"-and that's the touching story of how a sphere hunter fought a Bascinet to win back the love of his wife, truly heart-warming. Back to you, Shelinda"
"Thank you. Today's weather is set to be dull and dreary, with an eighty-percent chance of torrential rain coming in from the Thunder Plains, people on the east-coast may want to bundle up warm, as it's going to be a wet one today. Over on the west-coast we have-"
Baralai woke to a strange sensation across his upper body. He felt something heavy, yet familiar resting atop him. He looked down. Gippal. The pair had fallen asleep together whilst watching late-night re-runs of Fiend Hunter Extreme. And who could blame them? The luxury Divebeak-feather futon they slumbered on was crafted to be so comfortable that even a Tonberry would have trouble resisting its cushy embrace.
Mornings like this were common in the Baralai and Gippal household. The pair would stay up late binge-watching trash TV on Spira Network and end up falling asleep on each other. In the morning, they'd wake to find each other sprawled across one another, akin to a pair of puppies that'd tired themselves out after a lengthy, joyful playdate.
The early afternoon sun shined through the skylight window above them and reflected off the empty packets of Peregrine Bites and Flan Soda cans that littered the Nashorn-skin rug beneath them. The beige, laminate-wood floor that encompassed their open-plan living area was now a dumping ground for clothes, shoes, and a heavily-used, tattered blitzball.
Gippal began to stir.
"Urgh…" he moaned. His once perfectly-gelled hair now lay flat, protruding downwards into a bushy, unkempt bowl cut.
"Gippal…" Baralai started, in a raspy voice. "You awake, bro?" he looked down at Gippal, his bare chest exposed. He stared for a while in envy, wandering how someone who ate so much garbage still managed to stay so toned. He took Gippal's sleepy state as an opportunity to curiously examine his torso. He noticed his nipples were significantly darker than the rest of his body, a dark hazel-brown contrast with a milky-bronze tan.
"You sneakin' a peak at my bod', bro?" Gippal mumbled with eyes half-open, his tiredness still apparent through his voice.
"No…" he replied, ashamed and embarrassed he'd been caught in the act.
"If you want a piece all you gotta do is ask, bro" he teased, sleepily.
"What?" Baralai asked, visibly confused.
Gippal began to rub his body, whilst mockingly moaning "Mmm, Baralai. Yeah just like that, baby" he erupted in immature laughter, unable to continue his poor seduction attempt.
Baralai laughed, "Dude, you're so weird"
Baralai gradually forced his eyes to open past their squinting, post-sleep state. He slowly looked around the exceptionally large living area, scanning the area similar to how a patrol officer scans his post for foreign invaders. In his sights he spotted something brown and covered in fur. Baralai was on full alert as it began slowly closing in on their quarters. The intruder, which now resembled a small ball of fur, began to hasten its approach and bolted towards them in excitement, knocking over empty buckets of Luca Fried Chicken on its way.
"Woof!" it barked.
"Look who's awake!" Gippal said, gleefully.
The ball of fur shot past Baralai and pounced straight onto Gippal's chest.
"Oh and he's here! Easy boy, easy!" Gippal laughed, now playfully wrestling against what was, upon closer inspection, a puppy.
"Hey, he looks like he's getting bigger" Baralai said, eyes full of adoration.
"You think? No surprises there, living in a house with me'll do that to ya" he said, oddly proud of his glutinous ways rubbing off on to an innocent animal.
"Did you leave food out for him? He's probably starving" Baralai remarked.
"With the way he bolted over here he probably ate the whole dang refrigerator" Gippal joked, scratching the ball of fur's ears. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? Doji's a good boy, yes you are! Yes you are!"
Doji's eyes were wide with excitement. He appeared to be a cross of various breeds, but mostly resembled a pint-sized wolf. He and Gippal had found him abandoned and malnourished behind the loading bay at the Luca Harbour whilst returning home from a late night movie trip to the Sphere Theatre. He remembered how empty his eyes looked, and how timid he was toward them when they first took him home.
"Aroof!" Doji barked in joy, reacting to Gippal's hugs and playful tones. Gippal resumed his sprawled position across Baralai, and Baralai stared down at the both of them, taking in the picturesque moment. He pondered on the thought of how similar the two of them were; Doji was always full of spunk and seemingly always in the mood for a brisk walk down Luca Bridge, similar to how Gippal was always perky and frequently suggested he and Baralai take spur of the moment trips to various places across Spira.
Mentally mulling over the errands he had to do, he realized had no time to waste.
"Ok boys, I gotta get up" Baralai said in an authoritative tone.
"Baby, please…five more minutes" Gippal teased mockingly in response.
"Dude, get off of me!" Baralai shouted jokingly.
"Ah, killjoy"
"I must begin making preparations for today. The New Yevon Council have put me on a strict diet; they want their future praetor in tip-top condition. If I don't stick to it, they'll be highly disappointed in me" Baralai stated, finally freeing himself from the Gippal and Doji heap that was piled on him.
As he headed toward the kitchen area located a few feet away from the futon he had just freed himself from, his feet burdensomely brushed past all the paraphernalia the floor was dressed in. The kitchen looked like something taken straight out of affluent home décor magazine Spira's Homes. The counters and cabinets were a modern shade of matching brown and white, each one fitted with polished Takouba-iron handles. In the centre of the kitchen stood a solo countertop tastefully adorned with low hanging silver-lamp shades and a pot of Sylleblossoms imported from a foreign, faraway land.
