A/N: Well, here it is! I managed to squeeze out another chapter through the enormous piles of homework:) Again, it's kind'a long but I'm pretty pleased with this kawaii chapter, so I'll just be quiet and let you start reading!
Chapter 4: And just so you know...
Rikku felt pummeled. She woke up slowly, feeling like her right leg was made of stone. Her head hurt a little and her chest felt terrible. As she opened her eyes and tried to sit up, a wave of pain flowed through her right side. She let out a small moan.
"Wait, I'll help you." A voice said to her right. She looked and saw Paine stand up from a chair beside her. Paine walked over and carefully lifted her up into a sitting position. She looked at the crimson-eyed warrior, who gave her a warm smile and a soft look. Then she suddenly remembered everything that had happened, up until she fell and hit something very hard. After that, everything became a little blurry. She remembered seeing Paine's face, eyes filled with tears, looking down upon her. She remembered herself telling her how she liked her and how Paine's lips then softly touched her's, she remembered hearing Paine saying she loved her too. After that everything was just blank. Did that really happen? It all seems so... unlikely. Like something out of a dream... Rikku thought and shook her head. She had to ask Paine, it was the only way to find out.
"Paine... What happened after I hit the ground?" Rikku asked with a bit of confusion in her voice. Her head spinning a bit, she looked over at Paine who looked at her with a shocked expression.
"You...you don't remember?" She asked, looking a bit uncertain of what to do.
"Well...I remember some things, but they're just so... like they were taken from a dream or something..." Rikku said and paused..."A very good dream..." She added quietly with a small blush. She then looked at Paine and saw her face relieved, with a warm, but slightly nervous smile. The warrior then leaned in close to her face and whispered as she blushed.
"Let me refresh your memory then." She just said and without warning, she kissed Rikku softly. Rikku felt a wave of joy and warmth flow through her and she returned the kiss. When they broke apart, they just looked into each others eyes. Oh thank Spira! It was for real. Oh she's so cute! Rikku shook her thoughts away and smiled at Paine who still looked slightly euphoric, and kissed her, deeper this time and she gently slipped her tongue into Paines mouth as Paine's entered her's. When they finally broke for air, Rikku whispered to Paine:
"You're a really good kisser, you know that Dr.P?" and she giggled a little.
"You're not so bad yourself." Paine answered quietly and beamed. THIS was the most happy she had ever seen the warrior since they met.
Rikku was just about to say something witty, but when she saw the emotion radiating from the deep ruby eyes of the warrior, she stopped herself for a moment. She didn't need to hear her say the words to know that the silver haired girl had been longing for this moment for a long time. So instead of ruining that moment, she just leaned in to hug her friend. Which wasn't a very good idea.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" The thief exclaimed as her left side burned and Paine chuckled and shook her head. Seeming to have known what the blonde intended, she closed the distance and embraced the younger girl in a careful hug and gave her another kiss.
As the kiss parted, Rikku started to wonder about the previous day.
"So, what happened yesterday, did I miss anything after I fell asleep?"
"Well, you've only been out for about 24 hours , you went out about this time yesterday... so you haven't really missed anything..." Paine answered and then continued. "But anyway, besides the news about well... us, I've got some good news and some kinda bad news... Which do you want first?" Paine added, smiling as she said "us" but then looking a little more serious. Oh poopie! I hate bad news!
"Bad first, bad first!" She said to a now serious-looking Paine.
"Well, the thing is: You've broken your right leg in three places and got a crack in your left. You've got a concussion and three broken ribs. The internal damage and the bruising is gone though..." She paused for a bit then shook her head. "You were lucky and you'll be up in two days, but even though you could've walked around the ship with the cruches today, Shinra used them to fix an engine problem so they don't exist anymore. So it'll be the bed for two days..." Paine said and sighed. Ah tynh ed, I hate to lie in bed! Maybe I should be happy that I'm still alive, but this still isn't fair! Stupid Potions working so slowly on bones!!
"Well, what's the good news?" Rikku asked and pouted at the fact that she'd be trapped in bed for two whole days, which with her hyperactivity, would be hard.
"Because of the injury we're getting one day off after you've healed. Aaand, right as we speak, we're on our way to Besaid. Yuna called and got it out of Brother what happened and is making him swing by so she can visit you!" When Paine was finished, Rikku didn't feel quite so bummed out anymore. The thought of her cousin visiting really spirited her up and made her want to jump up and say "Yesss!" , but she realized that it would hurt like heck. So instead she motioned for Paine to lean closer. As she did, she kissed the silver-haired girl quickly and smiled.
