Author's Note: So just in case anyone was concerned, no, I'm not dead though I am not fully convinced that school won't be my undoing. In the first chapter of this story I assured any worried bodies (of which I'm not entirely sure that there were any) that I had every intention of finishing Redemption for a Weary Soldier and I stick by that. I haven't given up hope on it, I just ran into a wall that needs to be rewritten and absolutely no time to take on this daunting task. Right now I'm working on a more solid plot line (normally I just write whatever I feel needs to be written, but I lose details and connections and end up fragmenting my story so that the beginnings and the endings just aren't in sync). Also, I said that I wasn't sure if I was going to keep this story going, but if this isn't enough of a hint, I do plan to go on. I have big plans for this fic just like I have big plans for Redemption. I'm trying to be more careful with this story so that I don't end up writing myself into a corner. That being said, I thank everyone who supported this fic in the first chapter. I wasn't able to respond to you individually because it was posted just before they added that nifty, reply to your reviews feature. Nevertheless, it was your encouragement and the enormous response generated that made me want to continue this.

XXX

I don't own Final Fantasy X-2 or any of the characters. I just use them for my amusement.

XXX

Rikku, Check Please

Chapter 2: Home Strife

XXX

Rikku stumbled up the stairs to reach the apartment on the fourth floor. Normally the trip wasn't so exhausting, but coupled with a day of work, the task was quite taxing. She hesitated before the door and fiddled with the keys in her hand trying to delay the inevitable for as long as she possibly could.

She took a breath and turned the knob. The whole shuffle with the keys had really been unnecessary because the door was always unlocked as Brother never bothered with it. She walked into the cramped front entrance way and tossed keys and purse onto the small bench situated next to the door. "Pops! Brother! I'm home!" she called out into the empty house.

She didn't wait for a reply, but veered off to the left into the conjoined kitchen where a load of dirty dishes greeted her. She grumbled under her breath about the uselessness of a Brother who was stuck in bed but still consumed enough food to feed a small country.

She began the night with the unloading and loading of the dishwasher before turning to the next assignment of dinner. Opening the pantry she dug for an easy meal, something that wouldn't take all night to fix. Spaghetti it was then. She set the noodles to boil on the stovetop and began heating up the sauce in another pan. Kitchen chores finished, she turned to the never-ending supply of laundry.

Gathering a load from her own stash, she rummaged through her father's next. "Have a nice day, Pops?" she asked cheerfully upon entering the dank room. Of course, there was no reply from the man who lay on the bed staring absently up at the shadow patterns on the ceiling. Rikku crinkled her nose, "Sheesh, dad, you stink. How about a nice bath right after supper, huh?" Again, no response. Rikku shrugged and exited the room throwing the discarded clothes into the pile accumulating in the hallway.

Brother's room was next. She banged on the closed door twice before barging in. "Rikku! Where have you been, my bandages needed changings hours and hours ago!" the injured man whined. Picking her way through piles of magazines and models of tiny airplanes, Rikku stooped down every once in a while to pick up some random article of clothing. She vaguely noticed that Brother's television was tuned to a work out channel where a busty blonde in a skimpy bikini was demonstrating a proper crunch. She highly doubted that her sibling had taken a sudden passion towards exercise.

"I'll deal with it after dinner!" Rikku insisted tuning out his stream of demands. She evacuated his room as quickly as she could and, gathering up all of the laundry, she brought it into the kitchen where a beat up washer and dryer were tucked away in the corner. As she proceeded with the tedious task of loading the laundry, folding up the previous load and stowing it away again, she kept an eye on the stove. The last thing she needed right now was for the apartment to burn down.

Spaghetti ready, Rikku ladled a fair amount into three bowls and carried one into Brother's room where she tossed it onto his lap, dashing out before he had a chance to complain about eating spaghetti the previous night. She entered her father's room and sat by the end of the bed.

She hoisted his upper body upright and leaned him against the pillows, a task that wasn't very hard considering how submissive he was to world around him. Spoon feeding her father, she also took random bites from her own share and she tried filling the empty silence with useless prattle.

"So Pops, I was thinking that whenever Brother gets better, and he gets another job (I'll make sure this next has medical insurance covered), maybe we can move out of this place and buy us a real house, right? You think that's what mom would've wanted? Because I do."

The older man flinched slightly at the mention of her mother. That was about the only subject he would even respond to anymore. Although Rikku knew it must be pain that made the man flinch, she still brought up the subject around him as a means to make sure he was still with them. It was cruel, but effective.

Dinner finished, Rikku gathered the bowls, loaded them away, started the dishwasher and went on to tackle her next task: changing Brother's bandages. Her older brother was lazily ruffling through a magazine when she entered the room. "Heya bro, ready for your changing?" she asked lightly as she entered.

He gave her a droll look over the top of the reading material. "I was ready hours and hours ago," he said before shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

Making her way over to his bedside (and trying not to trip and break her neck in the process), she gently unwrapped the large bandage from around his torso and began to reapply another one. "How is father?" Brother asked a little gruffly. His head was still bent behind the magazine, but Rikku knew that the words came from between gritted teeth. Brother blamed their despondent father for their current predicament, and though he never verbally implied it, Rikku knew that he bordered on hating their father for placing such a burden on his younger sister's shoulders while he was unable to do anything about the situation, bedridden as he was.