"Okay, let's see what we got" Baralai started, reading off the first page of the thick, Dragon-skin book titled The Yevon Diet: A Guide to Clean Health and a Clear Mind he'd picked up off the countertop, "One shot of turbo-ether, one handful of gysahl greens, two mana tablets…" he continued, reading off a long list of healthy and expensive ingredients.
"Damn bro, they tryna turn you into an Iron Giant or somethin'?" Gippal quizzed as he listened to Baralai trail on, still relaxing on the futon play-wrestling with Doji.
"This is New Yevon we're talking about. Hey, their motto should be A Dozen Things at a Time" Baralai joked in a cautious tone, as if he were secretly fearful that one of the Yevon priests would appear and scold him for dishonouring the organisation.
"Ha, nice one dude" Gippal replied, now following Baralai's example and getting up off the futon. He stood up to reveal the backside of his toned frame, the only piece of clothing visible was a tight pair of fresh white briefs. Baralai watched as he stretched and shook off the last of the morning blues, but as Gippal turned around to reveal something that resembled a rather large upward tent pitch, he hastily averted his gaze down toward the countertop.
"Hey, you want some of this?" Gipple shouted from the futon area.
Baralai hesitantly looked up and locked his line of sight on to a half-eaten pack of Peregine Bites Gippal was holding up with his back now turned.
"Nah dude, all yours" he replied, flustered.
"More for me" he muttered, putting the bag to his head and scoffing down whatever crumbs were left. He then crumpled the empty packet and bent over to make a start on clearing the garbage from the previous night.
Baralai gathered the ingredients and placed them in a blender. "-and fifty millilitres of chocobo milk" he said conclusively, pouring the last of the milk into the blender. He turned the blender on and a soft whooshing sound, similar to that of a fan on a hot summer's day, filled the room. He watched as the ingredients blended together to form a somewhat thick, red-pink liquid.
As he watched the substance whir round and round, he pondered on the stern words his father said to him during his training at Bevelle; "Be wary of the company you keep. Those who aimlessly saunter through life have no place being in the company of those who are destined for greatness. New Yevon needs a leader who is sharp and focused, distracted not by the careless ways of others" although he didn't directly say who his words regarded, his dislike of Gippal made it apparent they were aimed at him.
"Ooo, nice machina" Gippal said with enthusiasm, heading towards the countertop for a closer inspection. The tent pitch had subsided somewhat, but was still noticeable enough to catch Baralai's subconscious gaze. Again, he quickly averted his line of sight and looked back toward the blender. He secretly wished Gippal would show at least a little decency every now and then, realizing he was now perhaps becoming a little too comfortable around him.
"Hey, is that a…yeah! Thought so, an Invictus model. Top of the line right there. Man, Papa Baralai set you up good, didn't he?" Gippal said, scratching his chest as he headed over to the fridge to see what was on the menu this morning.
As he tried to figure out how to operate the blender, he began to think about how Gippal really wasn't as reckless as his father strenuously thought. He was quickly rising through the ranks of the Machine Faction and his expertise on machina made him a wizard when it came to fixing faulty appliances around the house. Gippal had his sights set on being the leader of the Machine Faction, hoping to be known throughout all of Spira someday. Baralai stopped the blender, unhinged it from its base and poured the contents of the jug into a glass. As he poured the rich creamy yoghurt-like substance and slowly filled the glass to the top, the aroma of strawberry's followed and Gippal seemed intrigued.
"Mmm…I gotta get some of that. Save me some?" Gippal asked, tilting his head and pressing his hands together in a praying position.
"Sure" he replied. He began to drink and tried to savour the taste as much as he could. As Baralai slowly chugged the beverage, he could feel Gippal's gaze. As he drank, he observed Gippal's facial expression, clearly anticipating the moment he'd be granted permission to gulp down the leftovers. After realising he'd drank a little too much, Baralai quickly stopped himself from drinking anymore, holding the glass away from himself to see how much was left.
"Aw, dude…" Gippal said, disappointed at the small amount leftover.
"Ah, my apologies…"
"Doesn't matter, there's still enough left" Gippal said, taking the beverage from him without any hesitation as to whether or not he should drink from the same glass. In two gulps, he finished the remains, dramatically slammed the empty glass on the table and let out an almighty "Yeah, baby!" which left Baralai's ears with a minor case of tetanus.
"Ha, I see somebody's taking a liking to New Yevon, wanna sign up?" he said, playfully.
"Ha, take it easy bro, I ain't willin' to dress up in a man-dress over some health cocktail" Gippal started, lustfully looking over at the empty glass "No matter how dang tasty it is" he finished.
Baralai scouted the living area and was impressed with the effort Gippal had made to straighten up. As he scanned the space, his eyes caught a Spira Babes calendar he hadn't noticed before. This month featured a short-haired blonde woman wearing a pink-purple robe holding a red, oversized oriental fan that strategically covered her chest with one hand, and blowing a kiss toward the camera with the other as she lay seductively on a heart-shaped bed.
"Total milf, dude" Gippal interjected, gazing at her with a smitten expression.
"She seems a little…seasoned" Baralai replied, referring to his confusion over her age.
"The older the spice the hotter the flavour" he said with a suggestive wink as he made a bold stride from the fridge back to the futon, chugging back a box of chocolate-flavoured chocobo milk.
Baralai half-laughed at Gippal's comment. He placed the used glass inside the dishwasher and cleared the countertop, putting things back to their rightful place. Proud of the condition of the kitchen and living area, he placed both hands on his hips and nodded approvingly.
"Alright, I'm gonna hop in the shower" Baralai announced, walking towards the hallway.
"Cool, just holla if you want me to help with your back" Gippal shouted back in response.
Baralai laughed, rolled his eyes and headed out of the living area toward the bathroom.