Another late update. xD Don't hurt me! I'm sorry!
She stirred up her melting ice cream. Oci had forgotten hers a long time ago so that she could instead hug the blankets to her chest as some form of protection. Oci hated that Rikku always made her come over for a horror movie viewing. Rikku's usual response to Oci's whining was, "Come on, it's not like it's real or anything!"
Oci squealed as the mentally insane character broke through the door and there was a loud burst in the music. There was a knife, and blood, and shrieks. Rikku threw her head back and laughed at the gruesomeness that followed and Oci's reaction. Rikku always coped with those things by laughing. Also, she was just plain not disturbed by it. It's all so fake looking and the screams are so dramatic that sometimes, you just can't help but laugh at them. Plus, it's their fault. You don't walk towards the noise, you run away screaming for help. Idiots.
"Rikku, I really do hate you," Oci said. She was near tears at this point. Oci, on the other hand, was terrified of movies like this, and the only reason she agreed was because, well, it's what best friends do. Rikku smiled as the last scary moment of the movie played.
"Someday, you'll thank me, because you know what's out there," Rikku said, patting Oci on the head. Oci just whimpered pathetically. Like any of this would actually happen in real life… "How about we watch a 'romantic comedy' next?" she asked, putting quotes around the genre of the movie. Oci didn't see. She was too busy burying her face in the covers and trying her best not to look near any doors. She just nodded in response. Rikku took the horror sphere out and replaced it with pretty much the only romantic sphere she had. Practically being raised by boys made her not the biggest fan of the movies, even if she was a hopeless romantic at heart. She snuggled back down on the couch and threw some left over popcorn from the bowl at the screen when the first pensive lines were said.
Halfway through the movie, Oci finally picked up her tiny ice cream carton and started eating the runny mess. The funny part was that she liked it better that way.
"So, guess what?" Oci asked, nudging Rikku's foot with her own. Rikku tore her eyes away from the leading man and glanced Oci's way for a moment.
"Hm?" Rikku asked, turning her eyes back to the screen.
"My best friend is the best junior mechanist in Home," Oci said, smiling at Rikku. Rikku held her spoon up in triumph. Damn right, she was the best. Even better than Gippal. That took his big, fat ego down a bit. And just happened to boost hers. However, her head was still fitting through doorways, and that was all that mattered.
"Guess what else?" Oci asked after Rikku had lowered her arm and continued to eat her ice cream.
"What?"
"I heard Gippal's dating someone," Oci said quietly. Rikku looked at her quickly. Oci smiled and shrugged, trying to keep it light.
"Who is it?" Rikku asked sympathetically. At least, as sympathetically as she could muster. Lately, it had been 'Gippal this…' and 'Gippal that…' and she wasn't sure if she could hear his name one more time without screaming at everyone to just talk about someone else for a change.
"I don't know. Some blonde girl," Oci said. Rikku stayed silent for a second, then started to laugh.
"That narrows it down! Thanks Oci, I definitely know who to pound on now," she said. Oci giggled too.
"I don't know, it's just annoying that he's such a… bleh," Oci said.
"Agreed," Rikku said.
"Well, you're the first person who would burn him at the stake," Oci said with a wicked smile Rikku's way. Rikku held up her hand. She felt the need to defend her honor as once again being someone who doesn't wish death on anyone.
"Whoa, hold your chocobos there. I much prefer his fate right now, where he has to suffer and watch me be insanely happy with my acceptance letter and he gets to go pretend to be a soldier," Rikku said proudly.
"What about being a soldier?" Oci asked earnestly. Rikku bit her lip. As much as Oci tried to pretend that she didn't care what he did –even though she talked about him 24/7- she was still madly in love with Gippal, no doubt about it. And she would be very concerned if he was going to march off to fight Sin, or rabid Hypello, or anything like that in the name of Spira. She might even get it in her mind that he was doing it for her, Oci being, well, Oci.
"Um… I heard from Reyu that Gippal applied for some new military organization," Rikku said with a shrug. It's no big deal. Not at all. Mm mm.
"One that allows Al Bhed?" Oci asked, settling back down onto the couch in relief. She was assuming that he would be denied and that would be the end of it. In the end, so was Rikku. She couldn't imagine any place in Spira that would want an Al Bhed. They might, you know, poison the water, or other things that them tricky Al Bhed do.
"I guess so," Rikku said.
"Well, they won't let him in," Oci said. "Gippal's not the kind of person who can be pounded into shape."
