The Echo
Chapter 22: Home Again

There I was, lying in the sand, waiting for the sun to rise. The night had been colder than usual, a sign of the heat to come. Sunrise was my favorite part about Bikanel, other than teasing Rikku. It was the time in which a transition took place and everything took on a different light. A person could think during a sunrise, and the thoughts would make some real sense. Sunset had that effect, as well, but sunrise was my time. The first rays of light peaked over the far away dunes in a slow and uncertain manner, as if they wanted to continue to rest. However, the sun decided against more sleep, as it always did, and it rose into the sky, a shining ball of brightness that, at this hour, could be admired without being blinding.

But if you weren't careful, you'd be blinded no matter what the hour. You'd be so blind you'd think the moon was the sun, even if nothing else could possibly shine as bright.

Djose Temple was still the same old, dreary place when we returned. The bridges that led to the temple were still the same ancient grey stone. The little office outside that was the continental headquarters for the diggers on Bikanel remained rather shabby. But, all the same, all three of us sighed with relief as we walked around the side of the temple toward the living quarters in the back. Telan was edgy from being held and unable to move for the long walk along the Highroad. I was edgy from the long walk, as well. Gippal hadn't allowed me to beat on any of the stray fiends that we'd passed. I'd been pretty angry, but it was only Rikku-anger. The kind that vanished as soon as something shiny caught my eye.

The house sat silently in the far corner of the living area, just as it always did. As we walked down the pathway, Gippal grinned at me. "Good to be home…"

I nodded and smiled as I opened the gate and walked into the little yard. "Tell me about it." With a little sigh of relief, I pulled the key out of my pocket and unlocked the front door, opening it up. The house was just as we'd left it, little toys spread out across the living room, everything straightened. I set Telan down on the floor as we walked inside. She squealed with joy at being unrestrained and out of my arms. She wiggled to one side and the other, what Lulu had said was the pretense to rolling over, and I shook my head and put some toys closer to her so that she could play without having to try and sit up on her own or cry for us to get them for her. Once that was done, I flew across the room and jumped onto the couch, whooping before my face landed in a pillow.

"We're home!" I yelled loudly into the pillow. I heard a chuckle, and the sound of our bags hitting the ground. Fast footsteps. Gippal landed atop my back a few seconds later. With a loud groan, I kicked him lightly and flipped over beneath him. "That hurt, y'know!"

"Shut up." He stopped supporting his weight, and I groaned once again in jest before his lips… well, attacked my own. I squealed loudly against him as he began to tickle my sides. "Ssh!" he whispered, sucking on my bottom lip.

But I couldn't. I giggled and squirmed, pushing him away as I struggled to catch my breath. He winked down at me as he reluctantly pulled back. "I like it when you wiggle."

"You pervert!" I laughed, leaning back against the headrest. He'd piqued my interest, to say the least. "Where did that come from?"

He grinned and kissed my jaw-line playfully. "I haven't been able to touch you for days."

I cocked my head to the side, thinking. "I believe that you've kissed me quite a bit in the last few days, Gippy."

"And that's about as far as anything could possibly get, so I dealt with it. But we're home now, and there's nobody to interrupt us." He nipped at my neck, and I squirmed once more as he reached up my shirt to tickle my stomach. I caught sight of my ring, the engagement ring that my mother too had once worn, and I grinned. Every time I looked at it, I felt giddy.

"Maybe I should go put the baby in her crib…"

Gippal glanced over at Telan, who was busy with her toys on the ground. "She's fine." His hand went a bit further up my shirt, and I squeaked. He just laughed and roughly pulled the tank top over my head, tossing it carelessly to the side. I giggled as he pulled my arms above my head and pulled at the strings of my customary bikini top.

"Gippal, she's right there!"

"She's a baby. It's no big deal."

"…men…"

I was calm for the first time since Cid had called me out to Bikanel. I watched the late night recap of the day's blitz qualifiers in Luca Stadium, taking a deep breath as I listened to the heavy rains falling.

