A/N: First up, sorry for the title, I think all the years of English have finally warped me into the Queen of Rhetorical Devices... Blessed be the magic three! -groans-
Secondly, thanks again, all of you, for reviewing for little old me! It makes me so happy, to the point of smiling like the village idiot, but I don't care, you LIKE me, you really like me! -groans again- I promise I'll stop with the puns and cliches and whatnot, VERY soon, I've just got to get over this particular affliction. And speaking of afflictions, I have a STUPID cold! I can't breathe through my nose and my head hurts and I sneeze and cough and create a huge mess because of it and I can't go to my band rehearsal cos I sing worse than usual! -cries, before takingdeep breath to continue- Actually, I think I'll stop moaning, -Star99- seems to have gone into a coma...
One more thing, I promise this is it, but, if anyone doesn't recognise the song titles that I've put down here, that's a good thing, cos they're MY songs! -giggles- I've always pictured Rikku to pretty much like any and every type of music as long as she could bop along to it, but I've put in rather scary choices seeing as I'm to lazy to do more disclaimers for other peoples' music, so I'll leave it as my own, who knows, if education falls through I could be a rockstar! -cracks up-
For the last few chappies, I've neglected this, so: STILL DON'T OWN FINAL FANTASY, EVEN IF I AM A GOD!
Now, onto the various thank yous and general banter, it's so fun replying to people who review! Yay for reviewing!
-Rikku SWiRLS- Awww... thanks so much for the nice things you wrote, even though I'm wondering how far up the scale of 1 to bad I should mark the comment 'update or burn' as. Eh, I'll take it as flattery, and I hope this was a quick enough update to save myself from being roasted like a suckling pig on a spit!
-Jezzi- I am in actual fact, the Goddess of the Blackcurrent People, and my only worshipper is a sausage, but if I can cram in literary arts in my area of divine expertise, so be it! Thanks again for reviewing... again, enjoy!
-Katie- Short, but very, very sweet, hope you keep reading and liking!
-ria-baalinda- I am gonna include more dress-sphere action, one scene in my mind is already unfolding with much of the usual insanity and wanton violence that my writing includes -cackles- But that's a secret, for now. I don't think I'll include the Omatsurishi or Saikikka spheres though, mainly because my copy of the game didn't have them so I have no clue what they really entail, everything else will probably get a mention though! Thanks!
-LostxFoundxUnsure- In this chapter, I give you the smoochies! -gasps- I love making Rikku and Gippal go through all the love, hate and UST that they're famous in their own right for, but even though this fic seems to have been going on forever, they've only really been, 'together' for all of a day, and I didn't exactly want Rikku to look 'easy', even though if I was her I would have tackled Gippal to the ground as soon as I was old enough to legally do so, lol. Thanks for reviewing!
-sugarNspikes- Ooh, another new reviewer! -gorges self on cookies- Oh dammit... that's my diet shot to hell... I'm glad you've picked up my little story as your current addiction, and I'm also highly smug that I'd impress an English teacher, seeing as I'm still studying Eng Lit,and I might even do it at university, if I don't get Oriental Studies at Cambridge, so Yay for literary prowess! Ooh, anyway, I am a glutton for compliments, so I give you no valid reason to stop praising me, -cackles- Enjoy!
What Rikku is actually saying, as opposed to the legible speech before it.
"..." Speech
'...' Quotes, emphasis
-italics- Thought
Chapter Six: Leather, Lip-locks and Lisping
We arrived at the airship bickering as per usual.
"My only concession is that if I have to wear… that, MONSTROSITY, I get to choose the songs." I said petulantly.
"That's hardly fair, did you SEE those trousers?" Gippal shot back in a manner just as juvenile as my own.
-But boy had I seen those trousers,- I thought lecherously.
"Nothing compared to the abomination I have to play clothes horse to." I snapped, not caring for our audience of Paine and Yunie, both of whom seemed to be highly amused by the whole exchange.
"If I got to pick one measly song you might start to even the odds a little." He said moodily, and it was a term I could just about deal with.
-Creative control was mainly mine AND Gippal was wearing his skimpy outfit-
I cackled in my brain and saw Paine roll her eyes a me.
"Done." I said finally, thrusting my hand forward to clinch the deal.
