I don't own FFX-2 or any of its characters. They belong to Square Enix.

Kind of short, but it fit the bill I was trying to make, so that is that. hehe. Hope you enjoy reading it!

And thanks to all you reviewer type people out there in FFNland!

Chapter Twenty-something: Waltz de Chocobo

"Now where did she get to?"

Gippal hadn't seen Rikku in over an hour, and that meant Trouble. Not just 'trouble', but trouble with a capital 'T' Trouble. Mischief was Rikku's middle name, no matter what she claimed it to be. She had not left the house. He had been working on the foyer and the front door never opened. So that meant Rikku was in the house, not making any noise, and it made him nervous.

True, he loved Rikku, but she was not the kind of person one want doing anything that one did not know about. She could easily get hurt or hurt something or someone else. Little children are never left unsupervised in the kitchen while the stove is in use, and you never let Rikku be unsupervised around anything that is shiny or mechanical. She just can not resist them. She can not resist pie for that matter, and it was more serious to lose a machina to Rikku than to lose a pie. She might share the pie, but not the machina.

"I need a break anyway…"

Gippal stood up, stretched and set off on the quest to find Rikku. Last time she had been alone, she started shooting at a giant spider. He first went to the attic, where the spider attack had occurred.

No Rikku.

He went to the kitchen. No Rikku.

He went to the bedroom. No Rikku.

He finally went to what had been converted into a study-office, and found the door ajar and heard Rikku's voice from inside. He hadn't caught what she had just said, but her voice was giddy, and that meant even more Trouble.

"Thanks a heap, Clasko! I'll totally owe you one for this. Just send me the specifics on what I need, and I'll get right on it!"

"Well, you'll need a lot of room, and definitely a lot of food, but the thing you need most is a lot of love and affection."

"Oh I have plenty of that! Thanks again! I have to go and finish things up for the arrival."

"No problem. Take care."

"You too!"

Rikku turned off the commsphere and promptly started giggling to herself. She was trying to keep it quiet, so that no one, not even him, would hear it. All this meant that she was hiding something. What Something was, Gippal could not guess. An arrival? She's not pregnant. I know that for a fact. So what arrival is she talking about?

He made sure to creep away softly from the door, so that she would hear his foot steps as though he had just started walking down the hall towards the study/office. Just as he suspected she would, Rikku leap out of the room and into his arms, nearly knocking him down. His thoughts about her secret call evaporated like smoke. He'd find out sooner or later. He just hoped it would not involve more spiders. Or pudding. He hated pudding.

One Week Later…

Gippal was walking home from the market, bags in hand, when he saw the Celsius fly overhead, Brother screaming 'WHIPPEEEEEEEEEEEE!' on the microphone. He shook his head, still trying to understand why Brother was not criminally insane by anyone else's standards other than his own. Did the world really need that lunatic flying around like that?

"Oh well. I'll be home soon. And with all the stuff Rikku asked for. Though why she wants curry powder and rose hips is beyond me…"

He turned a corner and the house he and Rikku now lived in came into view. It really was splendid. The outside was still getting fixed up, but other than that it happily kept its place, almost smirking at its neighbors. It was not as tall as the newer houses next to it, being much older, but it was a great place.

He stopped for a moment, and tried to figure out why something looked out of place today. It was not anything to do with the outer appearance of it, more like a detail that was not noticed until one saw it. As he looked the building up and down, he realized what it was.

The house was taller. There was another structure on top of the roof, right after the glass panes of the greenhouse stopped. It was bright red, with white trimming and what looked like an animal painted on the side of it. He could not tell what it was from his current angle, but he got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

In a matter of moments, he had the groceries put away, and was taking the steps up to the roof top three at a time. Gippal went through the now slightly green greenhouse, thanks to Rikku's efforts, and up the small flight of stairs to the roof.

The new building, which must be the 'arrival' Rikku was talking about with the weird guy from the Calm Lands, stood in horrific glory, shining red and gleaming white. The animal on the side of it was also on the front, split in half by the double doors, was a chocobo.

"Kweeeeh!"

"Oh gods tell me she didn't…"

"Kweeh! Kewh! Kweeeeeeen!"

"She did…RIKKU!"

The woman he loved more than his own life poked her head out from the doors and looked around for the person calling her. Her face lit up when she saw Gippal standing there, in fury, glaring at her with his one good eye. She practically bounced out of the building and bounced up to him.

"Oh I'm glad your home! I have a surprise!"

"What in the name of the gods are you doing with a chocobo up here! And why is there a…a… a stable on the roof?"

"I got a chocobo! Didn't you hear it? And I had to put the stable on the roof! It wouldn't fit in the tiny piece of yard out front. Besides, all the people walking by would scare poor Kwennie into molting!"

Gippal could only stare at her.

She had put a stable on the roof. With a chococo in it.

That's what the Celsius was doing here! It was bringing these damn things here!

"Gippal are you listening to me! I've been asking you if you wanted to come and meet Kwennie! Or are you so mean that you don't want to meet my cute, soft, cuddly chocobo?"

"Rikku…wha…why did you do this?"

"Caaaaaaause I wanted a chocobo of my very own. I've always wanted one. You know that. Now I have this great big house, and I can finally have my childhood dream of riding a chocobo across the rooftops come true! You can ride her too! I've made capes for us to wear and everything!"

"Kewh?"

"Oh! Coming Kwennie!"

Rikku ran back inside the stable, and began making all kinds of soothing noises, mixed up with some cooing and baby talk. It was more than he could stand. He went up to the doors and slammed them open, ready to frighten off both chocobo and his bride to be.

Inside, he did not find what he expected.

Rikku was there, but so was someone else. The weird guy from the Calm Lands. The chocobo guy. He had his hands to his mouth, and had just started to exhale when the doors almost broke off their hinges. The sound that came out was more like a frightened duck than a chocobo. There was one other thing wrong with the picture.

There was no chocobo. There were no stalls or mangers either. The walls looked as though they had hinges in the corners, like they could fold in on themselves. The roof was held up with ropes and poles. None of which did Rikku any good, considering she was rolling around on the floor laughing. Clasko was white with fear, and shaking slightly. His hands were still in front of his face, but Gippal thought it likely his bottom lip was quivering.

"Gippal…" Rikku wheezed. "Did you …really…think I would…put a stable…oh hahahah…on the roof? Hehehahahahheeeeeeee!"

She looked at his face, and fell into helpless mirth again, unable to even breathe. Tears streamed down her face, which did not mess up her mascara somehow. He turned his gaze back to Clasko, and barked "OUT! NOW!" The man was scrambling out of the stable faster than he thought anyone could move. He turned back to Rikku, who was still laughing at him.

"Alright honey. You are SO going to pay for this!"