I hadn't realized how much I'd missed that sound, while we were in Besaid. I liked listening to the ocean waves at night, as well, but I was a man of extremes. I either needed cold, harsh rain, or hot, harsh desert.

"The Al Bhed Psyches are the front runners for next year's Luca Tournament, followed by the Besaid Aurochs. This is the first time that the Goers have been shoved to the side by two of the worst teams in Spira's history, folks! And they're not happy about it… team captain-"

I stopped listening as Rikku sauntered into the living room, grinning at me as she sat next to me on the couch. "Why are you awake?"

I shrugged. "Just wanted to think."

"About?" she asked quickly, her inquisitive nature getting the better of her, as usual.

"I think we should get married in the blitzball stadium. Right before a game, you know? It would be a great motivator for the Psyches to win that tournament next year, don't you think?" She punched my arm and I whined loudly.

"Please tell me you're not serious!"

"No, Rikki, I'm not serious."

"Good. I would have to punch you if you were."

"I think you already did that!" I exclaimed, pouting as I glanced down to my arm. She just giggled and turned to face me, tucking her legs underneath her.

"You big baby. Seriously, what were you thinking about?"

Mischievously, I pulled her forward and kissed her hotly, entangling her hair in my hands as she responded. I licked over her lips in excitement and she tried to pull away.

"Gipp!"

I made my way to her earlobe as she whined about my attempt at distracting her, removing the feather earring, and setting it on the coffee table. Gently, I kissed her earlobe and whispered, "I was thinking about how wonderful it is that you're mine."

She sighed heavily. "Don't you try to romance me… I've already given in to you today, mister, you're not lucky enough to get lucky twice in one day."

"Yes I am. I'm plenty lucky. And I'm not trying to romance you."

She glanced at me disapprovingly. "Sure you're not. First, you seduce me in front of your own daughter, and now you try to flatter me with pretty words." I laughed at the glint of humor in her eyes. "I won't have that, Gippal. I will not."

"Sure you won't."

"I won't!" she exclaimed, her hair falling into her eyes as I laughed at her expression. She giggled, falling forward onto my chest, hugging me tightly around the waist as I ran my fingers through her plait of molten gold.

"It is wonderful that you're mine, Rikku. I'm being honest. I'm not romancing."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm not…"

"I know…" She smiled and kissed my neck softly before rolling off of me, into the small bit of space between my body and the back of the couch. "I love you."

"I love you, too…" With a happy sigh, I reached over and grabbed the bowl of popcorn from the coffee table and offered it to her, curling up with her in contentment as we watched the rest of the report on the scandals of the team captain of the Luca Goers.

I sat on top of a large tank that had been dug up just before we'd left for Besaid, and had finally arrived here from the Moonflow-Bikanel transport ships. I had some welding to do on the top, but I didn't want to. Reluctantly, I tugged at my engagement ring, holding it in my fingers for a moment before shoving it moodily back on my finger.

"Rikku! Take the damn metal already!" Karaa called up to me, wavering atop the ladder as she struggled to hold my heavy sheets of welding material.

"Oopsies…" I said, reaching down to tug them up next to me atop the tank. She glared at me as she lost her balance when I quickly took the metal away from her hands. Grumbling, she hauled herself up the ladder and sat next to me.

"Thanks for tryin' to kill me! I know we're both supervisors and all now, but honestly, you aren't going to be paid anymore if I'm gone, and it's not like you need more pay, 'cause you live with the boss, you lucky bi-" Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of me fiddling testily with the ring again. I really, really didn't want to have to take it off, but I really, really didn't want it to be damaged, either. "What is that!" she exclaimed loudly, the whole room silencing around us at the echo of her raucous voice.

"It's… well… it's a ring. Why?"

"What is that!" she exclaimed again, grinning like a fool. I could see Brother far below, chuckling as he wheeled his dolly full of deliveries into the room.

"A ring. Karaa, be quiet, people are staring at you. You're strange already, don't make it worse by shout-"

"It's an engagement ring, isn't it!" She proceeded to shout at the top of her lungs. I slapped my hand against my forehead, the sound of cranium hitting palm following Karaa's voice around the large workroom.

