Paine didn't hesitate to follow her old friend as he led the way, presumably to where he and Baralai now lived. But where did they live anyway? Mushroom Rock Road was hardly a safe place to wander, let alone live. The fiends were numerous and the darkness of night brought out its real dangers. Paine was certain that the fiends were nothing Baralai couldn't handle, but that would have been before his pregnancy. Baralai relied on speed and swift hits in battle to survive; taking that away and making his body heavy and unbalanced would leave him practically defenseless. Paine shifted her gaze to Gippal. Somehow, it seemed that he had managed to protect Baralai, which must have been no easy feat.
"So, you have a lot of questions, right? Shoot," Gippal tossed over his shoulder. He was walking with long strides and Paine's shorter height and high heels kept her from easily keeping up, but she wasn't about to admit her disadvantage and complain.
"Are the two of you living alone?" she started.
"Mmhm." Gippal nodded and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "We're trying to keep this secret for now."
"If you're trying to keep it a secret, then why impregnate him in the first place?" Paine asked, a bit of an edge to her tone.
Gippal chuckled and allowed his arms to swing at his sides. "That's something I'll need to let Baralai answer."
Paine didn't respond to that and after a moment, her Al Bhed friend slowed down to match her pace and walk beside her.
"But I can tell you this: it wasn't an accident."
Paine looked up and made eye contact with Gippal. His green eye was shining, the corner of his lips curled upward in a playful smirk.
"Then," she paused briefly, "you planned it?"
"Sure did," he responded. "Didn't think it was going to work, but it did… first try, even."
Now Gippal sounded like he was gloating. Some things just didn't change. Paine rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but I didn't need to know that."
Gippal laughed. "Anytime, Doctor P, anytime."
"You sound very sure of yourself for someone who's in hiding," Paine teased.
"Hey…" Gippal sobered up fairly quickly, lowering his head. "I need to make sure his pregnancy runs as smoothly as it can. If we're found out after he gives birth, then I can share the burden with him. We can both take care of the baby once she's here, but I can't share the burden of carrying her, you know?"
Paine blinked in surprise. Gippal sounded like he was on to something there. He could be responsible, she knew; he did run an entire faction, after all. "Well, I guess you do say good things sometimes."
Gippal smiled a little and shrugged. He didn't seem entirely comfortable with sharing a personal and somewhat vulnerable side of himself, but from the way it sounded, he hadn't had the chance to share these thoughts with anyone else.
"We're almost there," he informed after a moment of silence between them.
Paine nodded and though the sky was quickly darkening, she could see a fairly large single floor structure in the distance. "How did you…?"
"What, the house? Nooj," Gippal answered. "He's been our single contact for the last several months. He and I built it early on. Baralai helped a little too."
"Then… he knows?" Paine asked.
"Yep. Proudest uncle I've ever seen," Gippal declared, placing his hands on his hips.
Paine looked at him dubiously. "You've got to be kidding me." Nooj, an uncle and proud of it?
"He thought it was strange at first, but he's been changing the last few months. Not sure what caused it, but maybe the Deathseeker's starting to understand the miracle of life." Gippal laughed. "Or something like that."
Paine wasn't certain she could bring herself to believe that without seeing it. "Well, now I've heard everything. Next you'll be telling me that you're pregnant, too."
"Actually…" Gippal looked down at himself and placed a hand on his lower stomach, his thumb rubbing gently over the material covering his flat skin.
"Cut it out!" Paine nearly cried, not wanting to be right at all.
Gippal's laugh indicated he was entirely too pleased with himself. "Just kidding, calm down. But I am going to carry the next one."
Paine made a choked sound. Surely that was a joke too, wasn't it?
"I'm not having Baralai go through this again," he said softly, voice suddenly serious as they reached the wooden door. "Palyica E muja res…"
Paine was unfortunately not fluent in Al Bhed, but what Gippal said immediately reminded her of a particular moment from their time spent on the S.S. Winno. She had been sitting on a bench on the dock, hands busy testing out her other spheres to ensure that they would work when she heard Baralai and Gippal conversing. They were standing side by side with their backs to her, looking out off the side of the ship. She found it slightly odd that they were standing so close to one another, close enough that the entire length of their arms from shoulder to hand was touching. Come to think of it, they had been staying in close proximity to each other a lot, whether they were sitting or standing. They were so different, Paine thought; it was surprising that they were getting along so well.
