Wow. Sorry I haven't been here in forever. I went on vacation to California to visit my very bestest friend, Christina (aka uniquewriter). I planned on updating at least one chapter before leaving…but that didn't work out to well. I noticed I haven't updated a lot this summer either. I apologize. I promise I'll kick myself in the butt real hard later.
So here's a chapter for all of you. Though I know it won't make up for my absence.
Chapter 3
An alarm went off somewhere. She couldn't quite pinpoint it, everything was all fuzzy.
Sunlight poured into the room, aiding in her awakening.
Fumbling for the snooze button, the sleepy little thief sat up. Half awake, she groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
The clock digitally blinked 9 a.m.. Surprising how she could wake up so early after all of yesterday's festivities.
Two days ago she was Rikku, thief extraordinaire. Yesterday, she was Rikku, newly instated aunt—of a very beautiful niece, she might add.
And today, she would be Rikku: thief, aunt, and ecstatic to see her ruby-eyed warrior again.
Instantly feeling a burst of energy with the thoughts of Paine in her mind, she quickly hopped out of bed and skipped to the bathroom to get ready.
Once ready, she carefully and speedily tiptoed towards the exit of the Celsius. Making sure not to disturb the other sleeping inhabitants, she crept into the kitchen and snatched to apples for breakfast—one for her and one for Paine.
Luckily, the Celsius was parked in a clearing not far from where the hospital hut where Yuna and Paine were staying.
She silently made her way to the hut, making sure no to disturb the sleeping inhabitants here either.
But to her surprise, there were no sleeping inhabitants, but two wide awake individuals engrossed in a conversation.
Yuna was the first to spot the eager visitor.
"Hey cousin, why here so early?" she waved with a strange glint in her eyes that Rikku didn't quite catch.
"Why, to see you and baby, of course."
Paine, who was facing away from the door, looked over her shoulder and flashed a welcoming grin.
"You too." The thief walked over and bent over to hug her warrior from behind. Comfortably resting her chin on a sturdy shoulder, "Brung you some food." She held the apple out.
"Oh thank you Shiva! I'm so hungry." The warrior gratefully took the apple from the offering hand, "Hospital food sucks." She let the slender arms continue to draper over her shoulders.
"It wasn't THAT bad." Yuna interjected. "The meat wasn't as chewy as I thought." She absent-mindedly started to pick the back of her teeth with an index finger.
"If you like eating rocks." The warrior ran a finger over her teeth to make sure they were all accounted for.
"So," the blonde hooked her arms together in around the silver haired one's neck, "what'cha guys talkin' about?"
The warrior froze and the summoner chocked on her spit.
"Uh-the weather-yeah-the weather." The stuttering Paine fumbled for the first excuse off the top of her head. "Nothing important." She grinned sheepishly through Yuna's coughing fit in the background.
"Aw, c'mon." The thief pressed her cheek against Paine's, "You can tell me. What were you guys REALLY talkin' about?"
Yuna started to cough even harder. Partially because she was chocking on her spit, and partially to be obnoxious.
"You okay, Yunie?" the blonde walked over and patted her cousin on the back, "Are you gettin' sick?"
The summoner shook her head and continued to cough obnoxiously. She threw a conspicuous look at Paine, ordering her to change the subject.
"Dah-Rikku-what'd you guys do last night?" the warrior stammered the first thing that popped into her head.
It succeeded. The thief immediately forgot about the current subject and started to ramble about last night's events.
Turns out—there was loud music, lots of food, a soda chugging contest, and a whole bunch of festivities that left every person on the Celsius with a sugar high and drunk off fun.
The remnants of last night were shown on Rikku's face. She had baggy eyes, mussed up hair, and sported a tired look on her facial features.
"So…you had fun?" Paine asked after her blonde friend finished her rambling. She wiped a mental sweat drop off her forehead, successful in her attempt to divert Rikku's attention.
"Shyeah! You shoulda seen Brother. He wan the soda chugging contest—he's still awake from all the caffeine!" The thief slapped her knee.
