Rikku sat on the bed in one of the rooms in ShinRa Manor, looking out her window, longing to go out. Vincent stood in her doorway, watching her. "The leaves are falling, Vincent. Fall is coming," Vincent walked and sat next to her. "You want to go and explore, don't you?" Rikku nodded and looked at him.
"But I can go longer than you without traveling or exploring." She teased. Vincent raised an eyebrow.
"Really now? Wanna bet on that?" Rikku nodded. "Yeah!" She though for a moment. "If I win, you gotta tell me your deepest, darkest secret. 'Kay?" Vincent nodded.
"And if I win?"
"Then I'll tell you my deepest darkest secret!" She smiled. "We need boundaries. How about…We can't go anywhere past Edge,"
"Why Edge?" Vincent asked.
"Because, Tifa's bar is there and we wouldn't be able to go visit her," She answered. 'This'll be an interesting bet,' thought Vincent. He then nodded. "And we can leave the house for groceries and to visit Tifa," Rikku continued. "Okay?" Vincent nodded. Rikku smiled at him once more as the door bell rang. "Who's that?" She asked as she got up and went downstairs. Vincent followed close behind her. Rikku opened the door and blinked, surprised at who she saw in front of her. "G..Gippal?..." She managed to quietly stutter. Vincent appeared behind Rikku and narrowed his eyes at Gippal. "I have the feeling that I interrupted something." Gippal said with a smirk. Rikku fell silent so Vincent did the talking for her. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm only here to talk to Rikku," Vincent growled. Rikku looked back at Vincent and shushed him. She then opened the door for Gippal to come in. Vincent opened his mouth to speak but Rikku covered his mouth with her finger. "You, shush," She then looked to Gippal. "And you, sit and wait," she pointed to the couch. Gippal obeyed. Rikku looked back at Vincent and grabbed his wrist, pulling him to the kitchen. "You let Gippal in. Why?" Vincent asked.
"Because, he said he was here to talk to me and he will,"
"But—"
"Shush!" She interrupted his sentence. "I know perfectly well what he did and I still hate him as much as you do. But he had yelled something after me when I left the place where he took me to a while back. I'm guessing that he's here to repeat it or to clarify it for me." 'Lie,' She thought to herself. She hated lying to Vincent; It practically killed her on the inside. "But what if he…" Vincent started, letting his voice trail off.
"If he tries to beat me again, I'll scream, which will be your signal to come down and kick him out. But that's only if he tries to beat me, 'kay?" Vincent nodded. "Okay. Now, you go upstairs and wait." She gently pushed him out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, stopping once he was climbing up the stairs on his own. But before Vincent was all the way up, she secretly took his Cerberus and replaced it with one of her own daggers. She thought she'd need it to at least threaten Gippal. She smiled at the image of Gippal's scared look. She then made her way over to Gippal. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"I want your stuff out of my house," He said coldly. "I can't live there with all your shit everywhere."
"I'll have it out by next week. Anything else?"
"Yes. Have you figured out if you're…?"
Rikku shook her head. "No. And if that's all I suggest you leave. Vincent doesn't like you much anymore,"
"Ah. So he feels the same way,"
"I never cheated on you, just so you know. He's been my friend for a long time and was actually there for me, unlike you."
"I was there for you!" Gippal stood up.
"Hell no you weren't! All you did was tease me and make me feel like I was nothing!"
Gippal stayed silent for a moment and then moved toward Rikku, reaching out for her. "I'm sorry.."
Rikku backed away from him. "Don't touch me!" She yelled and turned her head away from him and closed her eyes to stop tears from flowing out of her eyes. She then turned back to Gippal and opened her eyes. "Don't you know that it's too late to apologize?" She brushed past him and headed toward the stairs. Vincent was just coming down since he had heard Rikku's yelling. Rikku gave Vincent back his Cerberus and took her dagger back then headed upstairs to a room. Both Vincent and Gippal watched her go and were silent for a few moments. Gippal was the first one to talk. "So…You and Rikku aren't dating?" Vincent shook his head.
"No. Just friends," He answered. Gippal hit himself in the forehead. "Then I just lost a good one." Vincent nodded again. "Think she'll take me back?" Gippal asked.
"No. I don't think she will. But do me a favor and leave. I don't want Rikku upset anymore than she already is." Gippal nodded and headed toward the door. "I'm guessing that she's gonna ask if she can stay with you since I told her that I wanted her stuff out of my house. Take good care of her like I should have, 'kay?" Vincent nodded once more and Gippal left.
Rikku sat on one of the beds in one of the bedrooms that was in the manor. She held her knees to her chest and clutched a pillow, tear stains on her cheeks. She dried her cheeks and went to find the phone. She was careful not to run into Vincent. Once she found a phone, she called Tifa. "Hey, Tifa, wanna go shopping today?"
"Sure!" Came Tifa's reply. "I'm also gonna bring Yuffie with us, is that okay?"
"Yeah," Rikku smiled. "Meet in twenty minutes, 'kay? Bye." She hung up and went to the room she was in before. She changed into her extra clothes and headed downstairs, finding Vincent on the couch looking as if he could fall asleep any minute. She decided that she'd tell him where she'd be going before he fell asleep. She quietly sat beside him and poked his arm. He jumped and looked over at Rikku.
"Scared ya," She said with a smile. "Hey, I'm going shopping with Yuff and Tifa in twenty minutes, okay?" Vincent nodded. "I have a question, Vincent."
"Yes?"
"Gippal said that he wanted my stuff out of his house and I told him I'd have it all out in a week. I don't have any place to go, so is it alright if I…Uhh…Moved in with you here?" She looked at him, a hint of pleadingness in her eyes. Vincent nodded again. "Of course,"
"Yay! Thank you!" She briefly hugged him and got up, a bright smile gracing her features. A knock came from the door. Rikku skipped over to the door and opened it, being greeted with a hug from Tifa. She hugged back. "Where's Yuffie?" Rikku asked.