They broke out into laughter suddenly but didn't look away from the ocean. Once they had calmed down, Paine heard Gippal say it. Softly, as though he didn't want anyone else to hear.
"E muja oui."
"Ah, sorry, what was that?" Baralai still sounded slightly breathless from laughing.
"Al Bhed," Gippal responded promptly. "I'll teach it to you someday."
Paine still didn't know what Gippal had said that day, but she believed she had a pretty good guess.
Not bothering to translate, just as he hadn't that day, Gippal rapped his knuckles against the door: one, two, one-two-three.
"Yo, Baralai! I've brought the doctor," he announced, his tone lighter once again. As he paused, seeming to listen for a response from his beloved, Paine crossed her arms. She realized that she hadn't asked how far along Baralai was, but he must have been close to full term. She had to admit that she was a little anxious to see him.
After a strangely long pause, a gentle, maybe slightly shy voice that was clearly Baralai's answered. "Come in."
Gippal grasped the doorknob and kept his hand there motionless.
"What are you waiting for?" Paine asked, knowing that her friend was playing around with her.
"Are you sure you're ready to see this?" he asked with false seriousness.
Paine sighed. "Yes," she answered impatiently, letting Gippal know that she wasn't appreciating this.
There was a chuckle from behind the door. "Let her in, Gippal."
"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." With that, Gippal swiftly opened the door and only a few feet away stood the man Paine had been waiting to see.
She had thought Baralai's middle was large in the sphere she had found, but it had somehow managed to grow quite a bit bigger since then. He was dressed in a robe that looked like one a member of New Yevon would wear, but it lacked the various symbols associated with the religion and Bevelle. While it didn't quite emphasize his heavily rounded stomach, it certainly did not hide it. Not that it could, Paine believed; he was too far along for anyone to mistake his condition. Fortunately, he was tall and that seemed to help him carry the weight fairly well. There were some other changes that were less noticeable too, including in his face which had filled out a little and his hair that was a couple of inches longer but still pushed back.
"It's good to see you," he greeted, waving his arms out in a circle and then bringing them together above the mound of his middle, several inches of space between his hands that faced each other palm-to-palm. Bowing as much as his state would allow him, Paine recognized the stance a Yevonite took on while praying.
"Good to see you too," Paine answered with a nod, and suddenly didn't know what else to say. Fortunately, Gippal spoke up so she didn't have to.
"Aw, c'mon, Doctor P!" he exclaimed, placing a hand on her shoulder which she didn't push away. "You're acting as if you two don't even know each other!"
"Well, it has been a while," Baralai said, his brown eyes warm as he looked fondly at their friend. "She hasn't seen me toting an extra passenger around."
"Is it alright?" Paine asked, finding her voice. "The baby?"
"Yes," Baralai answered, placing a hand on his belly. "Gippal wouldn't have left the house if she weren't."
Out of the corner of her eye, Paine saw Gippal smile. "When are you due?" she finally asked.
"In about a month," the eldest of the trio responded, sliding his hand down to the side of the bulge, rubbing his hand gently in a circle.
The hand on Paine's shoulder squeezed and Gippal spoke softly, "I know what you're thinking. 'He can't possibly get any bigger, right?' But he will."
Paine had a hard time imagining that. She almost felt sorry for Baralai with the pain his back must have been in, but she reminded herself that he had wanted this.
"We'll see how smug you are when it's your turn," Baralai threatened lightly and Paine didn't miss how he winced for just an instant afterwards.
Immediately, the warmth of Gippal's hand left her shoulder and went for Baralai's, gripping firmly. "Let's sit you back down, huh?" he said gently, leading his expecting significant other to the padded bench against the wall, keeping his hands strong and supportive beneath Baralai's arms as he sat down.
"I'm all right," Baralai assured him, sounding slightly embarrassed at the attention.
One of Gippal's hands moved down to the bench while the other moved to Baralai's prominent stomach. Paine faintly heard Gippal say something, but she didn't understand it—Al Bhed again? —and watched as he pressed his lips to the dark skin of Baralai's forehead.
This was going to take some getting used to.
Author's Note: I just noticed that I had anonymous reviews disabled. Argh. My apologies if you wanted to comment anonymously and could not. But it's fixed now, so go right ahead. Thank you very much to everyone who has reviewed so far!
I'm also sorry about the somewhat delayed update. Hopefully the length makes up for it.