Yuna Lee just wants to help (to_zanarkand) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-02-24 20:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, rikku, yuna |
Who: Yuna, Rikku
What: Yuna's plane lands!
When: Today, 2/24
Where: The airport.
Rating/Warnings: 5/5 Adorbs.
Status: Complete!
Yuna took a deep breath and let it out as her plane touched down in Orange County. Her last semester of medical school had been tougher than any year before it: the dreams that had started while she’d been home for the summer were on constant repeat, distracting her at every turn. And she missed her cousin. She thought it must have been some kind of miracle that she passed everything. Even more so that she’d managed to secure herself a great internship back home.
Everything was settled in Boston and there was no reason for her to return there. She felt, when the plane finally landed, like one chapter of her life was now settled. The chapter of her life filled with dreams of becoming a summoner and a pediatrician could now really begin.
She’d sent ahead some boxes of things to Rikku and let her cousin know when she was arriving. It was good to be home and she couldn’t wait to see her again! Yuna grabbed onto that excitement and let it propel her off the plane and into the baggage claim, where she was certain Rikku would be waiting.
Rikku was indeed waiting there. She had a huge sign that she’d made with puffy paint and regular paint, “YUNIE!!<3” in cheerful pink and yellow and green. When the tiny blonde saw her cousin, she jumped up and down before running over. Rikku had changed a little in her cousin’s absence. She’d gained muscle tone, and her formerly brown eyes had turned green with spirals where her pupils had once been round.
But none of that mattered. As soon as she could, Rikku wrapped her arms around her cousin, sign dropped and forgotten. “Yunie! You’re here!”
The changes to Rikku didn't matter to Yuna either. She barely even had the time to take them in, in fact, before Rikku was hugging her. She'd caught the sign before it fluttered to the floor, though, and that was so very Rikku that if there had been no hug she might have been put to tears by the sight of it alone.
The hug did make her blink tears out of her eyes a bit, and she wasn't even ashamed of them as she squeezed Rikku back, "I'm here. It's... so good to see you again, Rikku!"
“I missed you a lot,” Rikku sniffled, grinning even as her eyes teared up. “And there’s so much stuff to tell you! I have this great job, and my girlfriend’s really nice, and I help this guy out at a car place and he’s got a cute puppy.” Really, those were big deals to the Al Bhed, and she bounced a little as she looked up at her cousin. But she also wanted another hug.
“How was your flight?” Rikku grinned, looking Yuna over for rumpling or damages.
"It seemed longer than it was, I think... but my seat was next to this very nice woman. She was traveling with her daughter, it was nice chatting with them." Yuna didn't look too damaged, though she did look somewhat rumpled by the flight. When she realised Rikku was looking her over she self-consciously lifted a hand to her hair to try to fix it.
"Your girlfriend is still Kitty, isn't it?" She remembered meeting with a Kitty before she'd gone back to Boston a few months ago, "It's only been a few months, but I'm glad to hear that you two are still together."
Seeming to sense that Rikku wanted another hug - or perhaps because she needed another one - she wrapped one arm around Rikku and squeezed again before pointing at the baggage claim, "I should probably... I have another bag. And we should collect that sign you made... I want to hang it on my wall. I know that seems silly, but it's so cute."
That made Rikku nod. “Yup, we are!” She wrapped an arm around Yuna as well, walking with her to help her with her bags. “Aww, you like it? I was gonna make it light up but I figured that’d just get too heavy.”
"A light up sign would have been amazing, but I really like this one, too," Yuna replied, with a happy smile. She'd stooped quickly to retrieve it and clutched it in her free hand now as her eyes tried to spot her bags.
The luggage was slow to unload and several people were still waiting around the belts for it to appear. She turned a bit and squinted at Rikku, "Now, let me look at you... your eyes are... what happened to them? Can you still see like that?"
That made Rikku pause. “Oh, yeah! I see fine! I just woke up one day and they were like in my dreams, all green and weird.” She shrugged. She didn’t think Yunie would want to know about the huge clawed weapon that had showed up either. Maybe if Yuna got anything from her dreams, Rikku would tell her after that. “Do they look weird? Kitty likes ‘em.”
There was actually a summoner's staff and a set of summoner garb sitting in a box in Rikku's closet. Like a lot of things, Yuna had played that part of the dreams very close to her chest.
She shook her head a bit, and smiled, "I think they're unique. They just... seem to be the right eyes for you. You know? I can't even imagine you with the other ones now."
That made Rikku smile. “Really? You know, I dream about you a lot too. I’m sorry you’re so sad in them.” More than anything, Rikku really just wanted her cousin to smile. A genuine one, not one that masked any sort of sadness.
Yuna smiled at that, one that did seem entirely genuine, "I haven't dreamed about you as much... I stopped off at the Highroad, in mine, and I never dreamed any new ones after I left. But it's alright. Knowing that you join us eventually and all of that, I think it's probably a great comfort to me. The dream me. And I know it'll be good to have you nearby if my dreams get... sadder."
She squeezed Rikku again, and giggled a bit, "But let's just concentrate on how we're going to live together and it's going to be really fun. When I'm not pulling long shifts at a hospital somewhere."
“Right! It’ll be like we’re on a sleepover forever, except with more actual sleeping and less hair braiding. Unless you want to do that because that’s still fun.” Rikku fistpumped the air and bounced excitedly. She might have bought ice cream in anticipation of her cousin’s return.
"You can braid my hair, I think that would be fun."