What about Lulu and Wakka?"
"Oh! It was hilarious! Little Junior suffered from a sugar high right before his bedtime. You should've seen Lulu's face!" Another slap on the knee. "Wakka sure got a beating for that one."
" 'Scuse me?" A deep voice came from the doorway.
Rikku whipped around, "Oh nothing! Did I say 'beating'? I meant…slightly scolded." She threw her hands up and flashed a sheepish grin.
"Thought so. I might've had to beat the snot outta ya." Wakka lightly socked the thief's arm to prove his point.
"You? Beat ME? Yeah right." She stood firm. After he walked by, "Ow." She pursed her lips to prevent a squeak of pain from escaping.
"Don't worry. He's just a sore loser." Lulu walked up and placed a hand lightly to the thief's shoulder.
"I'd hate to see him on a GOOD day." Rikku proceeded to cradle her injured arm.
The mage gave a small smile and went to the bed to go talk to Yuna, little Junior waddling close behind. The little boy stopped and gave Rikku a polite smile, then quickly scampered to his mother's side.
The blonde followed close behind. Craving attention from her silver-haired warrior, she stood next to the chair where she was sitting, "Paine?" she whimpered childishly.
"Yes?" Paine turned her attention to the thief.
"Wakka gave me a boo-boo." The blonde pouted and cradled her arm.
"You want me to make it feel better?" The warrior played along.
"Mm-hmm."
"'Kay. C'mere." The warrior opened her arms. The thief excitedly sat in the offered lap. Lightly, she planted a kiss on the shoulder of the 'injured' arm, "Better?"
"Yeah. But now my face hurts too." The Al Bhed grinned mischievously and pointed, specifically, to her lips.
"Not in front of the children."
The thief jutted out her bottom lip.
"Nuh-uh."
Rikku jutted her lip out even more.
"Doesn't work." The warrior smirked at the blonde's pouty look. She gave a small kiss on the thief's cheek, "I owe you one later." She whispered into the side of her friend's face.
"Fine." Rikku mumbled, disappointed but satisfied. She'd the warrior pay through the nose later.
So she took Paine's hands and hooked them together to rest across her stomach, like a seatbelt.
She loved sitting like this. It was so comforting, so relaxing, so-
"Here, hold this." A fatherly Wakka plopped his son onto Rikku's lap and quickly shuffled to Yuna's bedside to hold the baby.
"Uhh…" The thief stared wide-eyed at the curious child in her lap, not knowing what to do. "…Hi?" she grinned.
Then, little Junior's eyes started to water. Tears welled up and threatened to spill. His little bottom lip quivered and let out a whimper.
"Uh-oh. Paine…" she leaned back against her warrior armchair, "I think he's gonna-"
The child took a deep breath, preparing to blast out the mother of all wails.
"Here." The warrior hurriedly put a lock of Rikku's beaded hair in front of his face before he had a chance to make a sound.
It absolutely delighted the boy. Fascinated by the shininess of the beads, he examined the plastic jewelry in his stubby yet coordinated hands. He showed his amazement by emitting a little coo.
"Hey. He likes it. Maybe he'll be good until Wakka's done." The blonde watched amusingly as the little boy continued to play with her hair, moving the braided strand this way and that, his curious eyes intently following.
"He's such a little an-ahhhhhhoowwww…" the thief leaned forward as her hair was pulled all of a sudden. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-" she continued as little Junior continued to yank her hair.
"No, no, no Junior. We don't pull hair." The boy's mother, Lulu, quickly came over to take her son out of poor Rikku's hair (no pun intended). "Let go, Junior. Let it-let it go, sweetie." Her son had a death grip on a very bulky lock of hair. Pulling him away without loosening his grip would surely leave Rikku with a very unattractive bald spot.
"Junior." Her tone grew serious. Scary serious.
The toddler looked up, saw his mother's face, and immediately let go—but not without a little souvenir.