"Oh Cid's Girl, I think we know each other a little bit better than that, don't we?" He said disappointedly, not giving me time to work out what the hell he meant.
"Wha-?" Was all that escaped my lips before Gippal wrenched me to him via my outstretched arm, moulding my frame to his and then kissing the living daylights out of me. When I came to my senses again I was grinning like a kid with a new bike having an asthma attack. Gippal appeared to be long gone. Yunie was standing in front of me, giggling like a schoolgirl while Paine just sighed at my antics.
"You two sure were… enthusiastic." She deadpanned while my traitorous cousin decided to laugh harder.
"I'd deny it but I don't remember…" I wheezed pathetically.
"Well, let's just say that you two seemed to be a LOT friendlier with each other than you were this morning. Which does lead me to wonder what happened at the Moonflow…?" Yunie said slyly, devilish smile out in full force.
"Just some bandits…" I lied, ever hopefully.
"Which really explains why Gippal is sans shirt and why you've got his name branded on your backside…" Paine answered, effectively spoiling any chance I had to keep the whole matter private.
"Nothing happened!" I shouted quickly, realising seconds later how much guiltier that made me sound. "Anyway, I'm not the only one that got branded." I said, snickering like a little child with a secret.
"Nothing as in nothing happened just now?" Yuna asked wickedly, making me blush to an interesting shade of vermillion. I'd discovered yet another of the reasons why he was such a successful playboy. This led me to a fond stroll down memory lane, even though I'd been kissed rather thoroughly all of two minutes ago and I could still feel the pulse beating erratically in my swollen lips.
"Wake me up when she comes out of La La Land." Paine said, sounding rather disgusted. "I'm off to find the other annoying one." She said, her grin permeating through her monotone.
"He wouldn't have gotten far, seeing as he couldn't even walk in a straight line." Yunie giggled in reply.
-Did that mean I was a good kisser? Or did it mean I was so horrendously bad I'd mentally scarred him? Had I cleaned my teeth this morning? Oh Ixion! What if I hadn't and had halitosis bad enough to kill a man? What if he was dead? What if he never wanted to kiss me again?-
"How long's she been like this?" A familiar voice asked jokingly.
"She hasn't moved since 'the incident'." Yunie replied with a chuckle.
"You don't think her brain melted, do you?" The man asked with no hint of concern and I realised how having an interior monologue was exactly that, and that no one else had heard me talk for a long while now, which probably made them think I'd turned into some kind of vegetable.
"As if…" I snorted derisively to Gippal, whose hair had somehow gotten deliciously mussed. His lips were bruised and his eye was so dark and fathomless I was almost sucked in. I grinned proudly at my handiwork. "I was deciding what we were going to play and at the moment I've come up with six songs, which means I need about three more until we've got an hour's set, if we add your solitary contribution…" I said haughtily, even though I'd completely lied.
"And these songs would be?" Gippal purred inquisitively and I felt my legs become fawnlike.
"Maybe Someday, Corrupt Seduction, Goodbye, E Muja Oui, No Strings Attached, Second Chances, um… I'll stick in Faerie Tale, Disillusioned Deceiver and Good Enough? If we have time for an encore I choose Control." I reeled off unsteadily, hoping my eclectic choices pacified Gippal's 'superior' musical taste.
"I recognise none of those, so I REFUSE to play them…" He said, jutting his lower lip out for effect. I sighed in utter exasperation.
"I only agree to change one song to Fallen Angel, which I'll also bet you've never heard of." I replied snippily. Gippal pouted and muttered a concession. "Good boy…" I said sweetly, ruffling his gelled, spiky hair for effect. His hair is surprisingly soft,
-I'd have to ask him how he looked after it so well some other time…-
"At least I get ONE decent guitar solo out of this…" He sulked, so I pinched him hard. "Hey! I agreed dammit!" He yelped as Yunie laughed.
"Oh! Hi! Sorry, I'd totally forgotten about you, Yunie!" I said embarrassedly, but she brushed my inattentiveness off easily and gestured for me to resume our battle for creative control.
"You're such a flake…" Gippal mumbled derisively, before cowering when I brandished the flat of my hand. "Anyway… as I've said, I'm absolutely clueless about these choices of yours, so you'd better run over genres with me so I can complain now as opposed to in practices." He said oh-so-charitably.