"Shut up!" I hissed. She just laughed as I grabbed her and covered her mouth with my hand, silencing her for the moment. I began to raise my voice in distressed anger. "You don't need to tell the whole world that I'm engaged! I can do that myself, thanks very much!" She struggled to speak against my hand, sighing when I refused to release her. "No talking. You promise? If I let you go, you will not speak of this loudly anymore. No more!" I felt like I was scolding Telan, which I rarely did… though I imagined when I needed to, it would be something like this. "Got it?"

She nodded and I let her go, keeping myself prepared to grab her again. "It's real pretty," she whispered. I giggled.

Loud music began to blare two nights later. Brother had taken Telan only an hour before, since Gippal and I had received an invitation to a small gathering that some of the most important proprietors of the Faction were holding.

"Gippal! We have to leave! Turn the sphere off!" I called as I finished my hair.

"It's not me," he called back from the hallway. I turned and watched as he walked past the door, a confused look upon his face. A few moments later, as I applied some gloss to my lips (something I never really bothered with unless I would be attending high society parties or meetings), he appeared in the doorway to the bathroom. "Looks like the Faction is having a party. Tables, chairs, and food everywhere, music is shaking all the windows."

I pouted unhappily. "Oh, can't we go to that instead? Please?"

He shook his head, a disapproving look on his face. "No, we need these people to invest. I can't steal from your father's bank account forever."

"Yes, you can. I give you permission."

"Rikku…"

I whined again, shrugging a sweater on over my dress. "Fine."

"Let's go. The sooner we get there-"

"-the sooner the torture begins."

"The sooner we can leave."

Reluctantly, I grabbed my purse and walked into the living room in front of Gippal. The only way he'd get me to go was if he walked directly behind me and stayed alert. I'd always had that tendency to let my attention wander at the worst of times and chase butterflies. With a sigh, I giggled in amusement. "At least you're wearing a tie."

"I look like an idiot in a tie."

"No, you look adorable."

"…I look like an idiot."

The two of us exited the house and the front yard, securing both the door and the little gate before we walked down the path to the middle grounds of the housing area. Just as we emerged from behind the few trees that Gippal had made an effort to save from Macalania and planted here, we were in the party. Food tables were everywhere. The music was louder than anything I remembered hearing since my days on the salvage ship before we'd killed Sin.

Gippal grinned wistfully. "This is an Al Bhed party, for sure. C'mon, let's leave. Maybe we can catch the tail end after this thing."

"The tail end! Uh-uh, buddy, we're leaving A.S.A.P.! I wanna dance!" I swayed with the thumping music, gasping in shock as someone grabbed me and pulled me into a nearby group of partying employees.

Karaa laughed at me. "Then dance! You have nowhere to go."

"Yeah, we do, we have to go to some stupid fancy party thing with fishie eggs as an entrée… blech."

Gippal was frowning in confusion as Karaa fished around in her pocket for something. I looked back at him questioningly, and he pointed across the clearing. I followed his gaze, and a confused look crossed my face as well when I found that I was staring at the very people who were supposedly holding the 'gathering' that evening.

Suddenly, I heard little party poppers go off all around the clearing, and I jumped back into Gippal's arms as a loud chorus of "Surprise!" echoed through the air.

Karaa grinned and tossed us tiny, plastic noisemakers. "Happy Engagement!" she cried out, while the rest of the party goers began to clap jubilantly.

Gippal and I laughed in disbelief as the music returned to full volume.

I'd finally taken off my stupid, idiot tie, and both Rikku and I had gone back to the house to change into something more comfortable. I couldn't help but give Karaa credit for planning the whole shindig behind our backs. I think she deserves a raise…

I danced with Rikku, swaying to the music in a purely Al Bhed fashion. Spira was beginning to bust out of its mold, sure, but we Al Bhed had always known how to let loose at a party. Lady Yuna and Tidus couldn't have held a candle to us if they tried.

