Fic: "Family Dinner," Final Fantasy X: Kimahri/Rikku, for Salty Bob
Title: Family Dinner
Fandom: Final Fantasy X
Pairing: Kimahri/Rikku
Author/artist: GlassTurtle
Recipient: Salty Bob
Rating: PG for innuendo
Word Count: 1,395
Request: FFX (no references to X-2 please - make it an AU,) Kimahri/Rikku, fic - Rikku introduces Kimahri to Cid, Brother and the rest of her Al Bhed family and friends as her lover. How will they react? Would prefer something more humorous than not, and with a fairly happy ending, and some backstory as to how they ended up together, because of course someone's going to ask Rikku that. The rest is up to you. :D
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X belongs to Square-Enix.
Warning: Al Bhed/Big blue kitty pairing.
Notes: As stated in the request, this is completely AU from the end of FFX and non-FFX-2 canon compliant. I didn't quite work in her friends, but Cid and Brother are here, and Brother's girlfriend who I made up. I adapted a line from the original movie "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" because I just couldn't resist. Forgive me.
Family Dinner
"You're supposed to be brave," Rikku told herself. "You faced down Seymour Guado and Sin itself and now you can't even speak to your own father."
Finally she opened the door to the airship's cabin and stepped in. Her father looked up from his charts.
"You need something, Rikku?"
She willed herself to proceed. "You know how you're always teasing me that I don't have a boyfriend?"
"I don't mean nothing by that, Rikku!"
"I know, but-" she clasped her hands to keep them from trembling. "I have one, actually, and I want you to meet him."
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
She opened her mouth to give the honest answer, then closed it. "I just didn't. I'm sorry."
"Well, I wasn't expecting this! But don't be sorry."
"Will you meet him?"
"Of course!" said Cid, beginning to smile. "Just bring him along to dinner tomorrow. Brother's bringing Rae, and I'm sure they'll both want to meet your boyfriend."
Rikku wasn't sure she was ready to introduce her boyfriend to her brother and his girlfriend too, or to force him to sit through dinner on the airship. She had hoped to just bring him to meet Cid casually and then the rest would depend on how her father reacted.
"Well, see, the thing is... he's not an Al Bhed."
Cid considered that for a moment. "Aw, well, I guess I should have figured that out, since I don't know him either. And I know you didn't meet many Al Bhed running around with those friends of yours. I'm OK with Yevonites now. You know that."
Now her father was smiling. "My own sister married one, after all. And Brother has been working on his Spiran, so he can welcome your friend too."
The next night Rikku gave her father instructions to take the airship near the Northern Mountains, then left the ship. She still hadn't said anything about a very important issue. But all she could do now was find her lover, bring him to dinner, and see what happened.
Walking to the ship, both she and her companion were silent. If he was nervous, she couldn't tell, but she certainly was. As she opened the door to the dining room, Rikku tried to put a smile on her face.
Cid, Brother, and Rae were sitting around the table, and all three looked up curiously when the door opened. And then Rikku had to watch as their facial expressions went from guarded smiles to open-mouthed stares as they saw a seven-foot tall Ronso in full battle regalia standing by her side.
"Is this a joke, Rikku?" her father asked in Al Bhed.
"No, of course it's not a joke," she replied, in Spiran. "Father, Brother, you remember Kimahri, don't you?
Brother only blinked. His date, Rae, nudged him.
"Can you even tell one Ronso from another? I can't," she whispered loudly in fluent Spiran.
Kimahri shifted from foot to foot beside Rikku.
"Maybe he really is nervous," she thought. "And Rae isn't helping."
"Well," said Cid finally. "You just sit right down then, Mr. Kimahri."
Her dad was trying to be a host, but Rikku could tell he was shaken. And Brother and his date were still gaping at Kimahri.
"Exactly how did you two meet?" Rae asked, finally. She was still sticking to Spiran, but Rikku doubted it was because she wanted to keep Kimahri comfortable.
Cid answered her. "It was Rikku and Kimahri who defeated Sin last year!"
"It wasn't just us!" said Rikku. "I hardly helped at all."