"Yeah, I bet not," Rikku answered, and fell silent.
"There you are!" she said, closing the balcony door behind her.
"Hey, lovebug," Gippal said. He was leaning his forearms against the balcony bar, the picture of relaxation. Rikku rolled her eyes.
"Shut up. I have a name," she said, walking over next to him.
"Right. Cid's girl," Gippal corrected himself. It was getting obvious now – he just did it to annoy her. The pet names, and then the nickname that she couldn't shake. Rikku glowered up at him for a second, then looked down. The sandworms were frolicking through the sand together. Which is actually a very disturbing sight to see. They stared in wonder as smaller fiends ran in terror from the sandworms, who didn't really care if that smushed a fiend or not. Rikku spied an ant on the bars and let it start to crawl on her fingers.
"So, it's getting around that you're joining that Cream of the Crop thing," Rikku said, glancing up at Gippal.
"Crimson Squad," he corrected her. He probably already knew that people were talking.
"Yeah, whatever. So, you better get into it, or you'll be publicly embarrassed again. And I won't hesitate to be the first to point and laugh," Rikku added. She could just picture it. She grinned to herself.
"I know you will," Gippal said with a grin. He frowned. "I'm going to get in," he said with a nod.
"When are you leaving?" she asked, tugging at one of her small braids.
"End of the month," Gippal answered her, stretching his fingers out. Rikku found herself staring at them for a few moments. His skin was tanned under the purple gloves he wore. They cut off at the knuckle though, so if he stayed in the sun too long, he'd have a very interesting tan. They weren't great for working, unless you were working with tiny things. Rikku preferred her thick work mitt that her dad had given her. "Hello?"
"What?" Rikku asked, shaking herself out of the reverie.
"When are you leaving?" he repeated. Rikku shrugged.
"About a month. Once school's on break, we leave for a while."
"You get out of school?" Gippal asked with a grin.
"Yes, I do!" Rikku said. "Whatever, you're not even finishing school. You're on an indefinite break."
"I guess so," Gippal said. "It's not like I don't want to go to school." There was a moment of silence. Rikku turned and rested her back on the balcony bars after setting the ant free. She looked down at the metal floor.
"What do you want then?" she asked. He looked at her in surprise. She just stared back at him, waiting for his response.
"I… don't know yet," he said, as if it were a question. "I just know that whatever I'm gonna do, it's not going to be here."
"But why are you joining the military to do that?" she asked. Gippal shook his head.
"It's complicated," he answered. She pursed her lips. That sounds more like an, 'I don't want to tell you.'
"Do you think I'm dumb?" she asked.
"Um… no?" Gippal answered, unsure of where this was going.
"Well, I bet I can understand then," she said. She stared back at him. He suddenly got a weird look on his face and looked back out at the sand. There was a long pause of silence. Rikku twisted her mouth up. What could be possibly going on in Gippal's life that is so hard for him to tell her? He's just a kid. He's got no concerns. Rikku should know.
"There's this… deal…" he said. Rikku leaned forward in anticipation. He suddenly straightened up. "You know what? You're just a kid," he said, walking away.
"Gippal!" Rikku said in confusion and rage for calling her a 'kid'. He slammed the balcony door behind him, and she was left there, feeling cold inside. And only two things came to her. 1: Oci would probably never speak to her again if she found out that she was… friends(?) with Gippal. 2: She needed to find out what the 'deal' was.
She first made sure no one was around, as she leaned nonchalantly against the wall near his door. Don't ask how she knew where he lived. It was a long story that involved sneaking, flirting, and then running like a tonberry was on her heels. When she was sure she was safe, she rushed to the door and started banging on it.
Sometimes, she liked to pretend she was in a mystery. She pictured them in black and white. She was in a long coat and had a pipe in her mouth. Instead of an eyepatch, Gippal just had a badly stitched up scar over his right eye. And he was old. Practically thirty. And his face was all saggy and gross. In Rikku's who-done-it fantasies, Gippal didn't age well. She became a tall girl with a beauty mark next to her eye who could wear bright red lipstick and black stilettos. Gippal always had a half burnt down cigar poking out of the corner of his mouth, and he would squint up at her, and rub his scratchy chin that perpetually had stubble on it.
"Hey!" She jumped out of her fantasy. "What the hell are you doing here?" Gippal whispered. She found herself smiling at him. His eyepatch was back. And he was still sixteen. And sexy. She frowned at the most recent thought. Gippal narrowed his eyes at her in confusion from the emotions playing on her face. She looked down at herself. She was wearing her standard orange shirt and green shorts. She had no pipe, and no lipstick.