"Waiting on the Highwind. But she said to hurry because she's about to barf." Rikku tilted her head questioningly. "Air/Motion sickness." Tifa answered. She nodded and turned to wave bye to Vincent, but found him asleep. "Oh. He's sleeping. Shhh," Rikku put a finger over her lips and tip-toed out of the house, silently closing the door behind her. She then squealed and ran towards the Highwind, quickly climbing in. "Where to?" Cid asked. "To Midgar mall!" answered Rikku. Cid nodded and lifted off the ground.
--At the Mall—
"Race ya!" Yuffie shouted as she ran towards the entrance of the mall. Rikku giggled and ran after her, Tifa soon following after. Rikku was the first to reach the door. "I won!"
"No fair!" Yuffie protested.
"Yes, fair." Rikku briefly stuck her tongue out at the ninja then entered the mall. Tifa laughed at the two and followed Rikku inside, pulling Yuffie along as she passed her. "Whoa!" Yuffie wiggled her wrist out of Tifa's grasp and looked around. "Shopping time!" All three of them said in unison, running aimlessly into the crowd of the mall.
--At ShinRa Mansion—
Vincent woke up from his sleep and looked around. He looked at the clock. He'd been asleep for an hour. Wiping the drowsiness from his eyes, he stood up and headed into the kitchen to prepare supper for him and Rikku for when she came back. He tried to remember all her favorite foods. 'Salmon, corn on the cob and fettuccini,' He then brought all those out and started cooking.
--At Tifa's Bar—
"Okay, that's yours, Yuffie. And that's yours, Rikku. Mine, Yuffie's, Rikku's, Yuffie's, Mine, Mine…," Tifa sorted through the items putting them in piles. "Gosh, can you believe how much stuff we bought?" Said Yuffie, smiling brightly.
"Hey, we're girls, it's what we do!" Rikku answered. 'That'd be such a great excuse to tell Vincent if he asks!' Thought Rikku, smiling. Once Tifa got the items sorted out, she plopped down on the couch, letting out a long and tired sigh.
"Tired, Tif?" Asked Rikku. Tifa nodded. "Then go get some rest!" Rikku pulled Tifa up from the couch by her hands and pushed her up the stairs with help from Yuffie. Once Tifa was up stairs, they both sat on the couch.
"Why'd you steal a pregnancy test, Rikku?" Yuffie asked. Rikku's eyes widened a bit at the question. "Are you pregnant or somethin'?" Yuffie continued.
"H-How'd you know?" Rikku asked in a shaky voice.
"We're both thieves, Rikku."
Rikku sighed and looked down. "…."
"Vincent didn't get you pregnant, right?"
"Oh, gods, no!" Rikku looked up at Yuffie. "I'm 17 and he's…What? Fifty-somethin'?"
Yuffie shrugged. "Hell if I know. Well, if it wasn't him, then who was it?"
"….Gippal."
"Care to tell?"
"It's a long story."
Yuffie spread out her arms. "I've got all night."
--ShinRa Mansion—
The slam of the front door made Vincent cringe. "Oh! Sorry, Vincent!" Rikku said.
"Welcome back," Replied Vincent. Rikku sniffed the air, smelling salmon. "Ohhh, I smell food!" She exclaimed, following her nose into the kitchen. "Oh my gods, Vincent. You're actually cooking?" She said in a playful tone, hugging him from behind. He shivered a bit and she let go of him, stepping back. "Sorry. Didn't know my jacket was that cold." Vincent mumbled something that Rikku couldn't make out. She sighed and made her way out of the kitchen, carrying her new stuff behind her. 'I wonder what's got him so mad?' She wondered. She walked upstairs and went into the room beside Vincent's, deciding that this room would be hers when she moved in. She looked at the bare walls around her. "When I officially move in, I'm gonna decorate this room my own way." She said to herself. She dug through her bag to find her pen and notepad. While searching, she found the pregnancy test that she stole. 'I'll take it after dinner,' She moved it aside and took out her pen and notepad. She put the notepad in her lap and held the pen in her hand. 'Hmm…I haven't drawn for a while…. What should I draw?' After a few minutes of thinking, she decided to draw her, Tifa and Yuffie together. She was halfway through her drawing when she was called down for dinner. She jumped up and ran downstairs, taking a seat in one of the chairs of the table. She took a bite of her food, her eyes widening. "Oh! Vincent, I never knew you could cook! This is really good!!" Vincent nodded the thanks and continued to eat. They both ate in silence. After dinner was done, Rikku argued with Vincent on who would be doing the dishes. Rikku won. "Now, get some rest, grumpy butt." She had said to Vincent while he was exiting the kitchen. The phone rang as she was washing the dishes. She wiped her hands off and a nearby towel and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hi hi!" Yuffie's cheery voice said.
"Hi Yuffie!"
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Washing dishes. You?"
"Ohhh. Just had dinner with Vincent, did ya?"
"Yes and his cooking is sooo good,"
"Really? I'll have to bug him to make me something sometime. Anyway, I called to ask if you'd like to have a girls', well more of a thief's, day out tomorrow? It'll be just you and me,"
"Sure!"
"Great! I'll meet you at 10:30 tomorrow morning, 'kay?"
"'Kay!" Rikku hung up and resumed doing the dishes. Once they were done, she went upstairs to see how Vincent was doing. She found him asleep in his room. She went over to the bathroom, pulled out the test and eagerly awaited the results. It came out positive.
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Author's Notes;
Haha! Cliff hanger x] I like makin' cliff hangers :D
I do not own Final Fantasy, though I wish I did!! Square Enix owns FF :/