A/N: I'm sad, the Yankees lost, and so horribly. There is always next year though, and we will come out on top as we always do. IsaBella-you're a true Boston fan and I respect that! I don't blame you for not feeling bad- you shouldn't. If you were raised the way I was to hate Boston you should have NO remorse for the Yankees or their fans. But sadly, the curse is not reversed yet. Not until The Bosox win the World Series, so we'll see. Lizzard-Gurl: you're killing me, really.
Chapter 14: Brilliant Disguise
The clouds that were threatening to converge over the sky in Djose had succeeded at doing so in Luca, extinguishing the brightness of the stars and blocking them from view. Baralai and Rikku hurriedly made their way to the club, hoping not to get caught in the possible rain that taunted the town. There was a small wagon to the side; it was wooden with an umbrella shading it. A man was selling flowers of every kind, each type in its own bucket. There was an array of colors, from pastel blues to peachy pinks: all of them beautiful.
The flowers caught Baralai's eye and he stopped suddenly to have a closer look. Picking up a yellow tulip, he handed the man ten gil. "I'll take this flower, please." He proclaimed as the man took his money and smiled. Baralai turned to Rikku and bowing lightly with his left arm behind him he handed her the cup shaped flower, a grin spreading on his lips. Rikku accepted it and glanced at him quizzically.
"What's this for, Baralai?" She asked, bringing the tulip to her nose and inhaling the fragrant bud happily. Erecting himself straight he protracted his left arm and she linked it with her right, the flower still pressed to her nose in her left hand. "You didn't have to, ya know." She smiled gratefully.
"I don't have to do anything." He replied wittily. "It's for our 'anniversary'. It'll make things more credible." They entered the club and scanned the contours of the room for Paine and Gippal. Spotting them in a booth by the stage, Baralai waved to them and they proceeded to walk over. Like always, the crowd was thick as was the air being there wasn't any ventilation to be seen except for the entryway.
Their noses adjusted to the common smell of cigarettes, sweat and the many types of perfumes and colognes the myriad of partygoers were wearing. As they reached the table, Gippal and Paine stood up, Gippal threw his hand out and Baralai reluctantly shook it. Rikku walked over to where Paine was sitting and the two women sat down.
"That's a pretty flower, Rikku." Gippal uttered, eyeing the bulb intently. Rikku rested her chin on her right hand and with her elbow to the table she looked up at him, beaming.
"Yeah, for our anniversary. He's so sweet." She replied, looking up at Baralai affectionately. Baralai placed his hand on her head, stroking her hair gently as he returned the glance along with a soft smile. His eyes sparkled with the spotlights from the dance floor as they flashed sporadically with the music that pulsed throughout the place.
"Would you like me to see if I can get something for you to put that in? And would you like your usual drink?" Baralai inquired, releasing the flower from her grasp. She nodded in approval and he examined Gippal.
"Want to go to the bar? I need to get us some drinks." He asked, pointing over in its direction. Gippal agreed and they turned to leave. Baralai shot a glance back to Rikku and curled his mouth.
"We'll be right back, don't go anywhere." Baralai joked, winking an eye at her. She reciprocated the gesture and waved, her fingers curling in a teasing manner.
"I wouldn't go anywhere without you, sweetie." She cooed, wrinkling her nose and smiling cutely. They walked off and the girls were alone. Paine focused her attention to the beer bottle in her hand, peeling back the label and smushing it back in place, using the condensation as an adhesive. After a few more repetitions, she looked wearily at Rikku and offered a nervous smile.
"You guys seem happy." Paine expressed unemotionally, putting the beer bottle down and sighing heavily. Rikku entwined her fingers and rested them on the table. She curved her lip and sighed herself, looking over to Baralai dreamily.
"Yeah, it's been won-der-ful." She droned contentedly. "I've never known anyone like him. He's so not like Gippal." This last phrase piqued Paine's interest and she turned to Rikku intent on having her elaborate on the subject.
"How so?" Paine wondered, studying Rikku's eyes with a curiosity only a cat could possess. Rikku faced the warrior, then taking another shot in Baralai's direction she began again.
"Gippal never treated me like I was so delicate. He was always so rough with me. Probably because we grew up together, he knew what he could and could not get away with." Rikku sighed delightfully, her eyes to the ceiling and hands to her cheeks. Paine shifted her neck back in disbelief, giving Rikku a look like she had been struck delirious by a Marlboro's toxic breath.
"But don't you think he's too doting?" Paine quizzed, picking up her Black and Tan and chugging the contents vigorously. "Sometimes he would just be so smothering, I couldn't handle it." She sounded frustrated, the beer took its effect, her eyes the first victim of drunkenness, drooping slightly and becoming glassy.