"Um…" she stalled. She lifted her hand up under the pretense that she was brushing her hair out of her face. She traced her skin briefly. No beauty mark. "I was… just…" She looked around the hallway.
"Rikku, you need to go," Gippal said urgently.
"Why?" she asked accusingly. "You hiding an illegal substance in there?" she asked.
"No. I just need you to leave," he said. Begged. No matter how badly he needed her to leave, she couldn't now.
"What is it?" she asked. She was trying to see over his shoulder. He pressed his lips together and closed the door so that it clamped him against the doorframe.
"Nothing," he said firmly.
"You know I have to find out what it is, now," Rikku said, crossing her arms.
"Who is it, Gippy?" someone called from in the house. Gippal suddenly looked distressed, biting down on his bottom lip.
"Oooh, I get it now!" Rikku said.
"What?" Gippal asked.
"You don't want me to meet your momma, do you, Gippy? You're afraid she'll embarrass you!" she said. Gippal went blank. Rikku had the sickening feeling in her stomach that she got whenever she realized she had said the wrong thing. The absolute worst thing she could have possibly said. "I'm sorry," she said immediately.
"It's okay… I won't be embarrassed," he said. He turned his neck so that he could look back into his house. "It's Rikku, Mom," he called.
"Cid's daughter? Well, let her in!" Rikku smiled cheekily at Gippal. He sagged against the doorframe and smirked back at her, looking up at her through his eyelashes. It made her shiver a bit, but she marched through confidently when he lazily pushed the door open as wide as it goes.
"You asked for it," he whispered into her ear as she walked by. She slowed her steps and looked into his light green eye. What does he mean by that? Suddenly, everything about Gippal was becoming mysterious. But her stomach was churning, like she didn't really want to know what it was. He held her gaze for a few seconds, then looked away quickly and closed the door. Rikku was still frozen in place, afraid of what she would possibly find. Gippal walked past her, sliding his fingers across her forearm to beckon her forward. Rikku went into the room that looked just like her sphere room. Gippal's mom was sitting on the couch in her white pajamas. She looked at Rikku and got a bright smile. Her face was sunken, and her hair was a light, almost white, blonde. Rikku felt puzzled. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary here.
"Rikku, it's so nice to see you again! I haven't seen you since you were still toddling around," she said, looking fondly at Rikku. "Well… you're all grown up now!" Rikku smiled shyly. Gippal suddenly walked away into the kitchen. Rikku glanced after him, then turned to Nazu.
"How have you been lately?" she asked.
"Oh, well, I've had better times, but because I've got Gippy around, it's okay!" she said. Rikku grinned politely. She was still trying to piece it together in her head. What's wrong? She had her lips plastered in a smile, but then she started thinking. Gippal's mom hadn't stood up yet. Usually when old…er people meet their kids' friends, they stand up, just because they think it's polite. At least, that's what happened to her if she ever met a friend's parent. And Gippal's mom seemed like a firm believer in manners. "I heard you're going on the excavation! Congratulations!"
"Yes, well, Gippal didn't say as much," Rikku said, loudly enough for Gippal to hear. He just made a gruff sound from the kitchen, and she smiled widely for a second.
"Oh…" Nazu waved a hand in the air. "That's just how he is," she said. Rikku smiled and nodded. "Are you staying for dinner?" she asked excitedly. Rikku laughed inside. It was coming back to her now that Nazu had always gotten excited about small things. Like going outside to blow bubbles, and things like that. She even remembered her grabbing her by the hand and running with her out onto the balcony to do exactly that. Gippal had always stayed back. They both tried to repress the memories of their childhood playdates arranged against their wills.
"Um…" Rikku glanced back at the kitchen. Gippal was leaning around the corner, listening to the conversation. He shrugged when she caught his eye. "Sure!" Rikku said to Nazu.
She sat in the sphere room, chatting with Gippal's mom for awhile, when there was a bang from the kitchen. They both looked towards it as silence followed.
"Maybe Gippy needs help…" Nazu said. Neither of them moved for a few seconds.
"Oh, I'll go," Rikku said, jumping up from the couch. She went into the kitchen and was surprised to see Gippal cutting up a carrot.
"What?" he asked, glancing up at her for a second.
"Your mom just thought you needed some help," she said quietly.
"Oh… kay…" Gippal glanced around the kitchen.
"So… what should I do, boss?" she asked.
