Guilty of Nora Jonesing

Part II

Disclaimer: See Part I

A/N: Part II deals with Rikku's half of the story. Hopefully it will clear up any questions that weren't made clear in Part I. Thank you for dealing with me and for the feedback. Its been a long time since I've written anything, but slowly its all coming back... I appreciate the reviews so much -- they give me areas to work on in my writing.

Oh! If this part reads less romantically than Part I, its because Rikku is not the one Nora Jonesing. That would be Gippal. I like it that way, it seems like a role reversal of sorts. And I'll probably think of stuff later that I should have mentioned here but neglected to...

The engine room is too hot to be hiding in, but there she sits, tucked away nearly out of sight. The room, despite its noisy engines is the quietest room on the Celsius. And that's because she knows her brother will never think to look for her here (though she'd be surprised if he remembers to think of her at all.) She doesn't mind the whir of the engines though, rather she finds them comforting. The noises of machina have long since been called the 'Al Bhed Lullaby,' because machina have been their constant companions since childhood. When she should have been playing with dolls, she was tinkering with her ratchet and making simple little machines that rarely worked. But just a few years ago, before the fall of Yevon, the phrase had been meant as an insult that stemmed from a deep seeded prejudice. It was meant to scare followers from progress, by portraying the Al Bhed race as pagans. To share in a love for machina was to equate yourself with the Al Bhed and to be equal with a pagan was a fate worse than death to the faithful Yevonites. She scoffs as she lets her brain mull over that last thought – hokey religions just aren't her style.

But while thinking of Yevon would be enough to ruin her afternoon most days, today her mind is preoccupied with more important problems. Gingerly she turns the sphere in her hands – she's procrastinating in her decision and she knows it. Her nose wrinkles as it normally does when she's in deep thought, while her long blond hair falls into her face. She didn't bother to tie it back and braid it today as she normally does, so when it falls in her face she simply pushes it back behind her ears. But at the moment she is too deep in thought to even care about her hair. Part of her brain is still struggling to comprehend why he would ever send her a sphere like this. He must have had her mixed up with someone else. …But then why is the sphere addressed to her?

She doesn't remember starting the sphere, and she's surprised when it plays its message back again. Of course, she didn't remember the last four times she started it either. His voice even sounds different, though she can't place why. She actually had to watch it twice to be sure it was him. Sure the man in the sphere looked like him, but really, any Al Bhed could have put on an eye patch and a flamboyant purple outfit and it would have been nearly as believable as this sphere. By the third time she watched it she was convinced it was him. These last two times she's trying to understand why in Spira he would send this to her. The words don't sound anything like him though, and she's convinced that someone wrote him a script. There's no way he would ever ask her, "Rikku, I'd really like to see you tonight. If you feel the same, I'll be at the Moonflow." She snorts at the message. Had anyone else sent her this she would be flattered, but from him its just not the same. It doesn't sound like him. She'd rather he had simply assumed she'd meet him because she's head over heels in love with him. As obnoxious as the message would be, it would be him.

Instead she's growing annoyed by the message, though she admits that the message she'd rather he sent would have infuriated her. But then she can rage and call him a 'stupid, obnoxious, egotistical, overconfident jerk.' And she would find comfort in her rage. Their friendship is a simple one clearly defined by roles – he is the cocky, arrogant prick convinced she, along with everyone in Spira, worships the ground he walks on. And she is the lone holdout in his quest to conquer the women of Spira. She frowns, her lip curling up in disgust as if she had eaten Brother's cooking – or worse – Yuna's. Her cousin may have saved them all twice, but she can't cook to save her own life. Had her mind not been so completely focused on the sphere in her hands, and the man looking up at her from within, she may have followed her thoughts down the dangerous tangent of Yuna in the kitchen. But instead she is trying to decide if she really is the sole single woman in Spira not completely enamored with the Machine Faction's leader. Surely somewhere there has to still be someone who is still so deeply rooted in prejudice that they are immune to the 'Sex God's' charms. She cracks a smile at that last thought. 'Sex God' – that's definitely not the title she knows he would want. He prefers to be thought of as a Casanova, but she maintains that in order to be called that you have to be somewhat charming. He's merely a raging lump of hormones thrown together in the shape of a man.

But what a man he is. She doesn't deny that when they built him they definitely broke the mold. That's why she prefers to hide within the safe limits of their friendship. To step beyond those boundaries would lead to certain heartbreak as she knows all too well. She is far too wary of his charms to be led astray again.

She shakes her head vehemently – it wasn't really his fault, they were both children then. She was only thirteen when they played at adulthood together. She smiles as she remembers fondly on the great love affair of her life…

He had been thirteen for so much longer than her. But she had finally managed to catch up – if only for another month – then he would be fourteen and older than her once again. Technically he was still older, but she didn't care. Right now, she decided, they were equals. And seeing how she doubted he knew when her birthday was, she would go rub her new age in his face. She grinned at the thought of telling him with pride that he wasn't older than her anymore.

They had competed at everything for as long as she had known him. Gippal's trump card had always been the fact that he was older than her. Frankly Rikku didn't really see why he never just told her, "I'm taller." She had asked him once and he replied: "I like having you look up to me Cid's Girl." She rewarded him by shoving him into a sand dune and running away while he laughed at her.

