was dark. The light from the streetlamp outside her window slipped inside effortlessly, hanging itself on the wall across from her bed. Rikku lay on her back in the obscurity, staring at the ceiling. The kiss was bothering her as well; something so simple seemed to be the cause of much worry for everyone that night. She recalled the feeling of security in his embrace as he kissed her. His arms were strong and her lips felt easily influenced by his as he took control, leading her into a temporary state of mushiness.
The kiss transported her back in time to her relationship with Gippal and how his kisses used to make her delirious, her legs taking on the texture of an 'Amorphous Gel': wobbly and unstable. Rikku knew she told Baralai it was no big deal, but as the evening went by and she had more time to think about it, she thought maybe she was feeling something for him. Was it too soon? Is there a time limit on when your heart is supposed to heal every time it's broken? Maybe she was just in love with the fact that she felt the need to protect him from the 'Paine's' in Spira. For some reason she envisioned him as a gullible child, eager to give his heart to anyone who needed it regardless if they took care of it or not. No, that couldn't be entirely true. If that were the case how could he be praetor if others easily swayed him? Anybody could use that to their advantage, bringing ruin back to Spira and wreaking havoc. He had to be stronger than that. She felt remorseful at that moment, selling him short when she knew other wise.
Rolling over to her side in frustration, she fixated her gaze across the room where she noticed a picture of Gippal she didn't put in the bin with the rest of them. He was leaning against the wall of the Celsius, his spikes stood sturdy as straw in the wind and his arms were folded before him. He had a devilish smirk plastered to his face like he did nine out of every ten times he smiled. That smile really did her in; it was the one that ultimately made her fall for him in the first place. Now she was really confused. Who were her feelings for? Could she have the capacity to love two men? Is it rebound love for Baralai? Or could it be real? Eventually from exhaustion, Rikku at some point shut herself off and drifted to sleep, forgetting everything she was just thinking. Tomorrow was another day and full of limitless possibilities. She'd worry about everything tomorrow, like everyone else.
None of them knew what the next day would hold for them, anybody's guess would suffice, and that was for certain.
A/N: This chapter was weird, and for that, I apologize. I know it doesn't seem to be exciting, but I'm sure it has a purpose, I'm not positive.