The Echo
Chapter 16: Getting Reacquainted

I sat in front of the bathroom mirror, slowly adding hair to the coil of braids atop my head. The house was silent, and so was I. I was waiting for Gippal to get home from work. Brother had already come to pick up Telan. Tonight, we were going to dinner. As I looked into my own eyes, I smiled.

Things were looking up. Telan had been healthy for two weeks, now, and Gippal and I had finally gotten over the flu that she'd passed on to us. The two of us had been rather tentative about the prospect of sleeping in the same room once again, after that first night, but it wasn't as awkward now as it had been two weeks before. It was nice to go to bed and be warm. To have someone else's warmth flow over you in gentle waves during the cold night hours. He'd held my hand again two nights before, breaking our invisible barrier at the center of the bed. I'd played a little game of footsies the next night. And both of us had woken to find ourselves just a few inches closer to the other this morning.

I'd been happy to find that he still watched blitzball when he couldn't sleep. That he would still cheer on the Psyches, no matter how badly they were losing. That he never gave up hope, even when the game was over. "They'll get 'em next time," he'd say. And I'd been happy to find that he still didn't mind if I joined him. That he would simply scoot over on the couch to make room, and offer me some popcorn.

Everything seemed so much clearer now. It was almost as if I'd been looking at my life through a foggy window, and suddenly, it had been wiped clean. I'd finally been able to truly tell him about why I'd left, face to face, without any lies. I'd finally let myself cry about it, truly cry. And everything felt better. Every small brush of his fingertips on my shoulder, every little smirk… every small, stolen kiss… made me feel better. Different. Alive.

I liked feeling alive. I liked that the smile on my face was real now, not the fake one I'd been putting on for so many months. I liked watching Gippal with our daughter, seeing how very much he loved her. He was still himself, but there was more to him now, a different sort of quality. He said the same about me, that I was slightly different, but in a good way. The three of us would sit or lie together, and everything felt right.

Back when we were making our slow progression to Zanarkand, I'd never thought that I would feel that way. I'd never thought that being somewhat settled would make me happy. I'd never thought that something so trivial could complete me. Even during the few long months in which we chased after Vegnagun, I'd thought that my life was only really complete when I was chasing something. When I was trying to help people, to save people from something. Vegnagun was only a year ago, now… and everything was different. But for some reason… I didn't mind all that much. Sure, I missed the action packed lifestyle. However, I liked the calm one, as well. Maybe I liked it better.

I took a deep breath as I finished the last braid, placing it with the rest in the large coil atop my head. I carefully put everything into place, twisting and pinning the strands in their proper spots. I looked into the mirror as I placed my old, faded blue bandana on top of it all. And when I saw the same smiling face of last year in the mirror, the same faded blue bandana atop the crown of molten gold, the same tanned skin and bright green eyes staring back at me… I laughed. I smiled. I stood and looked at myself in the mirror.

He was right. Something was different. But it was good. There I was, in the same yellow bikini top and short skirt, with the same summoner style coverlets on my arms, my brightly colored scarf around my neck. And I wasn't the same Rikku I once was. But I was still Rikku. Gippal was still Gippal. And life felt good once again.

I grinned as the waiter led us to a little table in one corner of the newest restaurant in the tourism district of the Moonflow. I hadn't expected Gippal to make such a huge effort. I'd thought we were going to go to that same restaurant we'd gone to long ago, on the second occasion in which I'd tried to tell him about the baby. I think he realized that it probably wouldn't be the best place to go.

This new place was nice. It overlooked the water and all the little flat bottomed boats that cruised along down the river. The pyreflies were just beginning to flourish in the fading light of day. As I looked out of the window near our table at the thousands of tiny white lights in the water, I smiled. He must have gone scouting for a good dinner place. From past experience, I knew he couldn't have chosen this place simply because the menu looked good.

I felt his fingers gently nudge against my own, and looked away from the window, smiling widely at him. He grinned back, entwining our fingers without a second thought. "Is this okay? I've never been here, I thought we should try it out."

I laughed softly, nodding spiritedly. "It's really nice."

He smiled and pointed out the window. "Pyreflies…" I nodded as he looked out at the sight I'd been taking in. There was a little smile on his lips as he looked out at the river. His shoulders were set confidently, and his grip on my hand was neither too loose or too strong. A calm, welcoming warmth seemed to radiate from him, and I smiled. He glanced back at me with his uncovered eye, looking slightly confused. "What?"