"Maybe Someday is hard rock peppered with angst;" I was hardly going to announce that it was a bitching session about Gippal's acquisition of another sycophantic airhead, was I? Thank Ixion he was stupid or the moment he read it I'd be mocked into oblivion! "Corrupt Seduction is pretty much a gothic ballad… Goodbye, eh, I guess rock again, less angst and more anger, E Muja Oui is a symphonic metal ballad, ah, yes, the power ballad, shut up Gippal before I rip your tongue from your head, No Strings Attached is Gothic Metal, Second Chances is just utterly heart-wrenching," and it'd have to be, cos it fit Yuna's mood to a T after 'you know who' left… "Faerie Tale is soft rock, but it's utterly disturbing, Disillusioned Deceiver would be more metal, sorry about that, Good Enough is melodic punk," I cheered in an utterly fake manner, "Ooh look, a change in genre!" I spouted rather feebly, "And Control is more rock and roll, with post-hardcore and emo influences, which pretty much goes for everything, seeing as music is so difficult to encase in a single pigeonhole." I said cryptically, ticking off each song on my fingers.
"And there I was thinking you were a fan of sugar-coated music." Gippal said, still looking perturbed by the amount of content that fell under the category of 'metal'.
"I am, I just like most types of music, my only prerequisite is someone who can sing." I said like it was obvious, well, it was in my mind. "An added bonus comes with good lyrics, but so many of my favourites speak Al Bhed as a first language so it's harder to write a masterpiece for them. However, I don't like borrowing other people's music and I just can't seem to write anything with a remotely happy ending. My lyrics have been described as perverse many a time; I scare adults with them and therefore show them to no one. However, you pulled the kicked puppy dog look on me and so you're stuck with MY material." I pouted, wishing some Indie could have appeared on the bill as well.
"Are you going to do any of the songs in Al Bhed?" Gippal asked, having absorbed the information seemingly unfazed.
"Yes, and if you behave yourself I'll let you scream in anguish during Disillusioned Deceiver." I said like an adult bribing a small child. Gippal just grinned and shrugged.
"You wear that dress and I'll do anything you say." He said easily, making me laugh because I could practically see the cogs turning in his perverted mind.
"Good, you can start by pouring yourself into those trousers and leaving them half undone." I said professionally, ruining the image by sticking my tongue out. Yunie seemed scandalised yet again so I smiled sheepishly.
"You sure you want to sell yourself short, Cid's Girl? Cos if I did that it really wouldn't be about the music anymore, would it?" He asked slowly, running his tongue across his teeth. I almost forgot to breathe, but managed to compose myself, a veritable miracle if ever there was one.
"Well Gippal, we are primarily entertainers, are we not?" I replied, curtseying daintily. "We'll just have to warn people to blindfold their children in advance." I said, a wee bit impractically.
"Or we could ask Tobli to put age restrictions on the tickets…" Gippal said reasonably, making me feel like I had the brain the size of a shrivelled walnut.
"Meh…" I shrugged easily, "that's probably why you've got a big old faction and all I have are overdue bills." My brow suddenly furrowed in puzzlement. "Hey, wasn't Paine meant to be with you?" I asked worriedly. Gippal smirked flippantly in response.
"She found me and delivered her message, 'hurt her and I'll break out the ass whooping, yada yada yada'." He drawled, waving his hand as if the fan the words away. I smiled sweetly.
"Aw, she cares about little old me." I chirped proudly.
"That or she's just looking for an excuse to hit me." Gippal added, making my face fall. That seemed a hell of a lot more likely.
"Remind me to never tell you my hopes and dreams." I muttered peevishly.
"Too late, Princess, you bargained with me that I would receive the central governing position of Bikanel Island when you 'came to power'." He said smugly, making me blush furiously. Years ago, my most precious possession, a jet propelled sand board that dad had made me for my tenth birthday, had gone 'missing'. I'd been so upset that I'd made a deal with the devil, who'd gone by the name of Gippal back then, and in fact, he still does… to give him some land to rule when I became Empress of the World. Gippal had unfortunately remembered this stupid childhood dream and was now mocking me with it.
