Disclaimer- I am not Homer. Nor do I own any part of Final Fantasy or Squaresoft or Square Enix. Hard to believe, I know.

Another author's note: Sorry this took so long, guys. I decided to keep it a Yuna/ Tidus centric fic, because I didn't want to make it Rikku/ Gippal centric, so if I made Rikku Helen, Paris would still be Tidus. Tikkus have grown on me, but I didn't especially want to write one… so yes. Onto the fic…

-liz

Ahh! Almost forgot. There's some Al Bhed in this, so go to google or yahoo, whatever, and search for "Al Bhed Translator," if you don't speak it fluently. Haha. Caa oy!

It was early morning, and the light was just beginning to reach all the corners of the palace courtyard. Rikku, who was supposed to be picking pomegranates and apples for Yuna's breakfast-- symbols of fertility and love, traditional wedding-morning nourishment—was instead lying facedown on the edge of the fountain, watching the cool water trickle from the stone mouth of the cherubic child of the faith into the basin below. Built in the middle of the courtyard, the fountain was large and luxuriant. Cemented into the bottom of the pool, between the tiles, were clusters of sapphires and diamonds, giving the already shimmering water a opulent luster.

Rikku's cheek rested against the stone, as she trailed her fingers in the fresh water, half-full basket of fruit lying beside her. She was half humming, half singing a song in Al Bhed. "Frana yna oui huf fro ys e rayn fyedehk vun oui..."

Her normally keen senses were off-guard, and she didn't notice anyone else around until they had snuck up on her and grabbed her from behind, pulling her off the fountain edge.

"Rao!" she screamed, instinctively punching the person in the stomach. Not expecting this at all, the person stumbled, still clasping Rikku, and they both toppled over, into the fountain.

"Eww," exclaimed Rikku, who hated getting her hair wet. She had spent all last night braiding it and adding new, crystal beads. It wasn't like she had much else to do, though; Yunie wasn't around to talk to… too busy entertaining her husband.

Wiping the water out of her eyes, Rikku turned to see who the intruder was. Blonde hair as gravity-defying as ever, the leader of the Al Bhed stood before her, sputtering and wet, looking mildly amused.

'Gippal!" Rikku shrieked, jumping on him, toppling them once more into the water.

This time, Gippal gave a hearty laugh and returned her hug. "It's been too long, girlie," he told her, standing again and removing himself from the pool but not Rikku's clutches. "How've you been?"

"Miserable," she said grinning.

"Miserable," he chuckled. He then swept her up into his arms, and spun her around, enveloping into one more hug and she shrieked with laughter. "Why so miserable, kiddo?"

Setting Rikku lightly on her feet once more, she replied, "E's yh umt syet! My cousin just got married yesterday, and no one's even shown any interest in me."

Frowning for the first time since the beginning of their meeting, Gippal ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Slow down sweetheart. Yuna got married?"

Rikku nodded furiously. "Oac, to that ikmo Seymour Guado!" Lowering her voice a bit, she spoke rapidly in Al Bhed. "Cra rydac res! Ra'c cu lumt yht... ikr. Zicd aff."

"How about that…" muttered Gippal to himself. "This really screws up my plan."

Rikku's green eyes widened. Speaking in an even quieter whisper, she asked, "Were you thinking of marrying Yuna?"

At this, Gippal let out a snort. "Me and Yuna? No way. There's only way girl for me, sugar." At this, he winked at her, and Rikku laughed, punching him on the shoulder.

"Gippal, you're such a bmyoan, a playeryou shouldn't even joke about being a one man kinda guy. C'mon," she said, dragging him by the hand towards the kitchens. "Let's get something to eat."

"No really," Gippal protested. "Rikku, really, I am."

The high, tinkling sound of Rikku's twittering resounded off the high walls, as Gippal and Rikku left, entirely forgetting Yuna's breakfast.

Yuna stood outside on her balcony, where she could hear the whole castle slowly awakening. Most were still in a drunken stupor from the previous night's festivities. Glancing back into her bedroom, she saw her husband, still heavily sleeping, a wet spot on his pillow from where he had drooled, and she grimly decided he was still drunk as well. She wished him a pounding headache, or extreme dizziness, anything to keep herself from the duties a wife gives to a husband.