"Nothing… just watching you."

"If that wasn't you talking, I'd be really freaked out right now." He laughed. I giggled. The waiter returned with menus, and handed them to us, giving us strange looks as we continued to laugh. As he walked away, we only laughed more.

Once we were calm, we started browsing. I opened my mouth teasingly, but he cut me off before I could even begin to speak. "You can order anything you want, you don't have to worry about the price." With a wink, he grinned up at me. "But try to be frugal."

I rolled my eyes and kicked his foot. "Fine. I will." He whined, and I grinned, looking over the different selections of seafood. Even when his leg rubbed against mine beneath the table, I continued to read my menu as if nothing was going on. But I played back all the same. He still held my hand, and he too was regarding the menu without a trace of distraction.

Once we ordered, we stopped our little leg war and relaxed. I leaned forward on the table, taking his other hand in mine, resting my chin on the brim of my glass as I sipped from the straw absently. He squeezed my fingers tightly. "Huh?" I asked, looking up at his grinning face.

"Do you remember that time back in Bikanel when we were all sitting out by the Oasis?"

I looked off to the side for a moment, thinking. "Which time? We did that a lot."

"When your brother had all the alcohol."

I giggled helplessly. "How could I not remember that?"

"I don't know, my memory is a little fuzzy." He grinned and took a sip of his drink.

"Then why'd you bring it up?" I asked, smiling. He only shrugged as he sucked at his straw. "That's the day I knew you were drunk because you told me I was beautiful. You never would have said that if you weren't intoxicated."

"But you are beautiful."

I blushed, as did he. "Well, thank you… but… well, you were still drunk."

"Yeah, I think I was." He chuckled and looked out the window.

I smiled to myself as another memory surfaced. "And what about that little party in Luca a few days after we took down Vegnagun?"

He flushed again, quite visibly. "Oh, the one where you had to help me back to my room because I was so plastered?"

"Yep."

"I remember that one. And I remember you taking care of me while you called me a 'big dummy' and other such nasty little names."

I grinned. "And you thanked me and you agreed that you were a big dummy." I reached across the table for his drink, stealing a sip of it. "Oooh, that's good."

"Yeah, I really like it." He took a sip, too, with a grin. "And then I said something about how I would be a really big dummy if I didn't ask you to dinner the next night."

"Yep, to repay me for taking care of your sorry drunk ass." I laughed and leaned back in my chair.

"Was it enough payment, by the way? I don't think I ever asked."

"I didn't need to be repaid, it was simply an act from the kindness of my own heart. But I did get a pretty nice free meal out of the deal." I winked at him, flicking my braids back over my shoulder playfully.

"One!" he asked, playing at being offended. "I think you got quite a few."

"Yeah, yeah…" I smiled, flushing slightly as I looked down at the tabletop. "Gippal?"

"Yes?"

"I'm really glad I said yes when you drunkenly asked me to dinner."

He grinned as I looked up at him, his eye shining. "Me too."

We walked down the pier that was now lined with little boutiques and supply shops. The whole place was lit up with the eerie glow of the pyreflies. As they flew through the air, I listened for the familiar whispers that they gave off, scattered bits of long lost conversations that made no sense to the living. A light wind blew over the water as we walked back to the pass that would lead us home to Djose. I looked over at Gippal, who was watching me as my eyes wandered from one circle of the little phenomena to another.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked me, his voice quiet.

I pointed out at the largest cluster of pyreflies, far out in the center of the water. "If you got near enough to those, they'd start playing back memories, you know…"

"Just me? Wow, I'm special!" He grinned stupidly, and I shook my head with a grin.

"No, anyone."

"Yeah, I know. Why are you thinking about that?"

"This place holds a lot of memories for me. Its hard not to think about that when all these little buggers pop up." I pointed at the North Bank, near the entryway to the Guadosalam Road. "That's where I washed up after Tidus and Wakka kicked the crap out of the Summoner Sanctum machina… and Tidus found me over there and I met my cousin. I made a split second decision to join the summoner party, if they'd let me. And they did."

"Even though you were Al Bhed?"

"Well… not everyone knew. Not until later, at least."

He smiled at me, stopping for a moment as he leaned on the railing or the pier and looked out over the river water. "You've never really talked about the pilgrimage before."