"That deal became null and void when I found out that YOU were the one that had stolen Bernard in the first place!" I cried angrily, still sore about an episode that had taken place over six years previously. Instead of rallying to argue the point, Gippal cracked up. I turned indignantly to Yunie, who just looked truly confused, bless her little cotton socks.
"Sorry," Gippal said, his breathing beginning to return to normal as he wiped his eye with the back of one gloved hand. "I couldn't for the life of me remember what absurd name you'd given it. I just recalled that only you would be able to call a sand surfer Bernard." He said, beginning to giggle hysterically again. Unable to comprehend what was so funny, I pouted for want of something to fill the painful period of time that would elapse until Gippal stopped laughing at me.
Ticking off the seconds on my fingers wasn't exactly making my seething rage dissipate, if anything, it was fanning the flames. From past experience, I knew that the only way to shut the irritating man up would be to cut off his oxygen supply, so, after quickly devising a plan of action, I stomped up to my cackling fiancé, hands on hips and glaring. After a few seconds, his viewpoint from his doubled over position seemed to fix upon my irritated foot tapping violently against the earth. He straightened, still snickering like a child, to look at me expectantly. My look of utter fury did nothing to silence him; if anything his efforts were redoubled. Lightning quick; my hands clamped onto his face and I rammed his lips to mine. As predicted, Gippal stopped laughing, due to more important matters vying for his time and attention. I praised Yevon that I'd finally found a positive use for the man's mouth, after many, many years of searching for a reason to explain why I didn't just stitch his lips together and be done with it.
I would have dwelt on my findings more if the entirety of my cognitive functions hadn't suddenly gone into meltdown. His tongue swept into my mouth like he owned the place, and I was so addled I was willing to let it slide, because my instincts, and muscles, 93 of which were now acting of their own accord, were screaming at me to see how far I could get before my lungs exploded. My lungs were willing sacrifices, so all was well with the world. My legs easily went about his waist, locking over his narrow hips as burning hands hefted me heavenwards, sinful fingers kneading the flesh of my branded backside as I fisted one hand through his soft hair. The other runaway digits were mapping the broad planes of his back, raking non-existent nails across scalding skin and sinew.
Against all incoherent will, I wrenched my mouth away to suck down much needed air.
"Traitorous organs…" I gasped irately. The world took a while to come back into focus, and when it did, I saw that Gippal was laughing again. Sighing in exasperation, I softly head butted his chest, before resuming my pathetic wheezing. "Why couldn't I be one of those people who knew how to effectively use interior monologues?" I asked no one in particular.
"If you were, there'd be a lot less laughter in the world, Cid's Girl." Gippal panted in reply. I craned my neck up so I could glare at the annoying man, but again got hopelessly distracted by his enticingly dishevelled state.
"Shut up, Gippal." I breathed, before launching myself at him again. Even with this more than adequate warning, Gippal forgot to brace himself for impact and we ended up sprawled on the floor like two lupines hell bent on taking lumps out of each other.
When I was suddenly hefted out of Gippal's welcoming arms it felt like someone had poured a pitcher of ice cold water over me, which, indeed Paine had. "What is wrong with you?" I sputtered angrily whilst trying to shake my sopping braids out of my eyes.
"You're rolling around on the floor like some barnyard animal and you feel that there's something wrong with me?" Paine asked in evident amusement. This was when I realised something horribly and fatally wrong with my plan. I tried to pivot in Paine's grip, craning my neck until I could just see my cousin out of the corner of my eye. She looked to be in a worse state than when Gippal had hit on her. The blood rushed to my face quicker than I thought was physically possible. "Masquerading as a tomato won't save you now, because you've turned the High Summoner into a gibbering wreck." Paine said; her humour still in tact for the moment. I struggled until she released me onto my fawnlike jelly legs, and I stumbled over to Yuna.
"What's that, Dr. P?" I asked conspicuously audibly, "Shinra's fallen down the old well? He can't swim? Whatever shall we do?" I asked melodramatically. Suddenly Yunie was running full pelt away from us, guns drawn. As sporadically as she'd started, she came to an abrupt halt, before turning on her heel and shooting me a sulky glare.
