Glass Half-Full

Chapter 6: Additions to the Factory, Additions to the Family

(A/N: w00t! Chapter Six has finally made its way to the Internet.What a relief! This writer's block was nothing but a pain, but I finally decided that I wouldn't let myself use my phone or leave my room until I forced it out of myself. (I know, not such a smart way to write, but I can't STAND drawing a blank when it comes to fictions. In Lindsay Land, it's been another rough week, but your kind reviews really encouraged me to get back on my feet. I really can't thank you enough for that! Anyway, enough babble---on with the story!)

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Gippal smiled at Cid as he stuffed the aged blueprints under his arm. No matter how bad the situation with Rikku would get, Gippal knew that he held the remedy to every single problem in his hands. Well...not every problem; he would have the talk the princess down from her heated rage before springing everything on her at once. But then...then everything would be what it was supposed to be. Arrogance was totally acceptable in this case.

As he walked out of the tent, the fiesty Al Bhed herself ran right into him. Rikku bounced off of Gippal's swelled chest and onto her bottom.

"Hmm. You should really watch your step there, Cid's girl." Gippal spoke to the enraged blonde as he offered her his hand. She scowled, picked herself up and marched into the tent without giving him a second glance.

Inside, Cid sat at his desk, gazing pensively at the ceiling. Rikku almost had a heart attack; what the heck was this! If her father wasn't chain smoking and mumbling obscenities to inanimate objects, he was off building or destroying something---never thinking to himself or being absorbed in something non-machina.

"...Pops?" Rikku dared, crossing her arms and nearing him. Cid's eyes were glazed over as they met his daughter's, and he actually smiled at her. This was beyond weird.

"You okay?" she ventured as she took a seat across from him. Man, she hoped her father wasn't already in hysterics; the last thing she needed was to venture all over Bikanel searching for Tidus's limbs after tonight. But she wasn't going to spring the news on her old man alone...

"Yeah, I'm good." Cid finally replied, snapping his daughter out of her trance. He stood, stretching his tanned arms and smirking. "What brings you here? You done diggin' already?"

Rikku's blonde head bobbed up and down as she chewed on the inside of her cheek.

How am I going to spring this on Pops? she thought.

"Well good. Cause I think it's time you and I had a little heart to heart."

Oh, vilg.

"What say you and I talk over a good Zu roast tonight? Rin invested in a new restaurant chain here, y'know." the man suggested, stroking his chin as he paced behind the makeshift desk.

Aha! That's it! I'll just shimmy myself back to the inn, get Yunie and Tidus ready and bring them with me! Hm. Poor Tidus...

"Sounds good to me! But I gotta run back to the inn so I can get a shower. It's way hot out today..." Rikku replied, turning away from her father before he could protest. She didn't even think twice about the proposition he was making or what it was about; the only thing on her one-track mind was how she would get the big news to her father that night. As the tent flap closed behind her, Cid gazed at just about nothing as he shook his head.

"She's gonna have to hear the truth sooner or later..."

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Djose, as usual, was stormy and dismal when Gippal arrived. The lightning brilliantly lit up the sky as he bounded off of his airship and onto the soggy soil. As quickly as he could, he rounded up his assistant and charged upstairs to his office.

"S-s-sir! What is it? What's so important!" the young man asked as he watched his mentor excitedly charge around the room.

Gippal only gave him a lopsided smile as he rolled the blueprints out on his cluttered desk.

"You look like you just defeated Sin singlehandedly!"

This made Gippal laugh.

"Have you ever broken up with an Al Bhed princess?" he asked the boy.

"Umm. No, sir."

"Well if you had, you'd know that defeating Sin and getting back on her good side are just about the same thing. OK, take a look at these blueprints. I'm going to take a chance by halting all production on the old scout prototypes and taking about half of our lightning tower calibraters to work on this new project."

"But, sir, this is a----"

"I know. It looks insane, but I need you to split these blueprints up into sections, then assign them to different mechanic teams. This project, from here until completion, is top priority."

"Yes, sir."

With that, the young mechanic hastily gathered the papers and scurried down the stairs and out of the temple. Gippal sighed, smiled, and looked out the window at his busybody workers down below. It wasn't like him to not be down there, getting just as dirty, but he decided that today was going to be his vacation day. Besides, he owed it to himself after coming up with such an ingenious plan! Picking up his remote control, Gippal clicked on his sphere where the Kilika Beasts and the Ronso Fangs battled it out in the Blitzball pool. He plopped on a couch and let his mind wander.

Cid's girl, you're not gonna know what hit you when you see what's in store for you in Djose...