Sighing, she looked over the city. Somewhere below, she thought she heard Rikku laughing. How many times had she heard that sound before? Her cousin was only a year younger than her, ripe for marriage. Once Rikku was wedded, she'd move to wherever her new husband lived, leaving Yuna alone.

Shuddering at the thought of being friendless in a loveless marriage, Yuna began to weep. She needed to find some way out. She'd run away to a temple in Bevelle, become a priestess! No, that was too close… She needed to go somewhere farther away. Maybe the Calm Lands… there she could be a chocobo farmer, a nursemaid, anything! Realizing her ideas were futile, Yuna sank to the floor, crying harder. On the ground, she saw the mirror Seymour had given her. She picked it up and glanced in it.

Stopping her weeping for a moment, she stared, entranced in the mirror. Her face was so white, so perfectly made… Her tears were so opaline, frosted. Angrily, she threw the mirror across the room, where it shattered in a corner. Yevon, she was beautiful, even when she was crying. Such a curse!

Hearing the noise of the breaking glass, Seymour stirred. Groggily, he called out for her. "Yuna? What was that noise?"

Mustering her strength, Yuna walked over to him, smiled and replied, "Nothing my husband." Inwardly grimacing, she stroked his hair. "Sleep, and later, when you awaken, we'll eat breakfast."

Once she was sure he was asleep again, Yuna picked up the pieces of broken glass. A shard caught the end of her finger. Sucking the blood from her hand, Yuna smiled bitterly. Good, she thought. I hope it leaves a scar.

It was night on the other side of Spira. Zanarkand is most beautiful at night, Lulu thought, brushing her long, velvet locks. She was sitting on the end of her bed, dreamily brushing, stroke on stroke, while her husband was in the other room, watching the baby. Everything had never felt so perfect.

Wakka walked into the bedroom, kissed his wife on the cheek and whispered,

"Vidina's asleep."

Lulu smiled at her husband, never having been so in love with him. "Thank you for putting her to bed," she said softly, not wanting to wake the child.

Wakka laughed quietly. "Anytime Lu. I know how tired you've been."

Lulu gave him a rare smile. "Mothering is harder work than you'd think." Putting the brush away and lying down into the soft cushions of the bed, Lulu faced Wakka. "When will we be able to go out into the city again? I miss strolling through, seeing my friends… Will we be able to attend court again soon?"

Wakka sighed. "Soon," he replied. "Being crown prince is hard, too. Dad hasn't wanted me to attend court at all, though, not until Vidina's at least a year old. He says we should spend time with her now, because it will be harder to in the years to come."

Lulu sat up and looked at him. "In the years to come? What does that mean? Why won't we be able to spend time with her? Is her sending her away, to school or a temple? Is he sending her away to be married? Wakka, what does that mean?"

Her eyes were flashing dangerously, and Wakka kissed her softly on the lips. "Don't worry, love. I think he means that he'll be gone soon, and I'll be king. You'll be my beautiful queen of all Zanarkand. We'll need to be rulers as well as parents, for Vidina and any other children we'll have. That's all."

Lulu sighed, and lay back down on the bed, and closed her eyes. She didn't want anything to change… "Speaking of which, Wakka, I need to tell you…"

Bursting into the room at that moment came a young man with ruffled blonde hair and a happy grin on his face.

"Wakka!" he shouted. "Wakka, where are you?"

Lulu sighed angrily, as she heard Vidina stir and begin to cry. Annoyed, she looked at her brother-in-law. "He's in there, Tidus," she said, pointing to the bedroom. "Next time you barge into our room, kindly remember that infants take forever to be put to sleep, and wake very easily." With a huff, Lulu took her child into her arms. Cooing softly, rocking her back and forth, she tried in vain to put the baby back to sleep.

Wakka smiled at his younger brother, and gave him a large hug. "Tidus, brother, how are you?"

Tidus grinned mischievously at his older brother, then said, "Never been better, Wakka!"

From the other room, Lulu whispered loudly, "Hush!"

Continuing in a whisper, Wakka smiled ruefully. "Sorry man, but be a bit quieter, ya?"

"No problem," replied Tidus, lowering his tone of voice. "Listen Wakka, I need a favor…"

A/N-

Character Update-

Lulu- Andomache

Wakka- Hector

Vidina- Astyanax

I think this chapter's end was a little slow… I'm not too happy with that. Thoughts?

Next chapter—Some Rikku/ Gippal fluff, and maybe some Tidus/ Yuna? Hmmm….

Review please!!