"Ow." The thief rubbed her scalp where a clump of hair had been displaced. She looked to the boy who was now safely out of reach. In his hand was a fistful of blonde hair. "That is SO gonna leave a mark." She patted her now sore scalp.
"I'm so sorry, Rikku. He's at that age…" Lulu sincerely apologized for her son's behavior.
"It's all right. It'll grow back." She easily forgave the young boy, "He's too cute to stay mad at."
"Say sorry, Junior." The mother instructed her child.
"Sorry Junior." The boy grinned innocently.
"I see he got daddy's sense of humor." The mage shook her head amusingly, "C'mon Junior. Let's go see the baby." She gently pulled her son along. Curious, he eagerly followed.
"Awww. He likes you." The warrior teased the thief who was still sitting in her lap.
"Nuh-uh. He's terrified of me. You saw him cry."
"You gotta see past the obvious. Little boys always do the opposite of what they mean."
"Ok," the blonde thought about it, "so he does. So what?"
"Someone has an admirer."
"He's a little kid."
"I might need to step up my game. He could be some fierce competition." The silver-haired one continued to joke.
"Oh stop. You know you're the only marshmallow in my campfire." The thief elbowed the obnoxious older woman in the stomach and folded her arms across her chest.
"Eh...I don't know. The kid looks pretty tough." Paine said, pretending to be doubtful. "And that cute little smile could totally put me out of business."
"Hmm. Maybe…" The thief put her index finger to her lips and tapped them ponderingly, "Nah, I'm kidding." She laughed.
A happy, excited, and well rested Tidus skipped in at that moment, "Sorry I'm late," he announced. "I didn't realize I'd slept in."
"That's all right, hon. You wanna hold the baby?" His wife looked up to his eager face.
"Yeah!" He rushed over, nearly tripping over the chair where the blonde and the warrior were sitting.
Brother, Gippal, Buddy, and Shinra joined not long after—each eager to hold little Ayane.
So, once again, the room was a scene of crowded chaos. Fitting eleven people into a tiny hospital room is quite a feat.
Today seemed like it was going to be just like yesterday: full of excitement and fidgeting to hold the baby. But, with one little twist. Today, Yuna would be leaving the hospital and rejoining the Celsius crew, with a new addition.
It took nearly half the day, but all overly motherly preparations were finally finished.
"Ahhh. It feels good to be back on the Celsius again." The summoner took a deep breath and inhaled the familiar ship's aroma, baby in arms.
"I'll unpack, you and Ayane can go relax." Her fatherly husband insisted. He gave his wife and child a quick kiss, then set off to carry the few bags they packed to their room.
Yuna sighed dreamily and watched her husband 'manfully' trudged the bags up a short flight of stairs. "He's such a great guy." She sighed again.
"Yunie…you're drooling." The summoner's cousin took the liberty of leading her to the couch. "Yunie…Yunie…Yunie-Yunie-Yunie-Yunie-" She waved her hand in front of her face and snapped her fingers to try and catch her cousin's attention.
"What?" The new mother blinked the trance out of her eyes, "Sorry." She wiped the spit hanging from the corner of her mouth.
"I swear. You're TOO in love with that guy." The thief smirked, joking obviously.
"What can I say?" The summoner shrugged dreamily.
"Thaaaaat…the fruit of your passions happens to be slipping out of your arms?"
The white magic healer shrieked in a panic and instantly looked down. Her little bundle of joy wasn't, at all, slipping from her grasp. She threw a warning glance at her laughing younger cousin and protectively wrapped the blankets tighter around her child.
"I'm sorry Yunie," The hysterical thief wiped a tear from her eye, "I had to stop you from drooling somehow."
"You don't joke about things like that." Yuna fixed a very serious and very scary glare at her cousin, almost scolding her.
The blonde shut her mouth and started to cower in fear. Never once did she Yuna this intimidating. "Sorry." She whimpered like a small child.
