Journey's End
Chapter 1: Hide and Seek

The clouds had gone from the skies of Djose, but my head was still clouded. I listened to the crashing waves below as I walked toward the split of the Highroad toward the Moonflow. I couldn't say that I wanted to go to the Moonflow, but I had more arrangements to make. More hiding to do.

I glanced over my shoulder, making sure that no one was around before I climbed down the familiar steps in the face of the cliff. The tide was low, and as I stepped onto the tiny sliver of beach, I closed my eyes. Finally, I was alone. I could allow myself to stress out, and, if need be, to cry. For I felt like crying, as odd as that was. And if anyone saw me with water on my face, I could say that it was the sea spray.

I couldn't tell Rikku about Adena. I couldn't hurt her like that. And I couldn't risk her finding out on her own. I'd given Adena work in our small outpost at the Moonflow, where we took inventory of the newly arrived parts from the island and did small, trivial repairs. Really… I had no thought for Adena. I knew she wouldn't go away, and I needed to keep her away. Rikku couldn't and wouldn't know, if I had anything to say about it. I needed to protect her. I'd hurt her enough by doing the deed, and I never wanted to see that pain in her eyes again. If she knew, surely, I would. I didn't care for Adena. I cared for Rikku. I loved Rikku.

But there was the matter of the baby. Nearly three and a half months had passed since the… well, my drunken mistake, known as Adena. Shouldn't she be showing by now? I had no idea. I'd never been around a pregnant woman, and I couldn't ask anyone without them wondering why I was asking. I'd been spending much of my time with Telan since Adena had showed up at the party. I loved her more than life itself. But I felt absolutely nothing at the thought of a child with Adena. Nothing. And it scared me. What kind of person was I? Shouldn't I want to take care of a child that was mine? Shouldn't I want it, no matter who its mother was? But no, I didn't. Not if it wasn't mine and Rikku's.

And how could I be certain that the baby was mine?

I picked up a rock as I paced on the shrinking beach. In frustration, I flung it as hard as I could into the water, listening to the loud splash as it hit the water before turning and angrily kicking the cliff behind me. How could this have happened? Now, when everything had just righted itself… my life was thrown into chaos once again. And all for one stupid, stupid choice that I wasn't sober enough to make on my own.

"I need to come into Djose tomorrow."

"Why?"

Adena sighed and rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face. "To get some stock parts for the back. We're running low. What a good boss you are, keeping your stores stocked up for any emergency fix that may come in… note the sarcasm, there, Gippal."

"Give me a list of what's needed and I'll have one of the interns bring it over."

"But I'd so like to go to Djose…"

I smacked my hand on the desk in frustration. "You will not go to Djose. I won't allow that."

"You can't control where I do and don't go."

"I can if I want to. And you're either staying here or leaving for good." I moved from in front of the space in the counter, holding an arm out to the door. "You're welcome to take off and never show your face again, or you can stay here."

She smirked again, settling herself on her stool. "I have a feeling things will turn out better if I stay right where I am." With a sigh, she tapped her fingers in a bored matter. "I'll go to Djose some other day. I'd like to visit my old friends, you know."

That was exactly what I didn't want to hear. "You're not going to Djose, Adena. If I hear that you've been there, you're gone. I won't tolerate your presence near my family, and I have no problems throwing you out."

I was angry. Rikku would have known that. Rikku wouldn't have continued to push my button. But Adena wasn't Rikku. "What a wonderful man you are, kicking out the mother of your unborn child-" her sickeningly sweet smile didn't at all match the malice in her voice. I was grateful that she seemed to hate me as much as I hated her. I didn't have to feel guilty for it, if she hated me.

I interrupted her, slamming one of the large order booklets down on the counter in front of her sneering face. The windows shook in reverberation from the slam, and Adena shrunk back immediately. I leaned across the counter in anger, the only time I'd seen true fear in her eyes. It was strangely satisfying, and I stared right at her, my face not six inches from hers. "Don't push me," I whispered, my voice a menacing growl that I'd never heard escape my lips before.

And with that, I stormed from the shop, slamming the door behind me as I left a wide-eyed Adena both behind the counter and clouding my thoughts once again.

Telan squealed happily as Tidus picked her up, tickling her feet. He and Yuna were headed to visit Kimahri on Gagazet… but for now, Yuna was mine. And she brought advertisement books from Luca, full of suspiciously wedding worthy material.

"Keep her busy, will you?" Tidus nodded and waved his hand at me as he nibbled at Telan's toes, and Yuna dragged me off into the kitchen.

"Come on, hurry up, I found the cutest little dress for her! And flowers, I found the most pretty arrangements in… this one. Look!" As she spread various magazines on the kitchen table, she shoved a flower pamphlet in my face.

