A/N – Fuck it. I'll just have Lorrenne[MY original character] call Rikku 'auntie' even though that right name for her would be 'second cousin' but how weird would that sound? Having a kid call you 'Second cousin Rikku!' xD
Enjoy the chapter!3
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"Hi there, Lor!" Rikku dropped her bag next to the door and picked up Lorrenne, Yuna's and Tidus's child.
"Auntie Rikku!" Lorrenne squealed with delight as Rikku picked her up and hugged her.
"My, my, you've grown!"
"Yup!" Lorrenne replied.
"Hey, where are your mommy and daddy? I haven't seen them in a while,"
Lorrenne pointed to the kitchen with one hand and to the living room with the other. "Mommy's id the kitchen and daddy's in the living room."
Rikku nodded. "Thank you, kiddo. Play with my friend Yuffie for a while, 'kay?" Rikku set her down and pointed her in the direction of where Yuffie was standing. "I'll be back in a bit, Yuffs. So could you play with Lorrenne here for a while?"
Yuffie nodded. "Sure!"
"Thank you!" Rikku turned on her heel and went into the living room first. She quietly crept up behind the couch Tidus was sitting on, planning to scare him.
'Three. Two. One. Scare!' She thought as she jumped up from behind the couch.
"Boo!" She yelled as she wrapped her arms around Tidus's neck, laughing at his surprised reaction.
"Rikku! Did you really have to scare me like that!?"
Rikku giggled and nodded. "Tehehe. Yes." She took her arms from around his neck and looked up, seeing that the TV was on. "Oh, you lazy bum!" She took the remote from him and turned the TV off.
"Hey!" Tidus reached for the remote back, but Rikku raised it above her head. "I could so get that if I stood up since I'm taller than you, Rikku."
"Yes, but I'm a thief." She stuck her tongue out at him and ran into the kitchen. Tidus got up and chased after her.
"Yuna! Yuna! Help! Your husband's chasing me like a mad man!" Yuna looked up from what she was cooking and blinked as she saw Rikku running from Tidus with the remote to the TV in her hand. She laughed at the two.
"What am I supposed to do? Tackle him to the ground while you go and hide the remote?"
"That would help!"
"Okay!" Yuna dropped what she was doing and tackled Tidus to the ground, pinning him down.
"Yuna!" He protested. "What're you doing?! Rik just took my remote!"
"Sorry, hun, but she is a thief; I'm just letting her do her job,"
Rikku laughed and ran out of the kitchen to go hide the remote. She ran into Yuffie and Lorrenne.
"Hey, you guys, help me hide Tidus's remote!" She whispered. Both nodded and ran after Rikku. A few moments later, they came back into the kitchen.
"Okay! The remote's hidden!" Rikku said with a smile. "BUT, before Tidus goes to find it, I wanna take Yuna's place on him for a while!"
Tidus's eyes widened as he shook his, looking pleadingly up at Yuna. "No, no! Please don't let her, Yuna!"
Yuna shrugged. "C'mon. It's just a game," She then looked up at Rikku and motioned for her to come over. Rikku did just that. Yuna quickly got up and, just as quick as Yuna, Rikku got on top of Tidus.
"Ha! Gotcha!" Tidus groaned just as there was a knock on the door.
"Rikku, get off of me so I can get the door!" Rikku shook her head.
"Let Lorrenne get it; the person at the door won't hurt her,"
"How do you know?"
Rikku looked up at Yuffie and smiled. "Because I know that person," She then looked down at Tidus, smiling even more. "Very well."
A disgusted look came on Tidus's face. Rikku narrowed her eyes. "Ew, no! Not like that! Pervert," Tidus chuckled and nodded. "Alright. Lorrenne, sweetie, go get the door, please." Lorrenne nodded and went to go get the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Vincent stood and waited outside of Yuna's house, hearing voices from inside.
"Rikku, get off of me so I can get the door!" That was Tidus and apparently, Rikku was on top of him, but why?
"Let Lorrenne get it; the person at the door won't hurt her," And how'd she know that he was at the door?
"How do you know?" Tidus again.
"Because I know that person," A pause. "Very well." Vincent blinked; Tidus would probably get the wrong idea… "Ew, no! Not like that! Pervert," And Vincent was right, once again. He could hear Tidus's chuckle and him speaking once again, "Alright. Lorrenne, sweetie, go get the door, please." Soon after that, the door opened and there stood little Lorrenne, looking up at Vincent. The little girl smiled and hugged his leg.