Rikku just smiled and shrugged. "Baralai? Too doting? Honey, when you've been with someone who doesn't show that kind of concern to someone who does, it's something you just want to experience over and over again." She was right, Gippal didn't mean to be so concrete, but he didn't offer up that kind of selflessness, that is- unless he wanted something. Paine rolled her eyes when Rikku wasn't looking. She thought Gippal was just fine.
"Gippal can be doting...when he wants to be." Paine noted, staring off in his direction. He raised his brows up at her as he gulped the mug of beer in his hand. It did seem lately he wasn't that way, but there were stresses to deal with, he didn't have such time for leisure. Rikku guffawed loudly, causing Paine to get annoyed.
"What's so funny?" Paine demanded as a scowl plastered to her lips wrathfully. She didn't like the tone in her laugh. Rikku continued to giggle, and Paine punched her in the shoulder.
"Owie, Paine! Why'd you do that?" She hissed, rubbing her arm up and down over the beaten part. "You want to know what's funny? The fact that you've only been with Gippal for about a month and you think you know him so well. I on the other hand have known him since I was five. You dare challenge me on his behaviors? Please." She noticed Paine about to strike, her words probably oiled with sarcasm and quick wit, but instead Rikku didn't give her the chance.
"Listen." Rikku reasoned, her hands back to the table. "I don't want to get into this, I want to enjoy my five day anniversary with my new boyfriend. If you have issues, then that's too bad. I'm going over to the guys. See you later." She stood up and left, grinning from ear to ear with satisfaction out of Paine's sight. Paine on the other hand, was sitting dumfounded once again, baffled by Rikku's words.
She watched as Rikku went over to Baralai and put her arms around him. Their eyes met with a longing that had been existent only at that moment, and Paine was convinced they cared for each other. Gippal on the other hand, tapped Rikku on her shoulder dissipating the minute portion of time with his finger. Her eyes stabbed him senseless, a look of ire about her.
"Tet oui fyhd cusadrehk, Gippal?" (Did you want something)? She phonated annoyed at his intrusion. Baralai was quiet as he held her, his hands gripping into her ribs, the cotton of her shirt felt soft against them. He too looked at Gippal upset he interrupted as well. A slow song came on and he cocked a smirk, putting his hand out to Rikku. It was one they danced to a long time ago and Rikku did smile remembering the memory.
"E fyc rubehk fa luimt cryna y tyhla" (I was hoping we could share a dance) He remarked and she separated from Baralai, Taking her screwdriver and chugging the contents before receiving his hand and approaching the dance floor. Baralai went back to the table with a beer bottle vase, the small drop that was the remains of her screwdriver, and a beer of his own back to where Paine was sitting. Gippal put his right arm around her waist, holding her left hand with his. He spun her around and sang into her ear, the mirror ball flickered, scattering spots over them and the other dancers.
"When I look into your eyes, your love is there for me; and the more I go inside the more there is to see." His lips brushed against her ear, his breath hot against it. She felt a little lightheaded, but she contained her composure, her body swaying with his as he continued to sing.
"Floating down the stream of time, from life to life with me; makes no difference where you are, or where you'd like to be." She turned around to the table where Paine and Baralai were sitting and noticed Paine glaring at her with a hostility of a Phantom fiend about to strike 'doom' on her.
"Does this bother you, Baralai?" Paine teased, pointing a finger toward the two as a sly smile curved her ruby lips, almost seeming to enjoy this. Secretly she wasn't. She didn't think it was funny at all. Baralai picked up on that vibe right away and eyed Paine as she took another swig of her beer. Her speech was the second victim of her drunkenness; slurred and raspy, with even more attitude than before. "She sheems to have gotten good at put-ting me in my plaaace. I shupposh this wash shore doing, huh? Cause you're upset that I dumped your sensitive self."
Baralai considered the fact that Paine was too drunk to be taken seriously, so he wasn't going to dignify her words with a response. He continued to watch Rikku and felt unusually uneasy; he couldn't figure out why, the plan was to try to win their other's back but he didn't like seeing her in Gippal's arms.
At this time, Rikku swirled her head back to normal and her face was in front of Gippal's; her nose felt cold against his and he breathed deeply.
"Yevon, I've missed you Rikku." He exhaled, pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened in shock as he kissed her. Yeah, she wanted this for so long, but he was still with Paine, it wasn't right. She didn't feel right. Ripping her hands away from him she pressed them to his silk shirt and pushed him away, tears beginning to swell in her eyes. Gippal looked at her confused, and grabbed her shoulders. The dancers around them focused on the two, ready for the conflict that had started.