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"Come on, you two! Get a move on! There's no telling how long Pops will be in a good mood, so let's not risk letting it pass!" Rikku called over her shoulder as she led the couple out of the inn. Behind her, Yuna smiled as she tugged her sickly boyfriend by the hand. If Tidus were to clench his teeth together any tighter, he soon wouldn't have a jaw at all. But alas, the poor boy would have preferred lathering himself in meat and throwing himself in a pen of Queen Coeurls than face the wrath of precious Uncle Cid. His fate was unfortunate, really, but anybody destined to impregnate either Yuna or Rikku had it coming from the fiesty man.

Soon, the three arrived at the new Al Bhed restaurant, which was apparently a hit with the rest of the islanders. Cid stood outside waiting, finishing off the last cigarette he could have before dining. When he saw the three, his face initially lit up, but fell a bit when he realized there was more than just his daughter in his presence.

"Hey, Pops! Hope you don't mind Yunie and Tidus joining us; we just figured that it was time to have a family sit down." Rikku explained as she reached out and gave her father an unexpected hug. Cid's face showed obvious confusion...Rikku wasn't the type to sporatically give out hugs to her father.

"What the heck is wrong with you, girl? You know I love Yuna, but I needed to talk to you privately." he growled in her ear. She scowled and abstrusively stamped on his foot before replying,

"Well, get over it! My issue trumps your issue, OK?"

The two released, faked a smile, and the four headed inside. After finding a table and ordering drinks, Cid eyed the three while they were unusually quiet. How typically flighty of his daughter to demand attention, then avoid it at all costs. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Tidus clearing his throat.

"S...uh...sir?" he dared, fiddling with the hem of his pants. Cid cocked an eyebrow while Rikku and Yuna stared on, apparently in some sort of shock. It was Yuna who was supposed to say something; Tidus's only role in the conversation was supposed to be getting the tar beaten out of him. It didn't exactly require much talking, but somebody had to occupy Cid's rage. Yet instead, the Zanarkand Abe was taking one for the team by announcing the big news himself.

"What's eatin' ya, kid?" the older man asked, leaning into the table and eyeing Tidus with concern. Tidus intended to reply, but the words were seemingly stuck in his throat. Cid shook his head slightly and raised his glass to his mouth when Tidus blurted out,

"I got Yuna pregnant."

Cid choked on his drink, sputtering some sort of Al Bhed liquid delicacy all over the table. Some people turned around, not at Tidus's words, but at his future uncle's reaction. Tidus, as usual, started frantically waving his arms in front of his face while Cid tried finding his words.

"You...! I'll----I'll k-k-k-kill you...:cough: you---"

Finally, Tidus stopped him.

"Sir, I understand your anger, I really do, but..."

Cid wiped his mouth and nursed a growing headache with his right hand.

"But what you need to know is that I've died and lived for this woman...not only would I go to the ends of every world for her, I would gladly raise her children. As unexpected as Yuna's pregnancy is, there's no such thing as a burden when I'm as deeply in love with her as I am. I don't care how cliche'd it sounds. Oh...and you might not want to kill me if you want this baby to have a father figure."

The entire table was tensely silent as they awaited Cid's next move. Rikku was still recovering from the shock that Tidus's speech induced, but she also shared the concern that Cid could still very well kill him. Finally, the man looked up from his drink.

"You love her?" he hoarsely spoke.

"Yes, sir."

"With every single particle of your being?"

"Sir."

"And you would go beyond the duty of a guardian to protect her and your future child?"

Tidus nodded.

"What of a wedding?"

Rikku finally got the chance to chirp in.

"Oh yeah! We were gonna have a quiet little ceremony for the two, pretending that it happened before Yunie got knoc---pregnant. We're gonna tell people that she just couldn't invite all of Spira, so we'll send out the tapes later."

"Ooh! Better yet..." Yuna included, "we can just pretend that we're renewing our vows in some big city, but actually be getting married for the first time!"

The girls squirmed excitedly while Cid looked on at the Tidus whose heart rate was just beginning to recover.

"If you can love my Yuna as much as you claim to and put up with these two for the rest of your life, you have my blessing. Welcome to the family, blondie." he finally said, a warm smile beginning to cross his face. Tidus looked like 83 pounds had been lifted off of his shoulders as he returned the smile and sighed with relief. Welcome to the family, indeed. It was about time.

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(A/N: Wheeeee! Tis done! Well, this chapter, anyway. Sorry for not really moving the Rikku/Gippal-ness along, but the whole pregnancy thing with Yuna needed to be addressed in order for the plot to progress. You'll have more coupling goodness in the future, I promise! Until then, 'prease' review! Thanks again for being such great fans! -Lindsay-)