"Funny…" She muttered through a peevish pout.
"Come on Yunie! There's still time to save the prospector, he's trapped in the abandoned mineshaft!" Gippal cried, doing a passable impression of me for once. Even Paine had to bite her lip to prevent a snigger from escaping. Yunie however, was not impressed. In a totally uncharacteristic move, she stormed up to Gippal and kicked him in the shin, before stomping up the ramp to the Celsius's engine room, muttering angrily to herself. At first, I was too stunned to do anything but stare open mouthed, until I saw Gippal hopping about on one foot, cursing like a sailor. I proceeded to laugh in an infantile manner.
"Huzzah for steel toecaps!" I cheered, giggling until Gippal shot me a Paine patented look of death. I did a quick 180 in my allegiance. "Poor baby, should Mummy kiss it better?" I purred, sauntering up to a now cooperative husband to be. Then I was doused with water again, which, I can safely say, sucked just as bad as it did the first time. Was that algae in my hair? "PAINE! Stop super soaking me!" I wailed petulantly, now desperately trying to wring my clothing dry. Gippal had resumed his near permanent chuckling so I glared at him for being so unsupportive.
"If you two are gonna act like a couple of horny teenagers, then I think I'm entitled to cool your ardour, for the sake of my sanity, as well as the rest of the Gullwings'." She said matter of factly; grinning when she caught Gippal's mumbled:
"It's a bit late for most of them…"
I had started to sulk, because I was NOT a horny teenager, I was a blushing bride to be and therefore it was my RIGHT to be nauseatingly saccharine and at it like rabbits with Gippal. Not saying I'd do THAT… with GIPPAL… it was just an ingenious method to stop him talking! Yes Rikku… good save there…
"I'm soooooo not talking to myself." I said redundantly when I noticed that both Gippal and Paine were staring expectantly at me.
"Sure thing Cid's Girl… Anyways, Dr. P? You're going about this completely the wrong way, cos all you're succeeding in doing is making Cid's Girl's blouse go see through and making the rest of the outfit cling in mind boggling ways." He observed, blatantly leering lecherously at my now visible chest. As was the reoccurring theme of the day, Paine unleashed the fury of the bucket of icky Moonflow water. I blinked slowly as Gippal flicked a sopping bang out his eye. Look at all the pretty droplets meandering down his skin… I went off into some catatonic happy land, as I'm obviously not disturbed enough already.
"THIS MEANS WAR!" Gippal suddenly bellowed. I abruptly turned to see him chasing after Paine in all his angry glory and I got caught up in how the muscles in his back ripple as he runs. I never knew he had such a great ass either. I had to get him into those leather trousers… and quickly. "YOU CAN HIT ME, YELL AT ME, DO WHATEVER YOU FREAKING WANT! BUT YOU DO NOT TOUCH MY HAIR!" He screamed, and I was worried to see that he was beginning to close the gap. Foolish Paine, wearing stiletto heels, although Gippal's boots were heavy enough without being completely sodden, which probably evened things out a bit. In the red corner, the sexy, dripping lunatic, weighing in at three tons due to waterlog, Gippal! In the black corner, she's strong, sassy; she's in an awful lot of trouble, Dr. P! Ding ding ding ding! I chuckled at the path my thoughts were taking, even though my role obviously fell under the category of refereeing this no-holds-barred death match.
-I hoped they wouldn't hurt me, I'm only little…-
However, Paine seemed to have the same idea as she zoomed past me, rather awkwardly, as the ground was uneven at best and she was in three inch heels. Heck, I don't know why she wore the things to be perfectly honest, whether to add to her height, which was quite tall enough when put into contrast with myself, or for some feminist kick she was going on was anybody's guess. If I even entertained the notion the blisters I'd encounter half an hour in would be enough to put me off forever. Gippal unfortunately, did not take note of my presence as he also shot past, which was kinda disappointing, seeing as I was staring hard enough to cause physical pain to the both of us. Well, at least me, Yevon almighty my eyeballs were on fire!
"RIKKU! A little help would be appreciated!" Paine bellowed frantically. I noticed that she was having a hard time maintaining her frenetic pace, and that Gippal seemed to be utterly unfazed. I was so glad I was exempt from the rules he seemed to enforce on his precious hair, knowing me I would've tripped on something as absurd as a dust bunny whilst attempting to escape Gippal's ire and landed smack dab on my face.