"Gippal, fryd yna oui tuehk?" (What are you doing)? She screamed, trying to get him to hear her over the music. He pulled her back into his chest, her arms were at her sides and his face in her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of pears and apples he remembered so fondly.
"I still love you Rikku." He said, squeezing her tighter. The tears streamed down faster this time and soaked his shirt. Why was she crying? She'd waited a long time to hear him say that, why wasn't she happy? She lifted her chin up to look at him, the tears still dropping on the fabric, causing black spots to form on it. "Isn't this what you wanted to hear? I'm telling you now." He pulled in to kiss her again, but she tilted her head backward and his lips missed.
"What about Paine? She's right over there. Have you considered her at all?" She ejected, her voice shaky but growing more irate with the seconds. He wouldn't undo his arms from her waist so she stood there helplessly.
"Don't you love me, Rikku?" he asked, his eye drooping, his lips to a pout, looking as pathetic as he could. Her features softened and she smiled at him softly.
"I do. I never stopped. I put up a good front, I guess." She admitted, but she felt different. All her love didn't belong to only him, but she figured she could learn to deal with it. She was getting back with Gippal it seemed and she wanted this feeling to last. Realizing the deal her and Baralai made, she decided she wasn't going to kick Gippal to the curb. She wanted him back...right?
"Then, that proves it." He said sharply, pushing her out of his arms. She almost lost her balance, but she straightened out and walked toward him angrily. The crowd gave way and left them in a circle in the middle of the dance floor. This time, Paine's head was in her arms to the table, consciousness being victim number three of her drunkenness, and she passed out. Baralai sat there, watching the events unfold, ready to stand up at any given time.
"Proves what?" Rikku ordered, her body leaning in slightly and her fists to her sides, clenched tight. He smirked at her with eerie delight.
"You don't love Baralai. You two aren't together." He said plainly. Rikku scrambled to find the right words to come out of her mouth, but the well of words was dry and she stood stone silent before him. "This was a tactic to get us jealous so we would dump each other to go back to you guys. Really pitiful." He folded his arms and tilted his head back, laughing as Rikku stood there defeated, shaking and ready to cry.
"What about what you just said to me?" she assailed, her words like arrows piercing the air and stabbing him one after the other. His stance however didn't falter. He stood there vehemently, turning into someone she barely recognized.
"What about it? I had to say something to get you to admit you still loved me. Don't think I didn't notice that bin on your living room floor with all our memories in it. I knew you didn't just discard me, but I couldn't prove it." He was so frigid, so not like him. She continued to tremble, her face turned red, almost purple from the blood that was pumping through it. He continued. "As for Paine, I love her now. I'm not going to just leave her for you; you must've thought I was really that stupid. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rik." The crowed went silent and the music stopped. The mirror ball halted in its rotation and it seemed the only thing you could hear besides Paine's snoring from the table was Rikku's heart as it pounded through her chest in embarrassment. Without prior warning she ran through the crowd and out of the club as fast as her heels could carry her.
By this time the sky was crying, its tears filled the streets and crevasses that were in the plaza and everywhere not covered by an awning or tree. She sloshed through the plaza, her feet soaked from the puddles she splashed through. She couldn't stop, she didn't even know where she was going; running just seemed the only thing she could do, her legs had a life of their own. Finally, her brain processed what had happened. Gippal had one upped her- and there was nothing she could have done to prevent it. And what of Baralai? She left him there, probably with no clue as to what happened.
She headed down the Mi'hen; it was the only way home. The rain hung her hair with tears as she walked, not caring particularly that it was now a dark brown mess stuck to her now soaked shirt and pants. The rain beat her relentlessly, the drops feeling like mini pellets shot from a floral fiend on her back and arms. Still she trudged on, biting through the pain, biting through her shame.
Baralai made his way toward the center of the dance floor, he tried to stop Rikku but his cries for her to wait fell on deaf ears. Gippal was standing there pleased with himself when instantly a fist met his face with such force it knocked him on his ass. He lay on the floor, his elbows propping him up, and then he put a hand to his now bloody nose. Looking up, Baralai hovered above him, his fist still clenched with some of Gippal's blood dripping from it.
The onlookers seemed to gasp in unison, but no one moved. Now that Baralai was double the size of Gippal, he had become more afraid of him, especially since the incident back at his house a couple of weeks ago.
"How could you be so cruel?" Baralai yelled, grabbing Gippal and pulling him up like he did back at his house. He tossed Gippal across the floor and he staggered, wiping his face as he tried to focus on the man that knocked him out. "Why did you do that to her? Answer me!" he screamed, lunging for him again, but before Gippal could respond, two bouncers came and dragged Baralai out of the club, He kicked and screamed, but they didn't waiver and tossed him to the street.