I joined him at the railing with a shrug, rubbing my hands over the old summoner arm coverlets in an effort to keep myself warm. "What's there to talk about?" I asked quietly.

"Well… what happened. I know the basic story, but… everyone in Spira knows the basic story. Its just kinda weird, you know? I mean, I share a daughter with one of the most famous guardians ever to live, and I know nothing about what actually happened out there."

I watched as a baby shoopuf made a commotion in the water across the river. I wanted to tell him about it, but I'd only ever shared the entire story with my father. Some things were too sacred to be told in bits and pieces. "I'll tell you about it sooner or later, but it's really not important right now, you know?" He frowned slightly and nodded, following my gaze. "Speaking of our daughter… I think I should check in with Brother, see if she's doing okay without us…"

I opened up the little pouch that hung on my skirt, looking for my CommSphere. As soon as I retrieved it, Gippal snatched it from my hands. "She's fine."

I stared up at him, confused. "Well, don't you want to see if she's okay?"

He tucked my CommSphere away in his back pocket, grinning at me. "Rikki, we've left her with people before."

"Not for this long!"

He sighed heavily and reached for my hand, squeezing it softly. "Listen… I just… I just want to spend some time with you. Just you and me, you know, without any distractions. And I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just… I want to get to know you again." His voice was very low, very quiet. "We'll go home in a little while, but can't we just spend some quality time together while we have the night off?"

I squeezed back, smiling softly at him. I was glad he wanted to spend time with me. I was worried about Telan, but I knew Brother would take care of her. I needed to concentrate on Gippal, now. "Yeah… sorry, I just-"

He held a finger to my lips with a grin. "It's okay. I get it." I planted a tiny kiss on his fingertip, grinning merrily up at him. He grinned a little wider.

The two of us set off down the pier once more, watching the pyreflies as they dance in the wind. I rubbed my arms once again, shivering in the wind. I was stupid to wear this… I'm not used to this get-up anymore…

I jumped as Gippal draped his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. He was warm. I leaned my head against his shoulder as we walked, grinning happily. I always felt safe in his arms. I was just tall enough to be that perfect size, where I could rest my head on his shoulder without any difficulty whatsoever.

As we left the pier, taking to the dirt road that would lead us to the entrance of the Moonflow Road, Gippal pointed. "The duck man's got a band playing."

I laughed at his description. "Wanna go and check it out?"

He raised an eyebrow, glancing toward the road. "Sure. But if the music is horrible, then we're outta there."

"Deal!"

As the two of us approached the area on the bank where the band was playing, I looked over at Gippal. He was smiling to himself, walking confidently toward the crowd. I smiled to myself as well as we stepped up to the back of the gathering.

The music was slow and enchanting. I watched as the musicians played their various instruments behind the young woman who was singing, smiling as I remembered Yuna's little concert in the Thunder Plains. I rocked back and forth on my heels to the beat, my eyes closed.

And then I felt Gippal's hand grab my own and pull me toward him. I looked up at him in surprise as his arms encircled my waist. "What're you doing?"

"Dancing." And as we began to sway back and forth together, my head on his shoulder, I smiled once again. The Moonflow held a lot of memories for me… and now I had another beautiful one to add to my collection.

I sat down on the edge of Gippal's bed, cozy in my pajama's. We'd decided to leave Telan with Brother for the night. She was asleep when we'd returned… and we wanted some more time alone. He entered the room with a smile. I grinned slyly, gazing at his shirtless torso without trying to hide it.

He sat on the other side, resting his head on the pillows as he glanced up at me. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Because you're a nice thing to look at. Easy on the eyes." I giggled as he punched my leg playfully, chuckling at my response.

"You aren't too bad, yourself."

"Gee. Thanks."

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"Uh-huh." I laughed as he pouted, resting my own head on the pillows, my arms carelessly tossed over my head.

He sighed, gazing at me for a long while without speaking. "Rikku…"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about the pilgrimage. I want to know."

I sighed deeply as I gazed into his eyes. "Why?"

"I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, but I don't say meow, so I don't need to worry about that." He stuck out his bottom lip and gave me the puppy dog eyes that I couldn't resist. With a groan, I rolled onto my side so that I could face him.

"That's not fair!"

"What isn't?"

"The eyes."