"That's what I'm trying to decide," he said. "What can you do that you won't completely screw up…?"
"Hey!" He just smiled and started to point to something, then brought his hand back to his side.
"Nope… Cid would kill me." Rikku rolled her eyes. People seemed to think that Cid was a lot less lazy than he really was. She had never seen him get all up in arms about a boy who liked her or anything, which just goes to show that nothing could or would faze him. She could walk out wearing nothing but a bikini and half a foot of fabric around her hips and he might not say anything. "Why don't you… tell me when that pot of water is boiling?" Gippal asked, smiling at her. She ducked her head down until her chin was nearly touching her chest. She crossed her arms and cocked her hip.
"You've got to be kidding," she said. Gippal shrugged with a smile.
"I don't know what you can do that I can't imagine you cutting, burning, or humiliating yourself," Gippal answered.
"Meanie," she answered.
"Yeah, yeah," Gippal said, turning back to his carrot.
"So… I don't get it," Rikku said from the pot of not even warm water.
"What?"
"I don't see anything wrong here," she said. Gippal stopped chopping.
"Really?" he asked.
"Nope. So what is it? Tell me, I can't guess!" she said. Gippal shook his head at her.
"Wow. I didn't realize I'd be lucky enough that you're lacking a few lightbulbs," Gippal said, turning back to his chopping board. He had an onion on it now. Rikku sneered at him.
"Why are you so mean to everyone?" she asked.
"I'm not mean to everyone. Just you. You just get it in your head that I must be mean to everyone," Gippal said, turning away from the chopping board, completely forgetting it now.
"You're mean to Oci," she said.
"Are you still mad about that?" he asked in exasperation. "C'mon Cid's girl, it's been a week. Oci's forgotten about it. I've forgotten about it. Pretty much everyone has."
"Oci hasn't forgotten about it," Rikku said. "I should know, she only mentions you every other sentence." She glanced at the pot of water. It was still nowhere near boiling. "I heard you're dating someone else already." Gippal pulled his eyebrows down.
"Really? Who?"
"So it's not true?"
"Why would you care?" Gippal asked with a smirk.
"I don't! Tell me anyway!" Rikku snapped. Gippal laughed.
"I actually heard you were dating someone," Gippal said.
"Who would I date?" Rikku asked, completely falling for the subject change.
"I 'unno," Gippal answered, shrugging. "Who do you talk to?"
"Um… Reyu?" Gippal didn't seem convinced by the idea of her dating Reyu.
"Anyone else…?" Rikku slowly shook her head.
"Nooo…" She looked up at him. He was lightly patting the tips of his hair. "How long does it take you to make it stick up like that?"
"Not very long," he said absentmindedly. He suddenly looked at the floor with a sad look on his face. "Is Oci really upset?" Rikku caught her bottom lip in her teeth.
"She'll get over it," she assured him. He glanced to the corner of the kitchen.
"I should still talk to her," he said. Rikku smiled a bit.
"She's going to do everything she can to get you back, y'know," she said. Gippal laughed a bit.
"Well, who can resist me?" Gippal asked, running his fingers across his chin with a smug grin. Rikku raised her hand up.
"I can!" she said in a sing-song voice. Gippal's eyes got dark, and Rikku curled her fingers in with nervousness. He came towards her slowly.
"Really?" he asked. She felt her pulse quicken. Oh, no. She hadn't wanted this. What should she do? Say she has bad breath? A cold sore? She ran her tongue over her lips and felt her eyes focusing on his mouth that was coming closer to her. He leaned his hand on the counter next to her hip. "Water's boiling, by the way," he said.
"What?" She looked down. Sure enough, the bubbles were coming up in the water quickly. "What the-?"
"You're not very good at the job I gave you, Cid's girl," he said, dropping some rice into the water.
"I just looked at it, it didn't even have the tiny little bubbles hanging at the bottom!" Rikku yelped, staring at the water so he wouldn't see her flushed face.
"Better luck next time," he said. She wasn't sure what he meant by that exactly, but she scurried out of the kitchen, mumbling to Nazu that he didn't need any help.
