Categories > Games > Final Fantasy X > Drawn Toward Unity
Chapter Twelve
1 reviewWhile Yuna and Tidus speak with the fayth in Bevelle, Lulu returns to the airship and Cid. There, for the first time, she begins to realize how much her feelings for him have grown.
1Ambiance
"Back already?" Cid asked, looking up at her as she walked into his room.
"Yuna has gone with Tidus to speak to the fayth in Bevelle. They told the rest of us to stay behind, so I decided to come back here."
He narrowed his eyes. "You trust 'em not to attack her when she hasn't got most've her guardians?"
"For now... Things have changed." She sat down and frowned slightly, thinking about what had happened in Bevelle. "The church's story is now that Yuna being a traitor was 'an evil rumor spread by the Al Bhed'. It looks as though we've been exonerated."
"Looks like y'all've been, you mean. We've become the scapegoat." He turn toward the window that took up most of one wall of his room, glaring down at Bevelle for a moment before returning his attention to her. "An' what'd you tell them when they said that?"
Lulu rested her chin on her hand and studied the ceiling as she considered the best way to answer that. "At the moment, it is Yuna's decision whether to reveal that they're lying or not. She has decided not to say anything for now, so neither shall we. But soon, when Sin is defeated and we're our own people again instead of having everything we say and do considered a reflection of Yuna's beliefs, we'll be able to decide for ourselves what we wish to say."
"Yeah? An' just what're you plannin' on tellin' them?"
Lulu was surprised by how hurt she felt that he even had to ask. "You don't know?"
Cid leaned back and shrugged, at ease from all appearances if it weren't for the sharp look in his eyes. "Let's just say I wanna hear you say it."
"Cid..." Lulu reached forward and covered her hand with his, hoping he could tell from her expression how sincere she was being, "after all that's happened, I would never deny the help you've given us, or the time that I've spent here. Even if it means I'll be labelled a traitor once more, even if it means I'm considered one forever, I will not hide the fact that I am a friend to the Al Bhed."
"All right." He turned his hand palm-upwards under hers, closed his fingers around hers, and flashed her a grin. "Glad to hear it! And, you know, if the traitor thing gets to be to much for you, I reckon you can always find a place with us."
"I think," she said slowly, "perhaps one day I'll do that. Now that I've begun to... widen my horizons, it would be a shame not to continue to do so, and that would be difficult to do back in Besaid." As she spoke her eyes were drawn to their linked hands and she could feel her stomach twisting and her heart pounding in her chest as if something important were happening, but, feeling lost and foolish at her lack of insight into her own emotions, she didn't realize what it was until he reached out with his free hand and gently touched her cheek.
"I'll be glad to have you," he said, voice lacking its usual gruffness.
Her breath caught in her throat, and then she was up, pulling herself away from him almost entirely except she found that she couldn't bring herself to let go of his hand quite yet. To leave him thinking she'd rejected him completely. "We've spoken too long. I'm supposed to be back on the Highbridge to meet Yuna when she gets back." His expression, when she made herself raise her eyes to meet his, was more closed off than she'd ever seen it. Almost as startling to her as what had just happened was how sickening she found her certainty that by the time she returned he would have begun distancing himself from her if she couldn't convince him right away that that was the last thing she wanted to happen. "I will return, as soon as Yuna's safely back. But if, for whatever reason, you'd rather I don't," she said, pulling her hand from his to take out the keycard for the residential area of the ship and hold it out to him, "take this back, and I promise I'll never bother you again." She unconsciously bit her bottom lip then immediately caught herself and stopped, embarrassed at the childishness of the gesture. "But please... please don't."
Some distant part of her was surprised to find that she'd almost forgotten the sound of her voice when it lost the coolness she'd tried to project to the world since Chappu's death. Most of her was too absorbed by watching him as he made his decision to care.
He stared at the card in her hand silently, long enough for her to wish he'd just take it already if that was what he was going to do, then something softened in his expression and he reached out to close her fingers around it, his hand covering hers once more. "Nah, you keep it. Said you'd always be welcome, didn't I?"
