Sex and the Pilgrimage.

The airship trundled over the clouds, Tobli chattering away in the background about some fashion show he was planning. Rikku was mildy interested and Yuna was quietly excited, but Lulu and Paine were characteristically pessimistic.

"Oh come on, he could never pull of a fashion show, it took him all of three months to organise sending three hypello from Guadosalam to the Thunder Plains!"

Lulu laughed at her sarcastic friend's comment, her silver and purple hair jewels jingling as her black, curled weave, adorned with hair jewellery and sprayed with an abundance of silver glitter, swung from side to side. Yuna smiled inwardly as she realised that since Tidus had came back to Spira and all the troubles were over, she had laughed a lot more.

"But still..." Rikku protested "...we all know who he'll asked to model."

Paine, Rikku and Lulu all looked at Yuna, synchronised in their eyebrow arching and all knowing smiling. Blushing, the former summoner turned from her friends, turned from Tobli and decided to pass the remaining hour of the trip bothering Brother and Buddy inthe cockpit.

"So...ladies..."Tobli appeared. "What are the odds of Yuna walking down my catwalk?"

The three remaining girls laughed aloud, startling Tobli but sparking him off as well.

"We'll make it easy for you..." Rikku piped up "You put us all on a catwalk too, and Yuna's as good as yours."

Lulu and Paine stopped laughing and looked incredulously at their friend; Lulu spilt her vodka on the rocks all over the floor, splashing Paine's Yunalesca skirt while she was preoccupied with staring, agog, at Rikku.

"What a fabulous idea!" Tobli clapped his hands "I'm putting you in charge of winning Yuna over, do that and the whole of the Spardas and Braska ranges are yours for keeps!"

The tiny man plodded away, snapping his fingers at two Hypello who ran after their boss as he headed for the elevator. Left alone now in the cabin, aside from Barkeep, Lulu and Paine rounded on their Al Bhed girlfriend.

"Are you nuts?" Paine began, her arm systematically joining her hip as she readied for an argument, while Lulu nodded and crossed her arms.

"I am still suffering from excess belly since Vidina; five years with a lack of sleep, lack of healthy food and far too many cocktails do not do well for the body!"

"Oh come on, you guys!" Rikku smiled, knowing she would win "Think how much you'll turn on Wakka when he sees you on a catwalk, and how proud Vidina will be to see people cheering for his mommy as she struts her stuff to the whole of Spira!" Lulu blushed a little and smiled slightly, her arms unfolded and she played with her braids. "And think of all the attention you're bound to get when all the single guys see a little hot thing like you wearing Yunalesca dresses and Shiva style jewellery! Come on!"



Paine was clearly picturing herself in the hottest of clothes and jewellery while Lulu had taken on a glazed expression while she thought of her family's reactions to her being a model.

"I don't need a catwalk to get attention..."Paine tried to protest, but she was clearly warming to the idea of modelling the hottest Spiran trends.

"No, I'm sure you don't honey, but being able to say 'I'm a model' would get a lot more guys in the sack then you've had lately...no offence..." Rikku inwardly cringed as she touched the raw nerve that was Paine's very monotonous sex life. A standard of about one man every three months was by no means shameful, but compared to her friends Paine was practically virginal.

"I resent that..."Paine began"...but fuck it, I'm doing it." Clearly Rikku's speech had reminded the silver haired vixen how long it had been.

"But...but...my thighs..."

"Lulu." Rikku said harshly "Shut up. You are not fat and you're thighs are fine; you look brilliant in anything you throw on and your hair is always perfect. You're doing it."

Flattery. Lulu's weakness.

"...Oh...alright..."

Rikku jumped up and down on the spot, clapping her hands in the air as she won her friends over.

"Right, I'll get the specifics from Tobli and we can throw Yuna into this when we're on our trip around Spira..."

"But, Rikku, Yuna hasn't said she'll model yet..."

"...and we don't know if we're going this trip."

Paine and Lulu had doubtful looks on their faces when Rikku turned back around, but...

"Girls. Yuna will be going on this trip because we'll make her remember how long it's been since she had a life outside of Tidus, and she'll do the fashion show because we won't remind her about it until it happens."

Still looking doubtful, Paine and Lulu watched on as Rikku made for the elevator after Tobli, her Rosé wine spilling every now and then as it bounced over the long glass in time with Rikku's steps.

"Yuna'll come"

"Yuna'll model"

Laughing, the two friends made their way over to Barkeep, after only his finest Red Wine, safe in teh knowledge that they had to pack for a long trip, and had to diet for a long catwalk.