Today she would be the one laughing.

She found him in the shack behind his house, elbow deep in oil and machina parts. Normally she would be intrigued, but right now she was focused on her prey.

"Hey Ugly!"

…No answer… She frowned and tried again. "Ugly Butt!" Still he didn't answer. She was beginning to be annoyed. But annoyance to a thirteen year old is just as fleeting as the life of a butterfly. Plus, her curiosity was getting the better of her. She stood behind him and craned to see over his shoulder at his work. "What'cha making?"

He looked at her with a cocky grin, "Cid's Girl! Thought I heard you!"

She colored to a beautiful shade of crimson as she glared at him, "Meanie! I have a name you know!"

He considered this, "Congratulations. So do I."

She sighed in exasperation. He was being difficult! But at least he had opened the doors for the banter she was craving. Now she would finally get the best of him!

"Yeah, I suppose so. But what kind of a name is Gippal anyhow? I have a better name."

He was tinkering with his invention, but he played along. Sometimes it was best to humor Rikku. When she was mad bad things usually happened. Such as the leftover remains of a flan ending up in your boots. "But I'm still smarter Cid's Girl."

"You are not! I'm better with machina than you! You never would have gotten than hover board prototype made without me!" She grinned – maybe she wouldn't need her trump card after all.

"Holding the wires while I attach them doesn't count. And the only reason it works is because you don't weigh anything. Any normal person gets on it and it won't work."

She stuck out her tongue at him, "I can't help it if you're fatter than me. I'm still better with machina than you!"

He was getting tired of this banter. It was time to spice things up and make Rikku blush. After all, that was the fun part – she was cute when she was trying to kill him. "I'm a better kisser than you."

"Are not!" She slapped a hand across her mouth and turned scarlet for the second time that day. What had she just said? She hoped a fiend would come and eat her. …Actually, that would hurt. The fiend could eat him. Then there would be no witnesses to what she had said.

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "That so Cid's Girl?" He put down his tools and took a step towards her, "Prove it."

Her eyes grew big as she took a step back, "I – I…" She took a deep breath and poked him in the chest, "I don't have to prove anything to you Gippal! And you are not older than me!" And she ran home while he held back laughter.

Two weeks later she decided to forgive him. It was just a matter of deciding how. Luckily fate helped her with that a bit. They had been swimming at the oasis, Gippal, Brother, Buddy, and an Al Bhed girl that they were all vying for the attention of -- except for Gippal of course. But somehow he was winning. And while she would normally be thrilled to see how much it annoyed Brother to lose to Gippal yet again, she was getting annoyed herself. Well, she'd show him. She just had to go find a flan and make some 'Rikku Surprise' for his boots.

She wasn't counting on finding two flans.

Nor was she counting on him showing up. "Come on Cid's Girl! I'll race you to see who can finish them first! Know why?" He didn't wait for an answer as he watched his flan evaporate into pyreflies, "'Cause I'm braver."

Her flan joined the pyreflies. "Braver my foot! Those were babies and you know it!" She tossed her head at him, "And I'm braver!"

Funny, she did feel braver.

"And I'll prove it!"

Did she say braver? Actually, it was a false bravery -- the kind that bordered on stupidity. She marched up to him and pulled his face to hers and kissed him hard on the mouth. Yup, definitely stupid-brave. Just like Gippal. "And, I'm a better kisser."

She looked at his face to see his reaction. When he had none she flushed scarlet yet again and ran home.

Secretly Rikku thinks it rather pathetic that her great love affair happened when she was thirteen. Secretly she is jealous of her cousin and her fairy-tale. And even more secretly, she wishes that she hadn't acted in such a clichéd manner when she showed him how she felt. She lets out a laugh that echoes amid the engine's noise. Who in Spira says they're braver and then kisses someone? It's so … so … thirteen.

She bites her lip as she looks around the engine room – it was her fault that their romance didn't work out. After all, she was the one who ended it when she turned fifteen. She knew that sooner or later he would loose interest in her and leave for another girl. And her pride wouldn't let her be just another of Gippal's castoffs. So she left him.

She stands and looks at the sphere once again. She thinks she's going crazy – if she's counted correctly then she's looked at his sphere fifteen times in the last three hours. Sighing she decides that maybe she is owed a fairy-tale.

It's late when she reaches the Moonflow. The moon is already high in the sky and the stars are painting the night's blackness. She likes stars. They look like polka dots.

She squints her eyes as she searches the shadows for him. As exotic as people say the Al Bhed eyes are, they really don't serve much purpose besides looking pretty. She wishes they gave her the ability to see in the dark. It would be pretty useful right now.

Then she sees him. He's talking to a strange woman. Actually, make that a strange, attractive woman. She watches as he puts his arm around her and they walk off together. Rikku's not stupid, and she knows fully well what they both will be doing later that night. She hears a crack and looks down at her hand. She's cracked the sphere he sent her. Shaking her head she opens her mouth in a silent cry of rage as she throws the broken sphere deep into the Moonflow.

She knows she won't ever get a fairy-tale.