"Vincent!" The gunslinger blinked in surprise as he looked down at her. After he processed what was she was doing, he smiled and patted her head.
"Hello, Lorrenne. Are Rikku and Yuffie here?"
Lorrenne nodded. "Yup!"
"May I see them?"
The little girl nodded again. "Sure! Follow me," She grabbed his hand and led him inside and into the kitchen. "Rikku! Yuffie! Vincent's here!" She stopped in the kitchen, let go of his hand and ran back beside Yuffie. 'Now where's Rik – Oh,' He spotted her on top of Tidus, who was being pinned down by her. Both blondes looked up at him, Rikku smiling and Tidus speechless.
"It isn't what it looks like…," Tidus started.
Rikku shook her head, throwing a glare down at Tidus. "It's exactly what it looks like! It looks like I'm pinning you down, right?" She looked up at Vincent. "If it looks like anything else, please tell. I don't want it to look like he's cheating on Yunie with me with her standing right there," Rikku shivered. "I only like him as a brother and close friend, nothing else."
Vincent chuckled and shook his head. "No, it doesn't look like anything other than you pinning him down. But, if I may ask, why are you pinning him down, Rikku?"
Rikku smiled, taking her hands off of Tidus's wrists, but still sat on him, and crossed her arms triumphantly. "I took his remote. He chased me so I came in here, where he still chased me, and told Yuna to pin him down for me so Lorrenne, Yuffie and I could go hide the remote. We did, but I said before Yuna lets him go that I want to pin him down for a while," She looked down at Tidus, still smiling. "Isn't that right?" Tidus nodded.
"Yeah. And you made me miss my football game,"
Rikku rolled her eyes. "Football! Is that all guys care about?!"
Vincent and Tidus laughed, shaking their heads. "No,"
Rikku looked up at Vincent in awe, blinking. Vincent tilted his head. "What?"
"Ohmaigawd, Vincent, did you just laugh?"
The gunman nodded. "Yes,"
"Pinch me; I may be dreaming. Vincent actually laughed!"
"Why is that such a surprise?" Vincent kept his head tilted.
"I've never heard you laugh before!"
"Neither have I!" Yuffie chimed in.
"I haven't known him long enough to be surprised by him laughing," Yuna said, Tidus and Lorrenne nodding their heads as a sign of agreeing with her.
Vincent shrugged and quickly changed the subject. "What'd you want to talk to me about, Rikku?"
"Oh! Uhmm…Can we talk about that in private?" Vincent nodded.
"Well, go talk with him in private upstairs, Rikku. Like, now," Tidus glared up at Rikku.
The blonde turned her gaze back to Tidus. "You just want me to get off of you,"
"Duh!" Rikku stuck her tongue out at him and got off of him, dusting herself off. She then blew a stray braid out of her face, muttering 'dumb braid', while doing so, and smiled, turning to the people behind her.
"No one come upstairs, 'kay?" They all nodded. Rikku grabbed Vincent's and Yuffie's wrists and pulled them along, heading upstairs. "Yuffie's coming, too," Announced Rikku.
"She is?" Vincent asked, his head tiling as he let her lead him.
"I am?" Yuffie chimed in once again.
Rikku shook her head. "Boy, you guys are really out of it today!" She softly giggled as she walked up the stairs.
"Abortion?" Vincent asked as Rikku nodded. "But…Why?"
"I'm only 17; I don't think I'm ready for a baby," The thief turned her head away.
"That'd only be taking an innocent child's life away when it doesn't even have a chance, Rikku,"
"She knows what it means, Vincent! And she hates to do it. But she means what she said about being too young to even take care of it." Yuffie said, her arms crossed. Rikku put a hand on her shoulder, a gesture to tell her to calm down. She then turned her gaze To Vincent.
"I don't like the idea of it either. I'm against abortion. But if you just knew how much is happening right now…," She trailed off, shaking her head.
Vincent tilted his head. "What's happening? If you'd tell me, maybe I'd understand better."
Rikku sighed and took her hand off of Yuffie's shoulder. "I've gotten abused, my father's being a real pain, my brother's gone missing –"
"Whoa! Your brother's gone missing?!" Yuffie looked up at Rikku, her eyes widened. Rikku sadly nodded.
"Nooj said that he hadn't seen him for a week. When I went asking around, everyone said the same thing; 'Haven't seen 'im for about a week. You sure your dad didn't send him somewhere?' Then I went to ask my father about him and he said that he had no clue where he was and that he'd turn up eventually,"
"Wow."