"Whoa. Her motherly instincts are kicking in." Paine leaned over to her friend, keeping her eyes on the boiling mother. "Rikku, why don't you go see if Tidus needs help. Quickly, if you value your life. Go….GO. Now-run." She nudged the frozen thief.
The Al Bhed girl pushed herself up, also not taking her eyes off the temperamental mom. Slowly she backed away a couple steps. Distanced safely, she whipped around and broke into a sprint, "Tidus! Hey, Tidus!" she called out.
"I gotta give you credit for that, Yuna." The warrior complimented after Rikku was out of sight, "You ever consider acting?"
"Oh, no. I was being serious." The summoner straightened and bobbed her head slightly.
The warrior's jaw dropped. Never had she seen Yuna even frown from the first day they met. "Oh…kay. That's…good to know." She scooted back a couple inches.
"It's okay. I wont bite…now." The brunette laughed.
Paine only laughed weakly, not wanting to risk another outburst in case the summoner was only kidding. "So," she tried to change the subject, "what're you doing tomorrow?"
The gunner calmed her laughs. "I don't know. Why?"
"I was wondering if you could help me."
"Oh. In that case," she gently placed her baby in the warrior's arms, "I'm free. What do you have in mind?" she gingerly started stroking a little tuft of her infant's hair.
888
"What d'ya think they're talkin' about?" the thief peeked over the railing to spy on the two women below who were obviously having a very in-depth conversation.
"Dunno. But could you please keep your attention on the task at hand?" the blitzer took the mid-folded shirt Rikku had in her hands.
"Oh, sorry." She reached for another piece of clothing from the floor, trying to keep her sights over the railing. Her hands moved around blindly.
Tidus took his foot scooted a nearby shirt under the girl's reach.
"Ha!" she yelled in triumph.
"Stop spying. It doesn't get you anything but a smack in the face—believe me." The blonde man held up a hand to the side of his face where an invisible scar lied.
Weighing the odds—spying or a clobbering from Paine—the thief quickly retreated from her overlooking post and hastily started folding more clothes.
888
Though nothing interesting happened at all—except for whenever Ayane cooed or drooled—the day passed by before anyone could notice again.
"Gosh, what a day." A freshly showered Paine toweled off her hair.
It was now bedtime for all crew members on the Celsius, all of them pooped and tired.
"You have fun talkin' to Yunie?" The thief wrapped herself around the warrior as soon as the presence crawled into bed. She snuggled deep into the crook of her companion's neck.
"Yeah," the warrior replied. "You have fun foldin' clothes with Tidus?"
"Pffff," the blonde snorted, "Yeah." She paused for a second, "What were you talkin' about with Yunie?"
"Dunno."
"Tell me." The Al Bhed positioned herself closer to her cuddle buddy.
"Don't wanna."
"Please?" The thief planted a quick kiss on the side of the warrior's face.
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please-please-please-" Rikku continued her smooches between each of Paine's 'no's.'
"Pllllllleeeeeaasseeee?" The thief made one final desperate plea.
"No." The warrior replied flatly, not affected by the blonde's pouts. "You should know, you were listenin' in on the whole thing."
The blonde snapped her mouth shut, "You saw me?" She asked curiously.
"YUNA saw you too."
The thief fell silent. "Sorry." She whimpered. As Tidus said, all he got was a 'smack in the face.' Which was what she was waiting for now.
"S'all right. I'll drop it if you drop it."
What? No pain? No hurt?
The blonde cautiously opened one eye. She found two ruby ones staring back at her. No, they were filled with angry temperament; but soft, understanding, and sleeping.
"'Kay." The Al Bhed relaxed into the arm wrapped ever-so-protectively around her torso.
"G'night." The silver-haired female paused and lowered her voice to only a whisper, "I love you."
The thief shifted comfortably, "I know you do." She mumbled playfully. She fell asleep not five seconds later, lightly snoring.
Paine soon nodded off too, using the snoring as a lullaby.
Another chapter down. Don't worry. Chapter 4 is on its way.
-unusualauthor