Rikku just shrugged. "Same," she replied and gathered up her nursing equipment. "I'm about to go give Pops a bath, maybe you should consider one yourself." She waved the air in front of her nose and pinched Brother on his tattooed arm before heading back out the door.

"Okay Dad," she said entering the darkened room for the third time that night. "Time for a bath."

The ritual took place once every week. Though some people might frown at the unhygienic timetable, Rikku couldn't bear the task at shorter intervals than that. There was something about having to strip down your own middle-aged father and wash his stinking skin while he stared vacantly into the soapsuds that didn't sit right with her. It was a chore that broke down the spirit little by little.

When at the end of the day, Rikku found herself with a bit of spare time, she sank into the confines of her own bed and stared at the ceiling. During those lingering moments between wakefulness and sleep she imagined herself in different circumstances; her, a normal nineteen-year-old girl with age-appropriate responsibilities and girlish fantasies of dates and shopping sprees with her best friend.

XXX

The next two weeks passed with little to no excitement. Rikku made it a point to set her alarm at least an hour ahead of schedule so as to avoid any more confrontations with either Nooj or Shelinda at work. Being a full time employee had its perks, Rikku constantly reminded herself. At least her schedule was pretty much set in stone—come in at eight and leave at five on the weekdays. Weekends were usually devoted to all the double shifts she could manage which meant she was trapped in the store from open to close. Being kin as well as good friends with Nhadala, the main office cashier, she was usually the first to get called in if someone flaked out or called sick.

Work was Rikku's life, much as she hated the fact. And yet, there was no way to avoid it. Relatively speaking, working so much had its benefits, she did get a very nice check every Thursday, but the truth of the matter was that as soon as the money touched her hand it was gone. She had managed to square out a way to include her dad and her brother into the health insurance offered by the company, but they both cost an additional two hundred dollars each, per month, taking a major chunk out of her paycheck before she even saw the result of her hard work. Add the cost of rent, gas, regular living expenses, and the continual stream of doctor visits (she had to make sure her dad was still a regular human being and hadn't slipped into being a vegetable overnight), and her income alone was barely enough to live off of. A raise at work would be a nice way to put a little money away for emergencies, and a substantial raise, which was what an office cashier was granted, would even allow her to put some money away for herself so that maybe, when Brother got better and the financial crisis had been thoroughly put to rest, maybe she could join the rest of the normal young adult world. She wanted to go back to school with Yuna and make something out of her life.

XXXX

Rikku relished lunch. It was her favorite time of the day. She didn't even bother with the food, she was around enough of the stuff day in and day out to waste her precious free time with that. Lunch was the glorious hour in the middle of the continuous battle of the day where she had a taste of peace. For sixty magnificent minutes she could simply sit and not think. Yuna had often told her, between giggles that she looked like some kind of zombie, all sprawled across a chair legs stretched before her, arms draped at her sides, head titled back, and eyes completely unfocused as she rested. Rikku laughed along with Yuna's description though inwardly the mental picture disturbed her. She was reminded of her father.

This time, Rikku was restless and didn't think she would be able to sit completely still for the whole of lunch and so she snagged a random tabloid as she passed by the registers on her way to the break room. She was nervous. She could tell by her body's insistence to continually move. Even as she sat at the table of the break room, idly flipping through pages of Sin sightings and articles of Yevon's dark secrets, her leg bounced up and down and she couldn't stay focused on a single article for very long before sighing and flipping to another page to see if some other wild accusation could catch and hold her attention.

It was a hopeless task and Rikku growled in frustration before flinging the useless magazine over her head. It landed with a whoosh and rustle of papers colliding on top of the soda machine. She tilted back in her chair and propped her feet up on the table. "Excuse me young lady, but may I see your receipt for the purchase of that offended item?"

Rikku rolled her eyes as Maechen ambled in, coffee in one hand and inventory reports in another before he sat down in a chair next to hers. "I wouldn't be caught dead buying that load of garbage," she retorted.

"Unless of course, your corpse were violated with a proof of purchase and a copy of thus," Maechen responded coolly taking a leisurely sip of his steaming cup. He eyed Rikku over the rim thoughtfully. Setting the container back down, he asked, "What on Yevon's green world is the matter, child?"

Rikku's eyes widened in surprise and she leaned back slightly, throwing off her balance and nearly causing her chair to topple backwards. She brought her feet back down safely to the ground and rested her chin in her palm as she thoughtfully watched the stockers scurry around the backroom through the window. She noticed a spray of golden locks…so Tidus was working tonight. She sighed and looked back at Maechen. "Just nerves I guess," she replied and stared a hole into the table. "Nhadala is leaving next week and Nooj hasn't even hinted at who's going to be taking her place! I…I really need that position, Maechen, you know that," she looked pointedly at the old man who nodded and adjusted his glasses.