"Yay! Yunie is coming here!" She exclaimed with excitement in her voice. But then she turned a wondering face.
"Do you think we should tell her about...you know...us?" Rikku asked carefully.
"Well, I have been too anxious about if there really was an us.. you know... I was really afraid that you were just...delusional or something yesterday... From the wounds, you know. So I haven't really thought about it..." She said looking very honest, wich made Rikku feel a little bad about sleeping for so long. "But you know, if we tell her, what if she doesn't want to see us anymore or something?" She said in a more serious tone.
"Well... She is my cousin and I don't wanna have secrets from her..." Rikku paused and considered Paines last words, but decided to be strong. "If she is disgusted or doesn't wanna know us because of this... I don't care! You know... she'll just have to accept it or take a hike!" Rikku smiled and without thinking, tried to give Paine another hug. "Uf, uf, uf, uf! Tysh nepc!" She squealed and rubbed her sore right side. Paine just chuckled and smiled at the younger girl.
"I'm glad you feel that way Rikku... And when you get out of that bed... I'm taking you for a whole day in Luca, my treat, we do anything you want to... We hava a... a date?" The warrior's cheeks got a little pink as she looked at the thief hopefully. This look made Rikku think. Wow.. I really thought Paine would be more confident with this stuff, maybe she's not so experienced as her good looks make you think. Come to think of it I've never asked about this kinda stuff. But she'll probably hurt me if I do. She snapped back and smiled like a sun.
"Of course I wanna go!" Rikku said excited and Paine kissed her once again.
"Good, then it's time for you to rest and get better." Paine said in a business-like tone, and gave her another smooch on the lips. She then felt the warrior place another kiss on her forehead but the al bhed shook her head.
"But... I don't wanna..." She said in a childish tone.
"Yes you do." Paine replyed. "Otherwise the potions won't work properly, and it will take twice the time to heal you. We'll have Yuna here in a couple of hours and I suggest you rest as much as you can."
"Ok, but only if I can use you as a pillow..." Rikku said and smiled innocently, giving her a puppy-eye look. She will never be able to resist that! Paine raised an eyebrow, but Rikku just nodded.
"Oh...Ok... But what if one of the guys come up here?" Paine said, blushing a deep shade of raspberry.
"I don't care! Just com'ere!" Rikku said playfully, blushing a little herself. She wondered for a second if this was moving too quickly, but when Paine undid her X clasp and dropped her studded leather top, then took her boots and gloves off, Rikku looked into the crimson eyes of the blushing warrior. Wow... Why didn't I realise Paine were so HOT before? Well I realised, but didn't think of her like.. this.. Paine then carefully shuffled in next to Rikku, who lay down again.
Paine pillowed up into a half sitting position as Rikku snuggled in as close as she could without hurting herself. She then lay her head on Paines chest as the warrior wrapped her arms around her protectively. Rikku then noticed something that made her blush fiercely. She was totally nude, except for the cast around her right leg and bandages that were wrapped around her chest and left leg. She didn't say anything though, as Paine seemed to be fine with it. Oh... so this is why Paine's face became so damn red... But really, to be honest... this actually is pretty nice, lying nude next to Paine that is...too bad she isn't nude too... I can't believe I'm already thinking about her like that! I'm such a perv!
As Rikku lay there, admitting her devious thoughts to herself, listening to Paine's heartbeat and soft breathing, she soon felt sleep tugging her down. But after what to Rikku only felt like a few minutes of sleep, a soft "Oh my!" woke her up. She looked around, and saw Yuna at the top of the stairs wearing an expression of bewilderment at seeing the two in the same bed. Rikku didn't notice her look though and just waved for her to come up.
"Hey Yunie!" She whispered, smiling brightly. She felt Paine shift under her and noticed that she was still sleeping. Oh, this is so the wrong way to let her know but... I can't resist! Time to freak Yunie out! She carefully turned to face the sleeping warrior and kissed her softly. Her crimson eyes slowly opened and Rikku could feel the kiss being returned. Yuna however just stood there, a look of complete shock and confusion now showing.
"Now that is a better way to wake me up than to pull my covers." Paine mumbled as they broke the kiss. She stretched and yawned, they both then turned to Yuna. The look on her face made the blonde giggle and her silver haired warrior just shook her head and laughed a little.
"Morning Yuna..." She said and stretched again. Rikku stretched the best she could, ribs and legs throbbing.
"Owie! Umm, so what's up?" Rikku asked Yuna like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. She had decided to pay her back a little for just leaving them a month ago. Yuna looked at them with a confused and very lost expression.