"So you did." She smiled at him and clasped his hand between both of hers for a moment before pulling back and putting the card away. "I'll be back soon, Cid. I'll see you then."
She walked away before he could respond, making herself move sedately while still in his line of sight but getting faster the further she went until she was almost at a run leaving the ship for the Highbridge. She headed straight for Rikku then, grabbing the younger girl by the elbow and pulling her further down the bridge away from the others as she passed through them.
"Girl talk!" Rikku called to the others chipperly, sounding like she wasn't at all surprised that this was happening. "No boys allowed!"
"Ooh, Rikku is in /trouble/," Lulu heard Wakka whisper to Kimahri just before she got too far to hear it, and she almost laughed at how familiar the almost singsong tone was from when they were younger. He'd always been so pleased when someone else ended up being the focus of her anger.
"I love Chappu," she said to Rikku in a low voice once they were far enough from the others. "I have always loved Chappu."
"Well duh. Everybody knows that, so why're you bringing it up?" Rikku asked, but Lulu could tell from the smirk she couldn't quite hold back that she already suspected.
"It hasn't even been two years yet. I can't just forget him, and move on to someone else."
Rikku suddenly stepped forward and hugged her. Any other day it would've been a complete shock to Lulu, but with all that had happened it practically seemed common place. "You know, for someone who usually seems smarter than most of the rest of us, you can be a real dope," she said, not letting Lulu go. "Nobody expects you to forget about him. Anybody who did would be a real jerk, and he's-- and you wouldn't be interested in somebody like that to begin with, right?"
"...I suppose you're right." Lulu slowly raised her arms to hug Rikku back and took a deep breath. It was hard, so hard, to say when she'd held onto the memory of Chappu for so long, never even really thinking about moving on, but finally, quietly, she admitted, "I think I may have spoken too soon when I said that there was nothing going on between your father and I."
Rikku laughed and affectionately squeezed her a little tighter. "Dope," she said again. "I could've told you that as soon as you decided you'd rather go chasing after him than help us try and plan out how to fight Sin." She laughed again as she let Lulu go. "Just don't expect me to ever call you mom, okay?"
"Yuna has gone with Tidus to speak to the fayth in Bevelle. They told the rest of us to stay behind, so I decided to come back here."
He narrowed his eyes. "You trust 'em not to attack her when she hasn't got most've her guardians?"
"For now... Things have changed." She sat down and frowned slightly, thinking about what had happened in Bevelle. "The church's story is now that Yuna being a traitor was 'an evil rumor spread by the Al Bhed'. It looks as though we've been exonerated."
"Looks like y'all've been, you mean. We've become the scapegoat." He turn toward the window that took up most of one wall of his room, glaring down at Bevelle for a moment before returning his attention to her. "An' what'd you tell them when they said that?"
Lulu rested her chin on her hand and studied the ceiling as she considered the best way to answer that. "At the moment, it is Yuna's decision whether to reveal that they're lying or not. She has decided not to say anything for now, so neither shall we. But soon, when Sin is defeated and we're our own people again instead of having everything we say and do considered a reflection of Yuna's beliefs, we'll be able to decide for ourselves what we wish to say."
"Yeah? An' just what're you plannin' on tellin' them?"
Lulu was surprised by how hurt she felt that he even had to ask. "You don't know?"
Cid leaned back and shrugged, at ease from all appearances if it weren't for the sharp look in his eyes. "Let's just say I wanna hear you say it."
"Cid..." Lulu reached forward and covered her hand with his, hoping he could tell from her expression how sincere she was being, "after all that's happened, I would never deny the help you've given us, or the time that I've spent here. Even if it means I'll be labelled a traitor once more, even if it means I'm considered one forever, I will not hide the fact that I am a friend to the Al Bhed."
"All right." He turned his hand palm-upwards under hers, closed his fingers around hers, and flashed her a grin. "Glad to hear it! And, you know, if the traitor thing gets to be to much for you, I reckon you can always find a place with us."