Kimahri finally spoke. "Rikku very brave. If not for Rikku, maybe none of us here now."
"Well, finally someone noticed," said Cid. "I've always been proud of her."
Rae wasn't done talking. "What I meant was, how did you two get together. I mean, why would even think to like a Ronso... that way."
"That way?" Rikku raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you have to admit it's very odd."
"I don't have to admit any such thing!" said Rikku, growing angry. She was starting to wish Kimahri would growl at Rae but that would only make things worse.
"Now, calm down, Rikku," said Cid. "I have to admit I'm curious myself."
"Me also," said Brother, looking nervous.
Rikku tried to smile. "Well, I guess it started the first time we went to Mt. Gagazet. Kimahri wasn't so popular there, before he finally beat his old enemy Biran in a fight. The other Ronso kept talking about his broken horn and acting like he was a failure, and it made me so angry after all he'd done for us.
"Anyway, this one Ronso girl kept talking about it, in Spiran, right in front of us, and she said Kimahri was ugly. And I threw a snowball at her."
"A snowball?" asked Brother.
Rikku remembered that he wasn't very familiar with snow. "Well, you can pack snow pretty hard and it can really get someone's attention, especially if you..." she trailed off.
"Put rock in snow," finished Kimahri. He loved this story, but Rikku wasn't certain how it sounded to her family.
Cid didn't seem to be enjoying it. "You threw a rock at a Ronso? Did I raise you to be stupid?"
"I won the fight!" insisted Rikku. "She hit me with a stick, but I took this magic sphere and I mixed it with-"
Cid closed his eyes. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know."
"And after she said, 'If you like Kimahri so much, why don't you take him for yourself.' And it made perfect sense."
"It did?" asked Brother.
"Because he was so noble, and kind to me, and brave. So I went up to him, and I hugged him, and he was really surprised, but then-" Rikku stopped herself again, and this time Kimahri gave a slight cough and added nothing.
"So do you two actually... you know..." asked Rae.
Rikku blushed and Kimahri stared at the floor.
"Well he's a lot bigger than you are," Rae muttered.
Brother nudged her and said something in Al Bhed, but she just kept talking.
"Is it true cats have barbs on their-"
That was when Brother clapped a hand over Rae's mouth. But it was too late; Rikku couldn't take any more of this. She ran into the kitchen, where the food still sat unserved. Hunched over the counter, she blinked back tears. After a moment the door opened and she looked up to see her father.
"Rikku, I'm sorry about Rae," he said in Al Bhed.
"You're all just sitting there, staring at Kimahri. I thought if there was one thing we all learned from fighting Seymour and Sin it was not to concentrate on people's differences."
"This isn't quite the same as your aunt running off with a Yevonite. Or Seymour being half Guado."
"I didn't expect to fall in love with a Ronso but I did, and there's nothing I can do to change that. Nothing I even want to do."
"But Rikku... have you really thought this through?"
"What do you mean?"
Her father looked away. "You always wanted lots of children. Now, I don't know much about Ronso but I'm sure a Ronso and an Al Bhed can't-"
The door opened again, and Kimahri stood there. "If Rikku's family not want Kimahri for Rikku, then Kimahri go. Rikku need family more than need Kimahri."
Cid stood open-mouthed. "You said that in Al Bhed. You speak Al Bhed?"
"Only little. Learn for Rikku."
"You heard what I was saying to her?"
Rikku switched back to Spiran. "Kimahri, tell him what we decided. About children."
The Ronso nodded. "Many Al Bhed children with no parents now, after Sin. Even more orphan Ronso. Rikku have as many children as Rikku want."
Cid nodded slowly. "This is hard for me to accept. But I believe you'll take care of her."
"Rikku take care of Rikku. But Kimahri help."
Rikku began to smile. "So you won't stand in our way, Dad?"
"If I did, you'd only run me over like always," her father said. "I don't want to be the kind of father who runs his children's lives. Except for one thing."
"What?" she asked.
"If Brother doesn't get rid of that Rae I'm going to kick her butt off my ship. Nobody's going to make fun of Kimahri around me either."