"I... just came to... see how you were doing..." She answered in a hesitant voice. Paine sat up carefully and swung herself out of the bed. Rikku grabbed her upper arm and let her fingers trail down to her hand as the warrior slowly pulled out of bed. Paine didn't say anything to Yuna but gave Rikku a wicked smile and a look that said: "I agree, lets mess around with her!"
"And I bet you wanna know all the nasty details about how it happened." Paine said with a little smile.
"How what happened exactly?" Yuna asked nervously. Dang it, she's gonna tell her..
"Well, the mission yesterday of course. All about how your blond little cousin ended up all broken... What else would there be to tell you about?" Paine added the last sentance with a barely concealed smile. Oh she's evil! Hehe! Rikku giggled in her mind.
"So Yunie! Do you wanna hear the whole story or just the part where I broke my legs, ribs and got a concussion along with two big holes in my shoulders?" Rikku asked casually.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere... tell me all of it..." Yuna replyed, still looking at Rikku with an unanswered question in her eyes, but sat down in the empty chair beside the bed, as Paine had placed herself on the bed again, at Rikku's feet. Paine looked at the thief with a questioning eyebrow raised and Rikku nodded at her. Paine then told her all about the mission, about the forest and the opening, about the battle up to where Rikku slammed into the ground.
"WHAM! And when I came to, Painei9 had killed the rest of the fiends and had started to take care of me. I was pretty scared, 'cause Paine thought my back was broken and stuff..." Rikku continued for her. "But then we just made out and she got me back to the ship, leaving Brother and Buddy to do the rest." She added without stressing any words in particular, looking at Yuna to see if she reacted to the "made out" part.
"What was on the sphere?" Yuna asked, reacting a little to what Rikku said, but seemed determined not to say anything. This only made Rikku more determined to force a reaction out of her. Paine however, just answered Yuna's question, as Rikku actually didn't know herself what was on the sphere.
"Well, the sphere was very old, but it contained a long recording about that place. That stone cupola, actually was a temple long ago. In the recordings, they talked about how they had to destroy the fayth because the aeon was too evil or something." Paine told them.
"The aeon's was called... Diablos or something I think... And all those fiends we fought, was guardian beasts for the temple's trials." Paine finished. "So, you think it's worth anything?" Yuna wondered.
"The old New Yevonites would probably want it and the location of the island. They're doing a lot of relic searching these days..." Rikku told her silver-haired warrior. "I bet we can get a hellofa lot of gil from them for the sphere and info!" She added with a bright smile and a nice big wink. Paine smiled back at her and started to give Rikku's un-casted foot a soft massage, surprising the smaller girl.
"So, where do you keep the man?" Paine asked Yuna. Rikku too wondered where her old friend was, she had after all been through a lot with him. And even though he kind of stole Yuna, she still kind of wanted to see him and say hi. Paine didn't seem to like him too much though, she didn't say why either...
"He should be here soon... Him and the guys were practising their "Jechtshots". Only he and Datto can pull it off yet though." And as Yuna said the last word, they heard steps entering the cabin. "That's him now!" Yuna exclaimed and looked as excited as a kid on a festival. When the blond blitzer appeared at the top of the stairs Yuna ran off to meet him. When they connected, she gave him a deep, long kiss. Rikku looked at her crimson-eyed woman at her feet. She looked back at her and they both shook their heads and laughed quietly. Rikku propped up a pillow towards the wall on her right side and motioned for Paine to come and sit next to her.
"Come here! I don't want you to feel left out just because you weren't a guardian." Rikku said, bacause Paine often looked like she felt left out whenever they hung out with old pilgrimage friends. "And if they can go on like that!" She motioned towards the two people looking like they were eating eachother's faces. "Then so can we! Please... It would freak them out sooo much if they stopped doing that and found us doing the same thing! We said we would let them know, you know." She added in a pleading whisper. Paine shook her head, but put on another wicked smirk.
"Sure, I guess I won't be able to stay so reserved anymore if I'm going to be together with you now will I." The now obviously more cheerful warrior replied. Rikku shook her head "no you won't" and motioned for her to come closer. Paine made her way to the place beside Rikku and as she came into reach, Rikku ran her fingers through Paine's silver hair.
"I'm so glad I'm able to make you so happy... You're so beautiful, you know that?" Rikku told her beloved Paine and peered deep into her crimson eyes. This seemed to be just what Paine needed to hear, as she attacked Rikku with a deep and passionate kiss. She felt Paines fingers in her hair as the kiss continued for what seemed like an eternity. When they broke for air, Rikku made the paus short as she met the older girls soft lips again.
