Ta Da! chapter five. sorry to keep you waiting, this part was a little bit harder than expected. for those of you who think it's been kinda fast, this'll slow it down. and just so you know, this is only day one for Rikku. just wait until a few days go by...
Rikku stood in her shower. All the tension she had made her want to calm down with a long soak in the running water. The stall was rather large and she leaned against the wall with the top of her head pressed up to the tile. Her hands were pressed up to the wall next to them.
She just stood there and let the water trickle down her skin. She really was acting childish, running away like that. Wasn't she an adult? She was supposed to act like one. Yet she did that only minutes before. She closed her eyes.
Why did Gippal kiss her? She knew why he was trying, because he wanted information from her. But, usually he'd stop right before they actually kissed. But, since she didn't really tell him what he wanted to know, he did so. Still, he didn't have to.
Okay, so what was that emotion behind the kiss? It was actually heated – definitely didn't feel like something you'd give to just anyone. Boy, did it feel...hot. She really didn't want to go anywhere, but that's not how it turned out. What was going inside his head anyway?
Wait, she didn't want to know what was inside a guy's head. It'd probably weird her out more than she was now.
Oh! She was distracting herself again.
First Pops with her 'you gotta get married thing' and then Gippal shows up. If her suspicions were right, then Cid wanted him to marry her. Didn't she have a say in who she married? What about her feelings? Gippal was just an arrogant, cocky, jerky player. Why would she ever want to marry him.
Okay, so he did kiss fairly good. Heck, she was kidding herself, that was a great kiss. She'd be lying if she didn't admit that. But that was all that was good about him...well, except for maybe his looks. Oh, come on. A blind woman could see how delicious he was. And, pressed up against him and having him hold onto her like that, she could tell there was definitely something under that armor.
She had to get a hold of herself. This was Gippal! The little boy who'd always get into trouble, pull her braids, call her names and make her feel like a complete idiot. But, there was the time when he let her sleep in his bed after her mother died, and when he gave her a flower when she was upset and threw himself in front of a malfunctioning machina to protect her. His eyepatch was evidence of that.
She clasped her hands to the sides of her head and looked up. This really was too much for her. She needed someone to talk to, someone that would listen and that she knew a long time, that could relate to her, give her advice. Because this was definitely something she needed advice on. She needed...
Just as she thought of who she wanted to talk to, there was a knock on her door. Not the door to her room, her bathroom.
"Rikku!" came her cousin's voice. "Are you in there?"
"Yunie?" she asked, voice rising to be heard over the sound of the shower.
"Can you come out? I want to talk to you," Yuna continued.
She sighed. Well, that was fast. "I'll be out in a minute," she replied, turning off the water.
"Alright."
She stepped out of the shower, placing her feet on the mat that was outside the tub. She wrung out her hair down the drain and then took a towel and wrapped it around her waist. After drying off the most of the water, she pulled on her robe and tied her hair back in a loose bun.
With a final deep breath, she went over to the door and opened it.
Yuna was sitting on her bed, in the corner across from the door. She looked up and smiled. "There you are," she said. "Come over and sit."
She went over to the bed, but didn't sit. Instead, she plopped down on her stomach, taking her pillow and putting it over her head. Her cousin's weight shifted and she felt her hand on her back. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on?" Yuna asked.
Rikku didn't respond. "Alright," the older of them continued. "I'll ask something else. Why was Gippal kissing you?"
"How should I know?" she replied, her voice muffled.
"Well, he must have had a reason, or else he wouldn't have done it," Yuna went on. "Does he...I don't know, like you?"
"I haven't figured that out yet."
"Well, that's why I'm here. Why is he here anyway?"
"Pops wants me to marry him...I think."
"What! Why?"
She sat up and looked at her. "This morning Pops told me he wants me to get hitched," she explained. "Then Gippal showed up, under his 'orders' to stay a few days. I just put two and two together and when Gippal asked about it, I didn't want to tell him."
"How did that lead to him kissing you?" Yuna asked, brow wrinkled.
"Well..." She looked away with a blush. She put her back up against the wall and pulled her pillow to her chest. "Whenever he wanted info out of me, he'd tease me by pretending that he was going to kiss me. He never actually did it before."
"Wait a minute, that's how he got information out of you?" she asked. "He's straightforward, isn't he?"
Rikku snorted a laugh. "That's an understatement," she replied. "You should see him flirt." When Yuna raised an eyebrow, she continued. "Never mind, you don't want to."