"I thought my methods were too traumatising to apply!" I shouted coyly back. Ah, sweet revenge… how rarely I have tasted you.
"I think I'm willing to overlook it for the greater good!" She answered scathingly, so I took a few more seconds to ponder.
"You promise not to hose me down again?" I asked doubtfully.
"What? And allow you two to do something as vile as 'christen' the pilot's seat?" She shot back immediately, making me blush to the roots of my hair.
"PAIIIIIIIIIIINE!" I shrieked indignantly, "don't give Gippal any MORE ideas; he's twisted enough as it is!" I cried, even though her suggestion was a lot more tempting than it should have been. "Now promise me or I'll point out how the water's making his hair go a rather unattractive shade of puke green." I said sweetly, internally delighting at Gippal's new eruption of rage. He roared to the heavens before picking up the pace on a severely winded looking warrior.
"FINE! No more water! DO SOMETHING!" Paine shouted fearfully. This was another new expression for me, and I was almost stunned into immobility. Then again, I think even SIN would be scared of bad-hair-day-Gippal. As Paine came hurtling back my way, with Gippal so hot on her heels she was likely to combust, I shot her a conspiratorial grin. She raised her eyes as if sending her undying gratitude to whatever god had answered her prayer and nimbly dodged past me. Gippal was angry rhino charging right behind so I gracefully sidestepped as he passed, before launching myself onto his back. Unfortunately, that was as far as I'd planned ahead, so I was not expecting him to utterly lose his footing and fall hard to terra firma, taking me along with him. My jaw cracked painfully on his spine and the coppery taste of blood entered my mouth.
"YOU IDIOT!" I lisped pathetically, "I bit my tongue!" I wailed out my explanation. It probably came out more like: I thbit thy thung… but, I need to make it slightly coherent for you guys, cos it's hard enough at the best of times. Then again, I have always creepily enjoyed the taste of my own blood, not that I've tried anyone else's, I'm not THAT deranged, so I didn't mind too much, but I think I broke my chin… I sucked my tongue sulkily for a while, before realising that Gippal wasn't apologising, laughing, and or foaming at the mouth. "Er… Gippal?" "Erw... Thwipple?" (Accursed lisp!)
After what seemed like an eternity, I was rewarded with an agonised groan.
"Could you get off me?" He asked feebly. Momentarily, I was worried for his condition, before wondering if it was a slight on my weight.
-Was he calling me fat? Oh good Yevon, was I fat?-
I scrambled to my feet, wondering if any man alive could withstand the crushing force of a Hover from a considerable height. He rolled onto his back awkwardly, before staring at me with a now rational eye.
-Oh no! What if he's angry at me? Stupid Paine, sending me on a guilt trip… Should I apologise now, or should I wait until I don't sound like some retard in a chicken suit on some kid's show? Ice would reduce the swelling! Then I could apologise! Yes, Rikku, you genius!-
I merrily skipped away to the Celsius to retrieve my wonder cure. I was already in the vicinity of the Cabin when I realised that it probably wasn't all that affectionate to leave my fiancé potentially crippled, lying on the ground, so I begged some ice off of Barkeep, which took a damn long time cos he couldn't understand a word I was saying, -and obviously Charades had not been adopted into the Hypello culture,- and ran back outside.
When I discovered neither hide nor hair of my potentially crippled fiancé, I angrily crushed the ice cube that had been melting on my tongue by clamping my teeth down. This wasn't wise, seeing as I was rewarded with a killer brain freeze for my troubles. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I retreated back to the airship again like a toddler bordering on a temper tantrum, wondering how things had turned so pear shaped in so little time. My tongue seemed to be haemorrhaging considerably less though, which was the only upside to a whole lot of down.
"GRAH!" I screamed to no one in particular, viciously aiming a kick to the steel walls of the airship. I proceeded to scream harder when I received all manners of agony for my trouble. I was told later that I made quite the picture, angrily muttering mild expletives whilst hopping around on one foot like a psychotic, possessed pogo-stick.