"Oh, c'mon, you know I'd fall for it if you did it. Please?"

I thought for a long moment, ignoring him completely as I considered, before I finally relented. "I don't want to talk about it for long. It's just a memory, now."

"But that's not all it is." He smiled softly. "And you don't like that."

I shrugged. "Yeah. That's it."

"Okay… you don't have to talk for long."

I looked up at the ceiling. "It was scary. Especially for me. They barely let me into the temples. I think I remember someone calling me 'sacrilegious trash' before we got to Macalania… but I sort of tuned that stuff out. They locked us up in Bevelle, and once we got away, we had to hide out in Macalania for a few days before we could make our way through to the Calm Lands." I sighed heavily, unconsciously scooting closer to him. "The Calm Lands were weird back then. I hated them the most."

"Why?" he asked, a surprised expression on his face.

"Because they were too calm. Empty, y'know? And there's this one cliff out there, where you can see everything that you've passed up stretched out behind you… it's like a warning. It was a beautiful place, but I felt like it was the last place I'd see, so… I don't know, they were the worst for me. And there's this place on Gagazet… now the Ronso call it the Fayth Scar, but before, there was this huge pool of… well, raw power, I guess you could say, and it generated the storms over the mountain. And in the cliff face, there were all these… these people, in the stone. They looked like they were sleeping, but they were frozen, they were just encased in ice. They were the old summoners of Zanarkand, the ones left over from the war. And when Sin came, they all came together to keep the city alive by dreaming, and put themselves into this voluntary state of living death… it was horrible. They were still perfect, and they were alive, but they were dead…" I shivered, and he gently put an arm around my waist. "Everything changed when I left Bikanel. I wasn't a little girl anymore… not after that journey." With a sigh, I met his eyes.

"It was both wonderful and horrible at the same time. I always had to be on my guard, on my toes... it made me grow up. It's a lot more than just hunting down Sin and taking him out. It was kind of like hunting myself down and ripping everything I was to shreds, and having to put it back together again. For all of us. It was special... I can't describe it. It's kind of like us."

He was completely calm as he pressed a finger to my lips, telling me to stop. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he didn't want to press any further. He was still curious, though. He was always curious. "You don't have to say anything else if you don't want to." Tenderly, he brushed my braids back, out of my eyes. I nodded, and, without thinking, I crossed the short distance between us, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist in a tight hug.

"Thanks… I just-" But I never finished the sentence, for his hand lightly brushed over my cheek, and then his lips were on mine, gentle and calming. After the initial shock wore off, I began to return his kiss, closing my eyes. His thumb continually brushed over my cheek as our lips met, the contact soft as silk sliding over silk.

My limbs felt like jelly, and an entire palette of butterflies was suddenly fluttering about in my stomach. A gentle warmth was flooding my veins, spreading quickly throughout my entire body. He pressed his lips against mine a little harder, and I responded warmly, my mind swimming.

I started as his hand left my cheek and trailed slowly down my arm. He caressed my skin softly, artfully, and the butterflies began to swarm. I could feel him grinning against my lips as I hesitated. His touch was so light it was almost non-existent. And then again, it was so light that it attracted all my attention. I distractedly suckled on his lower lip as he reached for my hand. And as soon as he gave my hand a light squeeze, the butterflies quieted and returned to a dormant state, all nervousness gone.

He pulled back slowly, glancing at me as he laced his fingers with mine. "You okay?" he asked, as I gazed at him calmly. With a smile, I nodded and rolled onto my back, pulling him to me.

"I'm more than okay." He smiled and kissed me once more. Our tongues mingled for a moment, before he pulled away and trailed small kisses over my cheek. The butterflies returned with a vengeance as his lips found the hollow of my neck. And as I stared up at the ceiling, smiling to myself, holding his warm body in my arms… gently caressing his shoulders as his lips gently caressed my skin… something within me stirred. My heart felt as if it were about to swell and burst with the feeling, and even if I didn't feel ready to acknowledge it verbally, I knew what it meant. And I knew that he felt it, too.

Sorry that this chapter took so long, my life has suddenly become crazy insane. I'm not sure how long the next chapter will take. I have Powderpuff practice, dance, and homework all next week, and I have Homecoming after that. In any case, I hope you like it. Thanks so much for all the reviews, and thanks to FairyIce for the Beta.

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