"So...do you think Uncle Cid may have told him about the plan that you think he has?" her cousin went on.
"Then why did he ask me?" she asked. "I mean, he asked why Pops was keeping him here. I couldn't have told him what I thought. Who knows what kinda reaction he'd have. And then he probably would have teased me otherwise. I told him I didn't know and he didn't believe me."
"Well, no offence Rikku, but you're not a good liar," Yuna replied with a wince.
She gave her a look. "I know. That's why he didn't believe me."
"Okay...so let me get this straight, Uncle Cid wants you to get married."
"Yup."
"He brought Gippal here because you think that's who he wants you to marry."
"Yes."
"Then Gippal asked you why he was here and he kissed you to get it out of you when you said you didn't know."
"Ah-huh."
"And you're wondering why he did it in the first place."
"Right on the money."
"Okay, that makes sense now." It was then that Yuna thought of something. "Why does he want you to marry Gippal?"
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Rikku exclaimed. "I have no clue. Maybe it's because..." Rikku stopped herself and thought a minute. "Hm, maybe it does make sense."
"What?"
"Well, you see, I'm gonna rule after Pops kicks the bucket," she replied. "Traditional Al Bhed doesn't allow females to take that position. It's not because they don't think they're worthy, it's just the way it is. It's really complected. Since Pops is leader and I'm his daughter, the Al Bhed princess, whomever I marry will be leader, or will have the title anyway. I'll be ruling with him, it's just that I won't exactly get the title. Make sense?"
"Kinda..."
"And Gippal, even though he is an annoying jerk, is the son of Pops' best friend. And he's the leader of the machine faction, and he's friends with Baralai and Nooj and he's my age. Now, just think if he were to marry me, the Al Bhed princess. What would happen?"
Yuna thought a minuted. "You'd blow a gasket?"
"Other than that!"
"Well, the status of the Al Bhed would certainly go up," she replied.
"Exactly," Rikku stated. Then she laughed. "Hey, I'm not as slow as I thought – but anyway, with all politics aside, what about family members? I mean, come on. The son of me dad's best friend marrying me – even if he already thinks of him as a son without the whole 'in-law' stuff. And he's only a year older than me."
"According to all that, you two seem like the perfect match," Yuna commented.
"Right. Now do you see why I think he's doing this?"
"Yes, sort of," she replied. "But why does he want you to get married in the first place?"
She plopped down on her side again. "Something about grand kids and wanting to see them before he croaks," she groaned.
"Awe, that's sweet."
Rikku looked up. "Sweet?" she echoed. "Sweet?"
"Well, yeah, Rikku. He's your dad, you should be thankful he cares so much about you. If he wants you to settle down and have a family, you should be gracious. He only wants his little girl happy."
"Can't he be a little bit more...less hands on?"
"Rikku, I don't remember my father well," her cousin replied, looking away. "I never told anyone this, but I cried for a while after he left on his pilgrimage. All I had was Kimahri after that, until Lulu and Wakka came along. My mother died in childbirth. I don't remember my parents at all. And all my father wanted was for me to be happy as long as I could. Sir Jecht was the one to make me smile before they left."
She only listened as her cousin continued. "I said to my father 'If you leave, I'll be lonely' and Sir Jecht told me that they were gonna come back. And afterwards, he'd bring along his son so I could have a friend my age. He said that his son and I would get along very well, and that we'd be friends for a very long time."
"When Tidus first told me who his father was, I was so ecstatic," she continued, breaking out into a smile. "I thought, 'is this the one that Jecht told me would be my friend?' and kept on wondering as time past. I finally realized it was him – and a part of me hoped that it was because our fathers sent him to me. He kept his promise and now look at us, we're married. I think that's what the two of them were planning all along."
"But, Rikku, you should really cherish the fact that you have a father. He only wants to see you happy. And, maybe he thinks Gippal can make you happy."
"Gippal?" she replied. "Of all the people, did it have to be him?"
"Well, you did give good reasons–."
"Never mind," she stated. "I'm tired, I gotta get some sleep for tomorrow."
Yuna smiled and patted her back. "You go ahead. Tidus is probably wondering where I am. Or, he could just be asleep." That made Rikku smile. "Oh well, I'll see you in the morning."
She stood and went over to the door, but Rikku stopped her. "Yunie, why were you in my office tonight, anyway?"
Yuna grinned sheepishly. "Honestly, I was looking for you," she replied. "And I interrupted you two. Sorry about that."
"Oh, don't be sorry, I should be thanking you."