However, after a while of ranting and raving, I was too tired to continue so I attempted to make my way to the bridge, dragging my injured foot behind me. As soon as I entered the elevator Gippal appeared out of nowhere and decided to join me, even though he was the last person I wanted to see. I was rather hoping that he'd wait until I was calm, healed and even slightly rational, and long enough for him to have forgotten about the whole, tackling to the ground incident.
"So Cid's Girl, where'd you run off to in such a hurry?" He asked conversationally, but I knew without looking that he was disappointed, and that was even worse than him shouting at me.
"I needed ice to tell you I was sorry…" I lisped feebly, turning my repentant eyes to my feet. "I neededth eyeth to tewll you I wath thowwy" Gippal at first said nothing, but I gave him time to translate my newfound accent. After another thirty seconds I guessed I was meant to explain further. "I can't speak very coherently so I needed ice to reduce the swelling so you'd understand my apology." I elaborated jarringly, stilling my usual flamboyant hand gestures. "I can't thpeak vewwy cohewently tho I needthed eyeth to reduthe da thwelling tho you'd underwthtand my apowogy" Gippal again responded with oh-so-reassuring SILENCE and I began to pace the small cell-like lift, trying to avoid putting weight on my trailing limb.
"So, are you actually gonna say sorry?" He asked suddenly, turning his expectant countenance to my flaming face. I adopted an utterly pole-axed expression as I fumbled through the thought process.
"It's not really overly romantic right now, due to the fact that I've become a walking, talking Igor…" I grasped fleetingly at the words to construct either a perfect excuse or apology, trying to buy at least a little time. "It'th thnot weally overwly womantic wight now, doo to da fwact dat I've becowum a wallaking, thalking Igor" Unexpectedly, but I was grateful nonetheless, Gippal started to giggle, and I had been beginning to think he'd never laugh in my presence again.
"Ok Cid's Girl, but you've got a lot of sucking up to do when you're fixed." He said, letting the matter slide easily, though I was fully aware of the double entendre, and blushed at just what I'd be made to suck. Er… BAD BRAIN! OUT OF GUTTER!
"Yes, master…" I stated glibly, "going up?" "Yeth, mathther… going up?" Gippal just cackled harder and I shook my head in wry amusement; in a way, we'd just survived our first fight, which involved no actual fighting and just an awful lot of awful misunderstandings and slapstick violence.
However, by the time we actually reached the bridge, Gippal hadn't forgiven me enough to distract the others from my… situation, so I settled on glaring at him with as much fury, disdain and condescension as I could muster, which was actually quite a damn lot, because I sounded pretty gosh darned stupid. Brother, Buddy, Yuna, Paine, and even Shinra turned to me expectantly, so of course I continued to stay facing Gippal, shooting him a look that promised torture involving reproductive organs and mallets. Gippal was a harder man than I'd envisioned, so he just blinked innocently and pretended not to notice.
"Er… Rikku, you in there?" Yuna asked worriedly, which made me feel even worse, I mean, did I need guilt on top of a migraine, a potentially broken foot and jaw? Obviously I did, because she continued to stare at me with her freakishly large, dewy cow eyes. "Rikku, are you alright? We need to hear your opinion on where we should take the sphere…" She said slowly, clenching her fists subtly, no doubt to give Gippal a good clobbering. Good! He deserved a concussion for his wicked ways, and Yunie was obviously itching to give him one, problem solved!
"Yeah Cid's Girl, you were all talkative like in the elevator a second ago, has speech finally deserted you, cos I never thought I'd see the day!" Gippal joked, poking me in the side, eliciting a squeak much akin to a hamster being squeezed a wee bit too hard. Gippal, thoroughly delighted by his discovery, did it again, to which I returned the favour by delivering a repeat performance of shrieking in a rodent-like manner. I've been horribly ticklish since birth, and I'm worse when it comes to the soles of my feet and the sides of my stomach. Then again, the million Gil target zone is my spine, but the last person who tried that… well, let's just say no one's ever tried it again. Everyone continued to look to me for enlightenment, so I quickly mulled it over in my mind. I'd definitely get away with it, if I omitted words with the letters: s, r and l, unless I managed to establish that I was talking in a cutesy, totally immature way… which would have to do... This was gonna be more difficult than anticipated.