"I think," she said slowly, "perhaps one day I'll do that. Now that I've begun to... widen my horizons, it would be a shame not to continue to do so, and that would be difficult to do back in Besaid." As she spoke her eyes were drawn to their linked hands and she could feel her stomach twisting and her heart pounding in her chest as if something important were happening, but, feeling lost and foolish at her lack of insight into her own emotions, she didn't realize what it was until he reached out with his free hand and gently touched her cheek.
"I'll be glad to have you," he said, voice lacking its usual gruffness.
Her breath caught in her throat, and then she was up, pulling herself away from him almost entirely except she found that she couldn't bring herself to let go of his hand quite yet. To leave him thinking she'd rejected him completely. "We've spoken too long. I'm supposed to be back on the Highbridge to meet Yuna when she gets back." His expression, when she made herself raise her eyes to meet his, was more closed off than she'd ever seen it. Almost as startling to her as what had just happened was how sickening she found her certainty that by the time she returned he would have begun distancing himself from her if she couldn't convince him right away that that was the last thing she wanted to happen. "I will return, as soon as Yuna's safely back. But if, for whatever reason, you'd rather I don't," she said, pulling her hand from his to take out the keycard for the residential area of the ship and hold it out to him, "take this back, and I promise I'll never bother you again." She unconsciously bit her bottom lip then immediately caught herself and stopped, embarrassed at the childishness of the gesture. "But please... please don't."
Some distant part of her was surprised to find that she'd almost forgotten the sound of her voice when it lost the coolness she'd tried to project to the world since Chappu's death. Most of her was too absorbed by watching him as he made his decision to care.
He stared at the card in her hand silently, long enough for her to wish he'd just take it already if that was what he was going to do, then something softened in his expression and he reached out to close her fingers around it, his hand covering hers once more. "Nah, you keep it. Said you'd always be welcome, didn't I?"
"So you did." She smiled at him and clasped his hand between both of hers for a moment before pulling back and putting the card away. "I'll be back soon, Cid. I'll see you then."
She walked away before he could respond, making herself move sedately while still in his line of sight but getting faster the further she went until she was almost at a run leaving the ship for the Highbridge. She headed straight for Rikku then, grabbing the younger girl by the elbow and pulling her further down the bridge away from the others as she passed through them.
"Girl talk!" Rikku called to the others chipperly, sounding like she wasn't at all surprised that this was happening. "No boys allowed!"
"Ooh, Rikku is in /trouble/," Lulu heard Wakka whisper to Kimahri just before she got too far to hear it, and she almost laughed at how familiar the almost singsong tone was from when they were younger. He'd always been so pleased when someone else ended up being the focus of her anger.
"I love Chappu," she said to Rikku in a low voice once they were far enough from the others. "I have always loved Chappu."
"Well duh. Everybody knows that, so why're you bringing it up?" Rikku asked, but Lulu could tell from the smirk she couldn't quite hold back that she already suspected.
"It hasn't even been two years yet. I can't just forget him, and move on to someone else."
Rikku suddenly stepped forward and hugged her. Any other day it would've been a complete shock to Lulu, but with all that had happened it practically seemed common place. "You know, for someone who usually seems smarter than most of the rest of us, you can be a real dope," she said, not letting Lulu go. "Nobody expects you to forget about him. Anybody who did would be a real jerk, and he's-- and you wouldn't be interested in somebody like that to begin with, right?"
"...I suppose you're right." Lulu slowly raised her arms to hug Rikku back and took a deep breath. It was hard, so hard, to say when she'd held onto the memory of Chappu for so long, never even really thinking about moving on, but finally, quietly, she admitted, "I think I may have spoken too soon when I said that there was nothing going on between your father and I."
Rikku laughed and affectionately squeezed her a little tighter. "Dope," she said again. "I could've told you that as soon as you decided you'd rather go chasing after him than help us try and plan out how to fight Sin." She laughed again as she let Lulu go. "Just don't expect me to ever call you mom, okay?"
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