I glanced at the arrangement of Kilikan Firelilies before shoving the book to the side in disinterest. Flowers would be the last thing I chose. "I think you're more excited than I am!"

"Well, I can't plan my own wedding, so I have to do something!"

I smirked. "Ti! Yun-" but her hand covered my mouth and she glared at me.

"Shut. Up!" she whisper yelled at me.

"What? Didn't catch that…" Tidus called from the other room.

"Nothing! Rikku just had a question, but I answered it. Play with the baby!" Yuna answered, shutting the kitchen door with a dirty look back at me. "Don't encourage him!"

I laughed, taking a seat on the table and kicking my feet onto it. Yuna squeaked and scolded me for putting my 'disgusting shoes' on the books. "Well, how can he ask you so you can plan your own wedding, if he doesn't know that's what you want? He needs some encouragement if you aren't giving him any!"

She stopped and gave me a quizzical glance that reminded me of myself before shaking her head and sitting across from me. "He knows that's what I want."

"So why can't I give him extra encouragement?"

"Leave it! Just… just leave it. Look at this."

With a heavy sigh, I took the magazine from her hands and glanced down at… shoes. Quickly, I shut the magazine and tossed it back at Yuna. "I'm not looking at shoes before I even know if I'm having an evening or like… twilight wedding. So stop. No shoes."

She groaned. "Evening or twilight? Rikku, they're the same thing!"

"No, one starts when the sun is still kinda there and the other one is like… sun goes down, and then starts, so there's still light, but no bright burning ball of blinding sunlight? Y'know?"

She buried her face in her hands. "You're exhausting…"

"No, I'm just… I haven't even talked to Gippal about all this yet…"

"Well, good, then he can't fight with you when you tell him what you're doing."

"I'm not gonna tell him, I'm gonna ask him." I sat up straight in my chair, tempted to put my feet back up, but refraining at the last minute. Yuna reached across the table and took my hands in hers, giving me a comforting glance.

"No, Rikku, sweetie, you don't ask them. You just do. Don't ask. I'm sure he won't mind if you just look at… something. Anything."

"But I don't want to look until I talk to him about it, darling," I said, patting her hands and pulling my own from her grip. "Especially not shoes or flowers."

Yuna sighed, her happy expression falling slightly. "Dresses?" I hesitated. "Please, Rikku, please… look, I got all this stuff for you and you don't want to do anything, please, I just…"

"Shush, shush, fine. Dresses, I'll look at dresses. Pick a book…"

Yuna excitedly picked up a book that gave me the chills. It was massive. She handed it to me and flipped it open to some frilly, whipped cream looking puffy skirt that made me want to run screaming, and thankfully, the front door slammed open. I popped up out of my chair and dropped the book back onto the table.

Yuna followed me. "Dresses, Rikku, dress-" Gippal walked by, a scowl on his face as I opened the kitchen door.

"Hey man, where ya been?" Tidus asked as he entered the other room. "You okay, you look kinda… miffed."

Gippal blinked in surprise as he glanced over at Tidus, sitting on the couch with Telan. "Oh… hi… I didn't know you guys were coming over." He ran his hand through his hair. Suddenly, the scowl was gone, and he sat next to Tidus on the couch. "I'm fine… long day, you know? Had to go help some idiot with a problem down at the river…"

Yuna tapped my shoulder as I watched the two men chatting from the doorway. "Is he alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah… yeah, work's just been a little stressful for the past few weeks. And he's been acting a little different since the engagement party, y'know? Quieter than normal… I think he's nervous about getting married. Which is why I haven't talked to him yet…" I whispered back, pushing her into the kitchen and quietly shutting the door.

"Can you just… look, please?"

"Gimme the damn book…"

I slowly walked back to the party, nearly an hour after I'd left Rikku. Still, I found her easily, dancing, laughing with Karaa. I watched for a moment, rubbing at my temples as I paced back and forth by the drink table. She looked so carefree, her hair flowing behind her as she danced the night away. Only an hour before, I'd been doing the same.

She spotted me and waved to me to join her. I shook my head, and she tapped Karaa's shoulder, signaling that she was going to take a break.

I watched her run over to me, and in a detached sort of way, I felt her grab my hands. "Oh, I was having so much fun… you should have come and danced with us… it was so much fun, Karaa found this really funny intern and she was totally romancing him and I was-" She paused for a moment, looking at me with concern. "Gippal… is everything okay?"

And I nodded. "Yeah, yeah… I'm fine. Everything's fine."

So… this took forever, I know, but here ya go! I hope you like it! Thanks FairyIce for the betaing and for… yeah, like pretty much being amazing. You rock. And your amazing idea for a plot that was way better than mine rocks too, heehee.

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