"Okay, all ready!" Gippal said. Rikku jumped up from her spot on the couch and hurried over to the table just as Gippal set another seat at the table across from him. He held his arm out to the seat theatrically and put his hands on the back of it. Rikku grinned and looked down at the floor, then stepped slowly in front of the chair. Gippal pushed it in for her as she sat down, then went over towards his mom, who was still seated on the couch. Rikku felt her blush coming and forced it away. This was ridiculous. This was the lighting. This was being a teenager who hadn't talked to a boy who wasn't her brother in a very long time. This was not anything remotely… like…
She glanced over at the pair. Gippal's mom put her arm around his neck, and he lifted her carefully from the couch. Rikku got a good look at her. She was thin. And not even thin like she had always been. She was just plain frail. There was nothing left on her. Her legs looked like they couldn't hold her up.
And then.
She realized it.
What Gippal had been trying to keep her from finding out. She gasped as he placed his mom into her chair and smiled at her then sat down in his own chair. He looked up at Rikku and saw her gaping mouth, and everyone at the table knew what had just happened. Nazu reached out for Rikku, but stopped her hand. Rikku wished she could close her mouth and stop staring like a bomb had just gone off, but she didn't understand. How could he have not told… anyone? His mom was trying to think of something to say.
"Oh… Rikku…" She looked over at Gippal, who was biting his nail as he stared at the plain white plate in front of him. "Did you- not tell her?" she asked. Gippal shrugged, his palms facing up.
"It didn't come up, no," he said.
"You shouldn't have surprised her like this-."
"I didn't ask her to come," he said, staring up at Rikku accusingly. She remembered back to what he had said to her earlier. You asked for it, she repeated to herself. She shut her mouth and realized what it would have been like for her. How awful it would have made her feel if someone had found out what happened to her own mom and stared with their mouth hanging open like they were catching flies. It's not like she was buddy-buddy with Gippal. But she liked him enough to spare his feelings.
"Well… we're still happy to have you! I'm sorry you didn't know, I would have told you!" Nazu said. Rikku smiled and shook her head.
"I'm sorry I reacted that way, it was… rude…" Rikku said. She poked at the chicken breast on her plate. The one Gippal had made. Because his mom couldn't get to the kitchen. "Um, I have to go… wash my hands… I was working with machina today, and they're all… bleh." Rikku jumped up from her seat and hurried to the bathroom. She had no trouble finding it, because Gippal's house was designed exactly like hers. The door open at the end of the hallway was obviously his room, from how messy it was. It was even the same place her room was. She washed her hands like she said she was going to, but leaned against the sink and sighed, closing her eyes.
How had he stayed so quiet this whole time? When her mom had died, she couldn't get through a day without crying for the longest time. Of course, his mom wasn't dead. But still. After his dad had died, which most people knew about since it happened awhile ago, he probably was feeling much worse about his mom.
She felt a tug on her ponytail suddenly, and she looked in the mirror to see Gippal standing behind her, his fingers touching the ends of her hair. He was staring at her hair, and he had a stone set look on his face.
"I should've told you when you got here. I just didn't-." Rikku turned and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. He looked at the reflection of them in the mirror for a few seconds, unsure of what was happening. She nudged her feet forward so that she could be closer to him.
"When Mom died… all I needed was someone to hug me," Rikku said with her voice tight with tears as she thought of the time after her mom had died. She hadn't thought of it in a long time. Gippal's hand settled on the back of her head, his other arm going around her shoulders. "Everyone thought I wanted to talk, or get my mind off of it. I didn't want to talk about her, but I didn't want to stop thinking about it like it hadn't happened. I just… wanted to be held and have someone tell me it would be okay eventually." She turned her face up to him and smiled a bit. "And it is better now."
She didn't like the look on his face. He was just staring flatly at her. But she felt his hand smoothing the back of her head, and she felt her heart pound, and she just couldn't believe she was still hugging him. Pops telling her to stay away from him echoed in her mind. He reached his hand around and wiped the small tear that had slipped from the corner of her eye away and smiled a small smile at her, something sort of grateful. She couldn't describe her feelings. She must have been staring at him with the most incredulous look. This was the most contact they'd had with each other… ever. He seemed to realize it too, because he took his hand away from her cheek quickly, but not so quickly that it jarred her out of her current state of mind. He reached back again and tugged the end of her ponytail gently and then let her go. She laughed nervously and wiped away a stray tear from the other eye, then shook off the intense mood. "I should tell everyone at school that you wear a plaid ruffle-y apron," she said. Gippal laughed quietly.
"I'll tell everyone that you can't even tell when water's boiling," he said, his smile lingering on his face. Rikku giggled.
"I don't think that will hit as hard as the apron," she snickered.
She said goodbye to Gippal's mom and promised to come visit before she left for the excavation. Gippal opened the door and stepped outside with her, making sure the door wasn't locked before closing it. Almost nobody was out in the hallway. They both nervously looked around.
