FicWad

"Where's Lu?"

Cid chose to ignore the outburst when Wakka ran into the bridge in favor of continuing to give one of his men orders on how he wanted the ship's first-aid kits restocked. This proved to be more difficult than expected when Wakka proceeded to poke his head into every nook and cranny in the room that Lulu could possibly fit herself into, calling her name all the while.

"Will ya stop makin' such a damned racket?" he finally exclaimed the second his work was complete.

Wakka seemed to take that as a cue to stamp up to him, shoulders back and glaring at him in the eye. Cid almost laughed in his face at the idea that he'd be impressed by macho posturing from a kid almost as young as his son. "Where is she? Rikku promised you'd take good care of her, so why isn't she--"

Cid cut Wakka off by pushing past him to do some work at one of the control panels near by. Not that there was actually anything that needed to be done with it (he made a mental note of which members of his crew stifled laughter, planning to reward them some time for learning the workings of the ship well enough to realize what he was doing), but he wanted to make it clear to Wakka that the way he was acting wasn't even worth bristling back at. "Don't get your britches in a twist," he said, flipping a switch that would start up the fans in the lower section of the ship. "She's restin' up, safe and sound."

"That's not saying where she is!"

Cid looked over at Rikku, hoping she'd take a hint and get her friend to stop bothering him, but she was too busy talking at Brother about something to notice. "I ain't gonna tell you where she is." Wakka started opening his mouth to argue, but Cid was faster, cutting him off before he could get a word out. "It took that woman a dog's age to finally get to sleep, and I ain't gonna let you barge in on her yellin' like that and wake her right back up again. If you're so damned worried about her, you'll let her keep healin' up."

"He's right, Wakka," Yuna broke in on them, resting a hand on her friend's arm. "If Lulu needs rest, we can do without her long enough to let her have it." She turned her attention to Cid. It still unsettled him a little every time her eyes met his; her face so like Kalna's that just looking at her was enough to make him choke up, but with the quiet calmness that came straight from Braska a far cry from his brash baby sister. "Is there anything I could do to help? I know that Rikku didn't use any spells to help heal her before coming back to us..."

"Nah," he said. "There ain't nothin' left wrong with her that a good rest won't cure, but I'll make sure to tell 'er you offered." Turning her offer down was a selfish impulse, Cid knew--though it was true she'd be fine soon enough, a real healer would always get a job done faster than potions or ointments--but, hell, it wouldn't do anyone any harm, and at his age he figured he had the right to be selfish now and then. It wasn't like he was after much, just a little more of that woman's time.

Yuna bowed her head to him, accepting the answer. "Then, thank you for caring for her, Uncle."

Cid shrugged off her thanks, uncomfortable with accepting it when he was sure she thought he was just being kind for her sake, even more uncomfortable since because of it he heard her call him 'Uncle' first time. "No need for that now," he said gruffly. "Long as y'all are travellin' around in this ol' tub of mine, me and my crew'll keep an eye on you if you need it."

"That still deserves our thanks," she replied, but didn't press the point. "We won't be here for long," she said instead. "We just needed a chance to rest ourselves before we go onto the next level of the ruins."

"If Tidus can stop chasing monster chests long enough for us to get up there, ya?" Wakka broke in. He and Yuna exchanged the secretive smiles of people sharing an inner joke before glancing over at Tidus with equal amounts of affection. Cid told himself that he had to ask Lulu to tell him what they were talking about when she woke up.

"Well git then!" Cid said, waving them away "Don't keep jabbering here for my sake. Go grab yourself some grub; get up your strength before you go back out there."

He'd meant the words for Yuna, but it was Wakka who nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he replied, gently pushing Yuna towards the door of the bridge. "I'm sorry about shouting, man," he said with a nod to Cid, although Cid could tell by his tone that the apology was slightly grudging. "I was just real worried, you know?"

"No problem. Not like I can't see why a woman like that's worth frettin' about."

Wakka smiled, his eyes distant and wistful. He didn't notice how Cid suddenly frowned in response to the expression, not liking that look at all. "She really is." His expression went back to normal just as quickly as it had changed, and he called out to Tidus, "Hey, bro! C'mon, me an' Yuna are going for food!"

He darted out of the room and Cid watched him go. Even after the door closed, shutting the younger man away from his sight, the frown didn't leave his face.