"Great party!" she called over her shoulder to me, laughing over the loud bass of the sound system.

"I'm a proud bossman…" I called back, making her laugh. The song ended, and the two of us stopped dancing, panting in the middle of the floor, crowded by the mass of dancing people around us. Rikku was flushed. I took her hand and led her out of the group of people. "You look like you need water."

"Yeah… yeah, I'm… what's the word? Parched?" She laughed heartily at herself, the drinks she'd had at the beginning of the party making her even more ridiculous than she already was. "Oh, that's a funny word… parched!"

With a heavy sigh, I told her to stay put as I went off to get some water from the tables that were placed at strategic points among the crowds. When I finally worked my way through the line, I grabbed two cups of water from the table. I began to walk back toward Rikku, who I was shocked to see had remained in her spot like I'd told her to, but a hand caught my shoulder. A slightly familiar worker, one of Karaa's new interns, stood there.

"Sir?"

"Yeah, hiya."

"There's someone in your office, sir. Said they needed to speak with you. It can't wait."

I frowned, slightly, unsure. "They didn't see the massive party going on?"

"I don't know, sir, I went in to get more ice, and they requested to see you." He waited patiently as I stood there, confused, before remembering my manners.

"Thanks… I'll go up and check things out. Enjoy the party!" He nodded and rejoined the crowd. I frowned at the ground for a moment before returning to Rikku.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me. Me and my parchedness." She giggled, and I sighed heavily, handing her a cup.

"I need to go up to my office, someone is here to see me. Will you be alright out here?"

She looked around for a moment and then pointed at a group of dancing people not far off. "I'll go dance with Karaa while you're gone, 'kay?"

"Okay… have fun. I'll come find you when I'm done up there, alright?" I asked, setting my own cup down on the table. She nodded and stood up, skipping over to the group in her usual jumpy manner as I walked hurriedly toward the temple.

As I walked up the stairs and down the hall to my office, I couldn't help but wonder who had the nerve to interrupt my engagement party.

Once I was inside, it didn't take me long to figure it out. A blond haired figure turned and stared straight at me with a smirk on her face.

Adena.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, in shock. She remained seated as I stood, clueless, in the doorway, feeling like a stranger in my own office. "I sent you to Bikanel for a reason."

"Yes, I know. And Nhadala sent me back."

"Sure she did."

She sighed and stared out the window, tapping her foot on the floor. The echo of her heels against the stone was driving me insane already. Her being here was already torturing my presence. I hadn't forgotten the reason Rikku had left and gone to Baralai those months ago just yet. I doubted I ever would. It was my stupid mistake. She was my stupid mistake.

"How've you been, Gippal?" she asked. An innocent question; it dripped with poison in my eyes. I could feel the tension radiating from my own uncertainty.

"Wonderful. Why are you here? I transferred you to Bikanel. If Nhadala fired you, that's none of my business. She had good reason, I'm sure, if she did. And you know I won't hire you back."

"She didn't fire me. She just didn't want me doing manual labor, and that's all that's out on Bikanel, so she sent me back." She rolled her eyes, sighing heavily as she stared back at me.

With a cocky smirk, I leaned against the doorjamb, trying to forget about what had happened with this manipulative woman those months ago. "So, she did fire you."

"No."

"Then why in the hell are you here?"

"I'm pregnant. Didn't think you'd want me endangering your child while slaving away under the hot desert sun." It was her turn to flash me a cocky smile, as my own face went white.

So… this is the last chapter of this fic. I'm sorry it took forever… I've had a lot of things happen in my life since my past update: Senior Project, Senior Paper, another death, a few mental breakdowns, and other things I truly don't want to mention. Life's been hard lately, so I hope you forgive me. Since life continues to be difficult at this point in time, I'm not sure how soon the sequel will be posted. It will be titled Journey's End. In any case, it has a plotline. I hope I managed to throw another curveball here. That was the aim. I really like getting you all angry at me, and I can't figure out why… anyway, thank you all so much for your never ending support! Thanks FairyIce for all of your advice and dedication!

-Jezzi