"You know, I'm sort of… glad you came… I guess," Gippal said. Rikku tilted her head to the side and smiled.
"Me too… I guess," she said softly. Gippal was studying the floor as if there was something written in another language there. She bit down on her bottom lip and waited for him to say something else.
Silence.
She waited.
She started counting to ten.
Very slowly.
If she got to ten, she was going to leave.
"You're the only person who knows about this really except Cid-."
"Pops knows?" Gippal just nodded, almost ignoring her interruption.
"Can you just… not tell anyone?" he asked. "Not even Oci?" Rikku twisted up her mouth. Not because she wanted to tell someone. But because he even thought she would. Sometimes, it bothered her that he thought so little of her. Even though it was a double standard, because she thought even less of him. "I promise, I'm going to talk to Oci, just… please." There was an odd level or trust in his eyes, like if she said she would, he would believe her. Maybe because that's all he could do but trust her.
"I'm not going to tell anyone," Rikku assured him. Gippal smiled at her and looked away again. They stood there for a few seconds in silence, Rikku fighting for something to say. "Things are… different now… right?" she asked. He shoved his hands into his pockets.
"What do you mean?"
"With us. I don't hate you anymore…" she said softly, her cheeks burning at the idea that she was even bringing this up. "Do you… still hate me?" Gippal laughed shortly, even though it was only just a quick exhale through his nose.
"No, I don't hate you anymore," he said.
"So we're friends?" Rikku asked, smiling up at him. He smiled back at her, slowly nodding.
"Yeah, we are." They both laughed at the idea of it. "Weird, huh?"
"Really weird. I'm just going to go home, before I say anything to make this more awkward."
"Sounds like a plan," Gippal said with a laugh. Rikku turned on her heel and waved, still looking at him over her shoulder.
"Bye," she said softly, turning and trying her best not to look back at him.
"Where have you been, Rik?" Cid demanded. Rikku put her fists on her hips. Honestly. Brother's allowed to come home at two o'clock in the morning, but she gets home a tad past eight, and Cid's got his gun and pitchfork in hand. Brother doesn't even do anything while he's out. He doesn't have friends.
"I was at Gippal's house," she said. Cid narrowed his eyes. They had a short stare down. Cid obviously didn't believe her.
"What were you really doin'?" he asked finally. Rikku rolled her eyes.
"Blowing your hover up, burying some bodies, y'know," she said with a shrug, going to a bowl on the counter and taking a fruit out of it. Not that it usually had fruit in it. It usually had the mail and the remote to the sphere in it.
"Rikku-," Cid started in that warning voice. Despite her tendency towards rebelling against Pops, she knew better than to mess with him when he used that voice.
"I just went to Gippal's to eat dinner with him and his mom!" she said. "What's the deal, Pops?"
"You- his mom?"
"Yes, I know about his mom," Rikku stated coolly. If Pops could know about it, then so could she.
"Rikku, I don' know if you know the gravity of the situation you're in, but this is personal stuff. Don' go blabberin' to your friends about-."
"Why does everyone seem to think that I can't keep my mouth shut? I'm perfectly capable of it!"
"I'm jus' sayin'!"
"Goodnight." Rikku stormed off to her room and set her hand over her heart when she was alone in the darkness. It was thudding in her chest. The way Gippal acted around his mom… it was almost sweet. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to be like that all the time, but he had a protective air around him. Something she always had wanted from her own brother. It occurred to her that maybe Gippal could be that brother she had never had. Or… experienced.
She smiled a bit and twirled her ponytail around her finger while she made her way to her bed. After all, who wouldn't want a protective older brother? Just one to lay down the law to any suitors. She knew Brother wasn't going to do any such thing. And neither was Pops. All she wanted was to be treated like a girl who couldn't take care of herself for a few short minutes. She slammed her face down into her pillow.
Then she remembered the way he had held her earlier. Maybe it wasn't as tight as a boy would hold a girl or anything like that, but her head comes right up to his chest. She could hear his heart, and it was pounding as feverishly as hers had. There was something charged in the moment, even while they were still clinging onto their general rule of dislike for each other. It had given her a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, something that tickled her insides and made her want to shake her whole body out, or stand as still as possible so she wouldn't disturb it.
She sighed and rubbed her face in her pillow.
Brother?
Crush.
Mm…?
Crush?
No, maybe brother.
She groaned and squeezed the edges of her pillow.