In fact, Maechen was the only person in the whole store, and perhaps in the entire world who knew the full extent of Rikku's troubles at home. Even Yuna had only been told that both of the men in Rikku's life had been decommissioned, which was why, after only one measly semester of classes, Rikku had dropped out of school and began working full-time. Rikku suspected that Nooj merely knew she was going through a rough patch, as he was more lenient with her than he was with some of his other employees, a fact she attributed to Maechen. She had no doubt in the old man's ability to keep her personal life to himself, but she figured he probably clued Nooj in to enough of her situation to keep her where she was. She didn't feel it was a betrayal of confidence at all, because if it hadn't been for Maechen, Rikku was certain that she would not be in the secure position she was currently in. Maechen was the only person who knew the full extent of Rikku's circumstances, and the full impact it made on her. He was aware of the future she sacrificed for her family and the toll of carrying a grown person's troubles exacted on her young shoulders.

He was also aware of her financial difficulties. "You haven't heard anything from Nooj, have you?" she asked nervously. She rubbed her hands and gripped her wrists, another nervous habit acquired through her pressuring trials, though Rikku figured it was better than nail biting and didn't try to correct herself. "Has he asked you for your opinion about it? I mean, you are second in charge, right? Surely you have some kind of clue as to who he's thinking about putting up there?"

Maechen gave her another long thoughtful look before answering. "He has asked my choice of nomination and I gave him my answer, and that was as far as the subject went between the two of us."

"Well?" Rikku asked leaning forward becoming aggravated about the way he danced around her inquiries, though that was simply his way. Maechen was never one to just come out and tell you what he was thinking, which was probably the main reason that Rikku got along with him. At this crucial moment, however, the trait was rather annoying. "Who did you 'nominate'?" she imitated his solemn warbling tone to a tee earning her a smile from the old man.

"You my dear. I could think of no one wiser or more capable of keeping up with such a daunting task." A beam lit the entirety of Rikku's face upon the manager's words. Reaching over, she wrapped her arms around the old man and embraced him.

"You're not so bad for an old fart, you know that?" she asked as she stood and stretched her legs.

Maechen chuckled and brought his inventory reports closer to his face for inspection. "Years of wisdom and knowledge and I shall go down in history as an ancient bodily function not as offensive as most others…how honoring. I can finally die in peace. Are you going back to work already? How very un-Rikku-like."

Setting her lips in a thin line, Rikku balled her fists and looked out the window at the workers scurrying along. "I have to make sure I get that position…even if it means sacrificing the one luxury besides sleep that I look forward to everyday. It's…that important."

XXX

As it turned out, Rikku didn't get to impress Nooj by being early for once. As she picked her way through crates of canned soup and dried noodles, Tidus cornered her. "How's it going?" he asked cheerfully grinning like a fool and placing one hand haphazardly behind his head. "Listen, I need some help with your friend, Yuna, she won't even talk to me!" he didn't give her a chance to slip away as he launched into his woes.

Rikku sighed and shook her head. Either he was a complete airhead or he was so absolutely smitten with her best friend that nothing else mattered. Rikku opted to believe the second option (though he hadn't said or done anything to disprove the first). Raising an eyebrow she tilted her head to the side and carefully scrutinized the man before her. Initially, she had simply been amused at her friend's bashfulness, and hadn't given Tidus's intentions much consideration. But now, seeing that he was serious on the matter of pursuing his interest (and to Rikku, he didn't seem lacking in the determination department), she decided she needed to play it safe.

"Where are you from anyway?" she asked. Stockers rarely ever left the dark confines of the back room except to put groceries on the shelves, which they normally did in the wee hours of the mornings anyway, but Rikku was sure that this guy had never been to her store before. She certainly would've remembered such a cute face.

"I transferred," was his reply to which Rikku shrugged. It was a typical answer after all. She regarded him a little more, unsure about whether to let him into the shy girl's life, but also feeling the nagging nudge of time ebbing on, of Nooj's disappointment, and her failure to secure the new position.

She sighed in defeat. "Alright, listen up buddy, Yuna's my best friend. I'm going to give you one chance, and if you screw it up, if you hurt her in any way…" she leaned in closer darkening her face to what she hoped was a menacing scowl.

Unfortunately, the threat had no effect whatsoever on the happy-go-lucky boy whose eyes lit up as though it were his birthday and he had glimpsed the mountain of presents stacked just for him. "So you'll help me then?" he asked, a giddy edge lacing his voice.

"Yuna and I take our breaks together. She comes in at one this afternoon meaning we will be breaking at about three thirty. But don't expect me to leave her. That would be extremely awkward for Yuna who would probably end up avoiding you like the plague. Sorry to rain on your parade."

But if anything, Tidus's parade was in full swing: horses, bands, floats, and manure. Rikku felt a slight twinge of jealousy at his open affection and relished in envying her best friend for a few moments before mentally pinching herself. She could barely keep her life together as it was; a relationship was the very furthest thing from her mind at the moment. But still…seeing the excitement well within those sea blue eyes, Rikku couldn't help feeling the whimsy of remorse. After all, it felt really nice to be wanted.

XXX

I'll give you a cookie if you can guess which grocery store I work at (here's a hint, I live in Texas). You probably won't know unless you've lived in the South…