"Hey whoa! Now that's something you forgot to tell me about!" The young man's voice sounded, followed by a loud gasp from Yuna.
"Well I didn't..." Yuna stuttered. "Hey! Just what's going on here?" Rikku heard her ask them in an angry voice, but she didn't break from Paine until they both were all out of oxygen. When they broke apart, they both looked at eachother for a second.
"Oh damn it Rikku! E naymmo tu muja oui." Paine told Rikku and gave her a last short kiss. Rikku then couldn't help but to giggle when she thought about Yuna and her blitzing boyfriend watching the whole thing. Paine smiled and shook her head, blushing cutely. Then they both turned to face the audience.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought you guys weren't looking..." Paine answered Yuna sarcastically. Rikku couldn't hold back a giggle.
"Yeah, we just... got a little carried away there, since you two looked so disgust.. eh I mean sexy together." Rikku got out between her giggle-attacks. Paine couldn't hold it in anymore either and let her new beautiful laughter out as Yuna just stood there with an inquiring look and her arms folded across her chest.
"Well Yunie, to answer your question: It's exactly what it looks like." Rikku told her cousin. Yuna and Tidus walked up to the bed.
"And if I think it looks like you two are like... lovers or something. Am I right?" Tidus asked them with a little smirk.
"Well... " Paine started. They both looked at eachother and Rikku gave Paine a nod. "Well, I have actually felt for Rikku for some time now but I haven't really.. done anything like that yet so..." She trailed off as she seemed to get a bit embarassed. "But yeah she suddenly told me she likes me yesterday, when she was all banged up." The silver haired girl explained.
"And I didn't really know what I felt until actually the day before that, so we haven't really done anything except the kinda stuff you just saw." Rikku told them and interlocked fingers with the warrior. They both now waited for some kind of either acceptance or rejectance and looked Yuna hopefully in the eyes.
"Well... I can't say I'm bursting of happiness. I mean of all the ways you could have told me you chose to... make out in front of me.. But if you two really love eachother, which I almost, kind of know you do, I don't have any problem at all with you both being... girls and all." Just as Yuna told them this, Paine stood up and gave her a big bear hug. Well... New Paine seems to be a lot better at expressing her feelings! Rikku thought and giggled at Paine's behaviour.
"O...K?" Yuna exclaimed looking very confused again.
"I don't know.." Paine told her through the hug. "I just didn't expect you to just accept us like that." She continued and let her go. "And as for the hug... No I'm not sick, I think it's just a side effect of having one of the best days of my life." The silver haired one continued and Yuna lit up a bit. "Well I'm glad for you" Yuna replied.
Rikku was starting to feel left out now and reached for her warrior to have a seat next to her in the bed again. "You're right, enough of the mushy Paine for one day." Paine told her thief with a chuckle. "So what did you do to get busted up like that?" The man in the room suddenly inquired of his old friend.
Yuna and Tidus sat down on Paine's bed while the Rikku and Paine remained on Rikku's. They told the story about the recent mission again for the blitzer to hear and when they were done they just stayed on the beds, chit-chatting and catching up to whatever the others had been doing the last month. After what seemed like several hours, Paine looked at her watch.
"Who's hungry?" She asked and they all raised their hands. "Well, seems like it's dinner time then." She said and went down to get some food from barkeep. When she got back, she was carrying all four plates of food skillfully and gave them one each. When they were finished with their meals, Rikku started to feel drowsy and a little light headed. Heeeey... Wha'..?
"Fruy... fryd'c rybbahehk du sa?" Rikku said, her head now spinning, forcing her to lie down. Paine removed the their plates from the bed and pulled Rikku's covers up to her chest.
"Tuh'd funno, ed'c zicd y cmaabehk-budeuh... To make you rest and get better without fussing, a special 2 day sleeper, so when you wake up, you'll be all better." Paine explained with a smile. She friggin' drugged me? Oh, fryd y sayeha! Rikku, who couldn't quite keep her eyes open any longer just mumbled.
"Oh, you're so gonna get it when I wake up!" The last thing she saw was Paine's head leaning in closely to whisper.
"I'm looking forward to it. And just so you know... I love you... See you in two days." Paine whispered loud enough only for Rikku to hear. Rikku then fell asleep to dream about pink clouds and lots of sweets.
Well... Wasn't it kind of a cute chapter? Well I think so anyways... Reviews, readers... Reviews! Say anything, just tell me how I did! The next chapter might take some time as school has started out it's full attack on my private life. I'm defending as best I can but.. Ah well you get the picture... Love you all!