"Different subject, please!"
Vincent nodded. "We'll go back downstairs. Rikku, where'd you hide Tidus's remote?"
Rikku smiled. "In his bedroom."
He nodded again and headed out of the room.
"Well, he took that rather calmly, didn't he?" Yuffie asked. Rikku nodded.
"Maybe a little too calmly…,"
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"You found it! Thank you, Vincent," Vincent nodded and handed the remote to Tidus. Rikku and Yuffie came down the stairs giggling. Yuna looked at them and tilted her head, not helping but to smile. "What're you girls giggling about?"
Rikku looked at Yuna and shook her head. "Nothing! So, we should get going, huh?"
"Wait! Rikku, please stay for dinner?" Asked Tidus. Rikku looked over at Tidus and raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was inviting her. She shrugged and nodded.
"Sure. But only if Vincent and Yuffie get to stay, too,"
"Of course! Dinner will be in about an hour or so. Rikku, can you put Lorrenne down for her nap?"
"Yeah! C'mon, Lor!" She grabbed the small child's hand and ran upstairs. Vincent glanced at the people around him before following Rikku; he wanted to see just how she'd put Lorrenne to bed.
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"Whoosh! We're at the landing spot! Ready to land, Lor?" Rikku asked, looking up at the little girl on her shoulders.
"Yes!" Lorrenne replied.
"Okay!" Rikku turned around, sat on the floor and dropped Lorrenne on her bed.
"Whee! That was fun, auntie Rikku! Do it again?" The small girl pleaded. Rikku shook her head.
"No, no. You gotta get to sleep,"
Lorrenne frowned. "Aw! Why?"
"Dunno."
"Well, when dinner comes, promise you'll wake me up? I'm starving!"
Rikku laughed and nodded. "Of course,"
"Pinky promise?" Lorrenne held up her pinky.
"Pinky promise," Rikku hooked her pinky with Lorrenne's. Rikku cringed; a dark presence was behind her. It seemed familiar, but who? She un-hooked her pinky from Lorrenne's and turned around, relaxing when she saw Vincent. She laughed.
"You're becoming just as good as me; sneaking up behind un-expecting people. But, as a thief, I can always sense when there's someone behind me," She smiled, folding her hands in front of her. Vincent just stared at her. The blonde sighed and held up a finger to Vincent. "One moment," She then turned around to face Lorrenne again.
"Okay, little girl, you gotta go to sleep now."
"B-But –"
"No 'but's. Your father said so. Do you know that you have your father's eyes and your mother's hair?"
Lorrenne nodded and smiled. "Yes, you've told me that before,"
"Only because it's true!" Rikku smiled and softly kissed the smaller girl's forehead. She then got up and walked towards the door. "See you later, Lorrenne!" And with that, she turned off the light and closed the door. She turned and looked around for Vincent. "Vincent?"
"Right here," She turned around, finding him in the guest bedroom. She peeked in. "You wanted to say something; what was it?"
Vincent didn't turn to look at her, but spoke anyway. "You'd make a really good mother."
She rolled her eyes. 'Does he even know that he's making me take a guilt trip?' She decided that she'd ask him that. "Do you even know that you're making me go on a guilt trip with every word you say about the baby?"
Vincent closed his eyes. "I'm not meaning to, Rikku, it just seems so much like…," He didn't have to finish for her to know what he meant.
"I swear, that's all you think about! That Lucrecia girl and Hojo! Memories are great, but that's all they are! You're like Paine all over again," She shook her head, turned on her heel and went back downstairs. Halfway down the hallway, she leaned forward and clutched her stomach. 'The baby kicking so soon?...No, no. It's something else. Something bad is going to happen, but what?' She put a hand on the wall to keep her balance. She felt like throwing up, but wouldn't let it happen.
"Rikku? Rikku! Are you okay?" Yuffie and Yuna came running towards her. Rikku forced herself to stand upright and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Lorrenne's in bed, so shhh." She put a finger to her lips and lightly smiled. Yuna frowned and put her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrow while looking at the blonde. "It's something other than that; what is it?" 'Just like Vincent; reading me like a book,' She shook her head. "Later," Yuna nodded.
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Vincent turned his gaze away from the window and to the hallway. Voices were what he'd heard.