Fandom: Final Fantasy X
Pairing: Kimahri/Rikku
Author/artist: GlassTurtle
Recipient: Salty Bob
Rating: PG for innuendo
Word Count: 1,395
Request: FFX (no references to X-2 please - make it an AU,) Kimahri/Rikku, fic - Rikku introduces Kimahri to Cid, Brother and the rest of her Al Bhed family and friends as her lover. How will they react? Would prefer something more humorous than not, and with a fairly happy ending, and some backstory as to how they ended up together, because of course someone's going to ask Rikku that. The rest is up to you. :D
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X belongs to Square-Enix.
Warning: Al Bhed/Big blue kitty pairing.
Notes: As stated in the request, this is completely AU from the end of FFX and non-FFX-2 canon compliant. I didn't quite work in her friends, but Cid and Brother are here, and Brother's girlfriend who I made up. I adapted a line from the original movie "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" because I just couldn't resist. Forgive me.
Family Dinner
"You're supposed to be brave," Rikku told herself. "You faced down Seymour Guado and Sin itself and now you can't even speak to your own father."
Finally she opened the door to the airship's cabin and stepped in. Her father looked up from his charts.
"You need something, Rikku?"
She willed herself to proceed. "You know how you're always teasing me that I don't have a boyfriend?"
"I don't mean nothing by that, Rikku!"
"I know, but-" she clasped her hands to keep them from trembling. "I have one, actually, and I want you to meet him."
"Why didn't you say anything before?"
She opened her mouth to give the honest answer, then closed it. "I just didn't. I'm sorry."
"Well, I wasn't expecting this! But don't be sorry."
"Will you meet him?"
"Of course!" said Cid, beginning to smile. "Just bring him along to dinner tomorrow. Brother's bringing Rae, and I'm sure they'll both want to meet your boyfriend."
Rikku wasn't sure she was ready to introduce her boyfriend to her brother and his girlfriend too, or to force him to sit through dinner on the airship. She had hoped to just bring him to meet Cid casually and then the rest would depend on how her father reacted.
"Well, see, the thing is... he's not an Al Bhed."
Cid considered that for a moment. "Aw, well, I guess I should have figured that out, since I don't know him either. And I know you didn't meet many Al Bhed running around with those friends of yours. I'm OK with Yevonites now. You know that."
Now her father was smiling. "My own sister married one, after all. And Brother has been working on his Spiran, so he can welcome your friend too."
The next night Rikku gave her father instructions to take the airship near the Northern Mountains, then left the ship. She still hadn't said anything about a very important issue. But all she could do now was find her lover, bring him to dinner, and see what happened.
Walking to the ship, both she and her companion were silent. If he was nervous, she couldn't tell, but she certainly was. As she opened the door to the dining room, Rikku tried to put a smile on her face.
Cid, Brother, and Rae were sitting around the table, and all three looked up curiously when the door opened. And then Rikku had to watch as their facial expressions went from guarded smiles to open-mouthed stares as they saw a seven-foot tall Ronso in full battle regalia standing by her side.
"Is this a joke, Rikku?" her father asked in Al Bhed.
"No, of course it's not a joke," she replied, in Spiran. "Father, Brother, you remember Kimahri, don't you?
Brother only blinked. His date, Rae, nudged him.
"Can you even tell one Ronso from another? I can't," she whispered loudly in fluent Spiran.
Kimahri shifted from foot to foot beside Rikku.
"Maybe he really is nervous," she thought. "And Rae isn't helping."
"Well," said Cid finally. "You just sit right down then, Mr. Kimahri."
Her dad was trying to be a host, but Rikku could tell he was shaken. And Brother and his date were still gaping at Kimahri.
"Exactly how did you two meet?" Rae asked, finally. She was still sticking to Spiran, but Rikku doubted it was because she wanted to keep Kimahri comfortable.
Cid answered her. "It was Rikku and Kimahri who defeated Sin last year!"
"It wasn't just us!" said Rikku. "I hardly helped at all."