Now, you must try to imagine that if Baralai is a broad man, the bouncers must be larger than he is or else they couldn't have been able to perform such a feat. Gippal rushed over to the table and jostled Paine from her slumber. She blinked her eyes wearily and looked at Gippal, shocked at the site of the blood and the bruise that was forming from the impact. Putting a hand to his face, suddenly she wasn't as drunk as she thought she was.
"Gippal! What happened to you? Where are Rikku and Baralai? What in Spira is going on?" She rambled, dipping a napkin into her beer and wiping it on Gippal's newly broken nose. He cringed from the sting, but he helped Paine stand up and they too headed for the exit.
"Let's go home." Gippal said somberly. "I'll explain everything when we get there." He propped her up and they left. The DJ started the music back up and the crowd resumed their dancing and drinking.
The rain continued to down pour as Baralai searched the plaza in vain for Rikku. His shirt was soaked, clinging to his frame like gum to the bottom of a shoe. "Rikku! Where are you? Rikku!" he screamed, his hands to his face creating a mock megaphone to carry his voice. He resolved to the sanctity of his hover and sped off down the Mi'hen, maybe she was there. "Still no sign of her, where did she get to?" he thought to himself, his foot pressing on the pedal speeding up the hover as it headed toward Djose.
Pulling into her parking lot, he saw her walking toward her building. Her body was soaked and pruny, not to mention her hair resembled a mop, drenched from the dirty water in a cleaning bucket. He jumped out of the hover and ran to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her into him. She collapsed in his arms and wailed into his chest. He stroked the sopping strands of her hair and tried to calm her down.
"Rikku its ok, I'm here, please relax." He pleaded, pinching the strands between his fingers, squeezing the rain out of them, hair by hair. The silk of his shirt to her face muffled her shouts. The rain was nonexistent to him, he didn't care it was coming down in buckets, drenching him even more. The only thing he could think of was comforting her, the way she did for him those other times. He held her as close to him as he could, it was her turn to finally let everything out being that she hadn't since he got to know her. She was always too busy tending to him and his problems. He knew this would happen eventually, just he didn't expect it to be so intense.
"Why did he do this to me, Baralai, how could he sink so low?" she sobbed uncontrollably, punching his chest with her small hands. Curling her into his chest, He walked her up to her apartment and they went inside. Making their way to Rikku's room she sat on the bed and breathed one sharp breath; Baralai knelt in front of her and looked her in the eyes, which were overrun with tears or rain, he couldn't tell. He placed his hands on her knees, the blue jeans she wore resembled black ones now from the rain. He stared at her with sympathy in his brown eyes. He didn't see it coming as she put her hands to his cheeks and moved forward, melting her lips to his, kissing him passionately.
His hands trailed from her knees all the way up to her waist, the wet shirt not leaving much to the imagination, revealing her curves underneath, the fabric felt cold and damp against his palms. Rikku moved her hands from his cheeks to the back of his neck and pulled herself closer to him, falling onto the floor in front of him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, his legs were bent and he continued to run his hands up the outside of her shirt, caressing the outline of her breasts. She let out a short gasp, and deepened the kiss, entering his mouth with her tongue. His tongue met with hers and he too let out a soft moan. She continued to grip at the nape of his neck and he ran his hands up and down her back, gripping at the cotton of her shirt frantically. Things were getting pretty heated but Baralai stopped; they were nose to nose, Rikku's eyes were partially open, dreamily gazing at him as she breathed deep and long.
"Why did you stop, Baralai?" she breathed, desperation filling her features. He exhaled and wiped her cheek, placing wet strands stuck to her face behind her ears.
"I can't just take advantage of you when you're like this." He reasoned, kissing her forehead. "Let me get you into warm clothes and into bed. We'll talk about this in the morning." He picked her up and sat her on the bed, then he walked into her closet, picking out a shirt and pants for her to wear. He handed them to her and Baralai turned around as she changed. Climbing into the warm covers, she nuzzled her head into her pillow.
"Stay with me until I fall asleep, please." She pleaded desperately. He sat at the edge of the bed, still damp from the rain outside. His hair was mussed up, wet and sticky from the rain and gel. Rikku lay on her right side, and he flittered his hand up and down her arm until she drifted off to sleep. This was by far the most confusing day to date, and where were they going to advance from here?
The song he was singing to Rikku is called 'Its all too much' by the Beatles. From my favorite cartoon 'Yellow Submarine'