"Rikku? Rikku! Are you okay?" That was Yuna. 'What does she mean by, 'are you okay'? Did something happen to Rikku?' Vincent started to get up, but Chaos interrupted him.
'Hold it there, host. You don't know if she's actually hurt or not. Wait and listen before you make assumptions,' He must've not heard Rikku's reply because Yuna spoke again.
"It's something else; what is it?"
Now he could hear Rikku. "Later," Then he heard the footsteps going downstairs.
'I think dinner may be ready, host. Go downstairs.'
Vincent got up and headed downstairs.
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"Rikku! Can you please get the table ready?" Yuna called from the kitchen.
"Already did!" She called back.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Now to go wake up Lor,"
"Why?"
"Because I promised her." The thief turned and ran upstairs, only to run into Vincent. She frowned a bit and looked up at him. She stepped to the side to try and go around him, but he blocked her so she tried the other side. He still blocked her. She gritted her teeth and balled her hands into fists.
"Vincent, let me pass,"
Vincent shook his head. "We need to talk,"
"We'll talk at home. Right now, I've got to keep my promise to Lorrenne or she'll be very disappointed in me. But at least I'll someone to blame if I don't get past." Vincent didn't budge.
"Guess you're getting blamed then," She moved to the other side then quickly to the other side once he tried to block her from her previous move. She ran right past him and down the hallway. She stopped outside Lorrenne's door, panting, clutching her stomach. "Eck. I really feel like throwing up…," She shook her head and took her hand off of her stomach, opening the door to Lorrenne's room. She turned on the light and started clapping. "Wakey, wakey! Dinner's ready!"
The smaller girl sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ehh…Rikku?"
"Yup yup! Now get up!"
"You kept your promise!"
"Sure as heck I did! Now, do you want food or not?"
"Yeah!"
"Then come on!"
Lorrenne jumped out of bed and followed Rikku down the hall to downstairs.
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Yuna hugged Rikku tightly. "Oh, Yunie! You're hugging me to tight,"
"Oh! Sorry,"
Rikku smiled. "It's alright,"
Yuna nodded. "Now, promise you'll come back and visit again!"
Before Rikku could answer Tidus came out from behind Yuna. "No! No! Don't promise! Do not promise!!"
Rikku smiled and nodded. "I promise,"
"Nooooo!" Tidus then laughed and looked at Rikku, who was looking at him strangely. "Kidding, Rik. Just kidding,"
Rikku blinked and stuck her tongue out at him. "I knew that! Jerk,"
Lorrenne broke through between her parents and held up her pinky. "You promised mommy you'd come back by words, but promise me by a pinky promise!"
Rikku laughed and hooked her pinky with Lorrenne's. "Yes, Little Lor," She smiled at the smaller girl. Vincent pulled on her arm, breaking the pinky promise. "We gotta go. Now."
"You aren't supposed to break a pinky promise, Vincent! It's the rules," Lorrenne protested. Rikku ripped her arm from his grasp.
"This is my family; I can spend as much time as I want with them. Heck, I could even move in with them; I don't they'd mind. What's your rush anyway?" Rikku turned away from him, not waiting for his answer, and pulled Tidus into a hug. "H-Hey!" Tidus protested.
"Oh, hush. It's just a hug. It's not like I have the death touch or something." Tidus stared at her, smirking. Rikku's jaw dropped. "Oh, you big jerk!" She punched his shoulder.
"Hey! I didn't get my hug yet!" Lorrenne chimed in.
"Oh! I'm soo sorry Lorrenne," She kneeled down and gave Lorrenne a hug. "How's that?"
"Much, much better!"
Rikku laughed. "Alright. Well, Mr. Impatient here really wants to go, so I'd better go, too. Maybe keep him calm since it seems like he's in a bad mood," Tidus looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "What? – Oh, I swear, you have a sick, sick mind, Tidus!!" She threw a pebble at him. Vincent nearly choked.
"Okay, okay! So what if I do? Just get a move on," Tidus replied, blocking the pebble with both hands.
"Fine, we will, Mr. Jerk!"
"Remember! You promised me and mommy that you'd come back and visit! Better keep it!" Lorrenne said.
"You know how well I keep my promises better than anyone, don't you?" Lorrenne nodded. "Then I will come back," Rikku felt a hand tugging on her arm again and looked to see who it was. It was Yuffie. "We really have to go now. Vincent's already started on his way back to the mansion," Rikku nodded and gave one final wave to her family before following after Yuffie and Vincent.