Kimahri finally spoke. "Rikku very brave. If not for Rikku, maybe none of us here now."
"Well, finally someone noticed," said Cid. "I've always been proud of her."
Rae wasn't done talking. "What I meant was, how did you two get together. I mean, why would even think to like a Ronso... that way."
"That way?" Rikku raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you have to admit it's very odd."
"I don't have to admit any such thing!" said Rikku, growing angry. She was starting to wish Kimahri would growl at Rae but that would only make things worse.
"Now, calm down, Rikku," said Cid. "I have to admit I'm curious myself."
"Me also," said Brother, looking nervous.
Rikku tried to smile. "Well, I guess it started the first time we went to Mt. Gagazet. Kimahri wasn't so popular there, before he finally beat his old enemy Biran in a fight. The other Ronso kept talking about his broken horn and acting like he was a failure, and it made me so angry after all he'd done for us.
"Anyway, this one Ronso girl kept talking about it, in Spiran, right in front of us, and she said Kimahri was ugly. And I threw a snowball at her."
"A snowball?" asked Brother.
Rikku remembered that he wasn't very familiar with snow. "Well, you can pack snow pretty hard and it can really get someone's attention, especially if you..." she trailed off.
"Put rock in snow," finished Kimahri. He loved this story, but Rikku wasn't certain how it sounded to her family.
Cid didn't seem to be enjoying it. "You threw a rock at a Ronso? Did I raise you to be stupid?"
"I won the fight!" insisted Rikku. "She hit me with a stick, but I took this magic sphere and I mixed it with-"
Cid closed his eyes. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know."
"And after she said, 'If you like Kimahri so much, why don't you take him for yourself.' And it made perfect sense."
"It did?" asked Brother.
"Because he was so noble, and kind to me, and brave. So I went up to him, and I hugged him, and he was really surprised, but then-" Rikku stopped herself again, and this time Kimahri gave a slight cough and added nothing.
"So do you two actually... you know..." asked Rae.
Rikku blushed and Kimahri stared at the floor.
"Well he's a lot bigger than you are," Rae muttered.
Brother nudged her and said something in Al Bhed, but she just kept talking.
"Is it true cats have barbs on their-"
That was when Brother clapped a hand over Rae's mouth. But it was too late; Rikku couldn't take any more of this. She ran into the kitchen, where the food still sat unserved. Hunched over the counter, she blinked back tears. After a moment the door opened and she looked up to see her father.
"Rikku, I'm sorry about Rae," he said in Al Bhed.
"You're all just sitting there, staring at Kimahri. I thought if there was one thing we all learned from fighting Seymour and Sin it was not to concentrate on people's differences."
"This isn't quite the same as your aunt running off with a Yevonite. Or Seymour being half Guado."
"I didn't expect to fall in love with a Ronso but I did, and there's nothing I can do to change that. Nothing I even want to do."
"But Rikku... have you really thought this through?"
"What do you mean?"
Her father looked away. "You always wanted lots of children. Now, I don't know much about Ronso but I'm sure a Ronso and an Al Bhed can't-"
The door opened again, and Kimahri stood there. "If Rikku's family not want Kimahri for Rikku, then Kimahri go. Rikku need family more than need Kimahri."
Cid stood open-mouthed. "You said that in Al Bhed. You speak Al Bhed?"
"Only little. Learn for Rikku."
"You heard what I was saying to her?"
Rikku switched back to Spiran. "Kimahri, tell him what we decided. About children."
The Ronso nodded. "Many Al Bhed children with no parents now, after Sin. Even more orphan Ronso. Rikku have as many children as Rikku want."
Cid nodded slowly. "This is hard for me to accept. But I believe you'll take care of her."
"Rikku take care of Rikku. But Kimahri help."
Rikku began to smile. "So you won't stand in our way, Dad?"
"If I did, you'd only run me over like always," her father said. "I don't want to be the kind of father who runs his children's lives. Except for one thing."
"What?" she asked.
"If Brother doesn't get rid of that Rae I'm going to kick her butt off my ship. Nobody's going to make fun of Kimahri around me either."