Yuna giggled a bit and handed Rikku the sign that she'd made so that her own hand could reach out and grab onto her suitcase. It was one of the larger sized ones, decorated unashamedly with Hello Kitty symbols. Most of her clothing was contained within and she was happy to see it arrive in one piece.
"And we can paint our nails. Or at least, my toenails. I can't keep the regular ones painted but I'd like to have pretty toenails at least. I never had the time in school. The paint you put on in August has flaked off."
“Oh, yeah, you probably have to worry about doctory things.” Rikku wrinkled her nose. She seldom painted her fingernails if only because it always chipped off while she was working, but her toes were a sparkly lime green. “Do you have to keep your hair short or anything? Do they have stupid rules like that?”
"Oh, no, I can grow it out as long as I want to!" Over the time Yuna'd been in school, in fact, it had grown down past her shoulders. She liked it at that length, and would have been saddened if they'd made her cut it shorter. She shook her head a bit, "I can put it up in a ... a sort of shower cap thing, if I ever need to be in surgery or anything, but that's not really my speciality. I'm going to be a pediatrician, so it should be mostly office visits."
Yuna beamed a smile at Rikku, "Remember when I used to play doctor and put spider man bandaids on your cuts? That seems so long ago now, but I'll get to do things like that. As long as I keep my hair out of the way it should be alright."
“Oooh, you can do that again! Like if I accidentally solder my hands to anything again.” Rikku made a shifty eyes face, then giggled. That incident had totally been when Rikku was eleven, and it was still one of Rikku’s biggest embarrassments. “You have gorgeous hair, I’d be sad if you cut it too too short.”
"I know it was shorter in the dreams, but I like it the way it is now. I don't think I'll be cutting it anytime soon," Yuna promised. She clutched onto her suitcase and started to lead Rikku out of the baggage area, towards the exit. She was eager to get home and settled in.
"Have you actually done that recently?" She asked, giggling a bit. It might have been an embarrassing moment for Rikku, but Yuna only remembered being happy to patch her up. And a little worried, "I'd be happy to tend to any cuts, but of course, it would be best if you never got hurt at all."
“Not recently,” Rikku giggled. “I like your hair too. Mine in the dreams is way too complicated, you know?” She didn’t put quite that many braids into her hair on a regular basis. Instead it was usually up in a ponytail, safe from welding sparks.
“I usually only hurt myself by accident now. But I don’t know, less so lately. Maybe I’m more sturdy?” She figured in the dreams maybe they had to be. Getting smacked around by a dragon would probably hurt normal people, right?
"Well, now, that's better. I'd rather you were more sturdy... at least sturdy enough not to accidentally hurt yourself. But the hairstyles..." Yuna giggled a bit, "Can you imagine Lulu every morning? And she never had a hair out of place... but all of those braids!"
“I have no idea how that happened,” Rikku blinked, shaking her head. “I don’t think she’d do that even if she wanted to, not here. Can you imagine how long her hair was if she unbraided it? And her dress! It’s like she wanted to be as complicated as possible.”
Yuna smiled fondly, "That's our Lulu, though. She was always very complicated. You know sometimes, in the dreams, she'd let me brush her hair. It was like... this great honor, being allowed to touch it at all."
There was a far-away look on her face for a few seconds, and then Yuna shook her head and looked at Rikku, "We should braid each other's hair, for sure. In her honor, or... well, something like that. Maybe not as complicated."
Rikku’s green eyes went wide. “That’s so awesome! I always wanted to touch it, like, in secret? ‘Cause it was fancy.” Rikku had sort of been in awe of Lulu, wanted to grow up to be so calm and self-assured. “We should. Maybe a couple of braids?”
"We'll put a couple of braids in each other's hair, at least," Yuna agreed, with a nod. Yuna had looked up to her for nearly the same reasons, so she understood Rikku's reaction. She bumped her hip against Rikku as they got out into the parking lot, and added, "We can order take out and goof around, and you can catch me up on everything."
“There’s not that much to catch up on! I’m mostly boring.” Rikku smiled, taking Yuna’s hand and squeezing it. “I’m more interested in what’s new with you!”
"I'm mostly boring, too, really... I mean... unless you want to hear about medical school. I've been so focused on my studies that I think I've almost forgotten about anything else."
A pause, and then she added, "But the dreams, anyway... I never did meet him there. At school. I was hoping I would, but maybe he'll come here sometime."
“I hope so. He was so important to you.” And when he’d disappeared, it had even broken Rikku’s heart, and she hadn’t even loved him that way.
Yuna's smile turned a bit sad, though fond at the same time. She was remembering one of the newer dreams she'd had before she'd gone back to school. Sunset on the Highroad by the inn, talking to him, "I knew he was important to me even just... at Besaid, before we left, but I think where I'm at in the dreams... I know I love him, now. I just can't admit it. Not to myself, not to him. I feel like Ser Auron and Lulu would be angry at me."
Rikku shook her head. “I think they both just want what’s best for you.” Reaching out, Rikku wrapped her arms around her cousin and hugged her tightly. “I just want you to be happy, and I think that anybody you know that loves you would do the same.”
"He... I think he makes it easier for her, at least." Yuna squeezed Rikku, and smiled a little less sadly, "I know you all want me to be happy. I just don't think it's fair to him. But this life is different, and if I meet him here, I'm going to... go for it. No looking back, no regrets. I want to be happy, and I know you'll be happy, too."
“This life is different, and if you meet him here, you need to just jump all over him. Just go for it.” Rikku fistpumped excitedly.
"I will! I'll do it, just like that. No more holding back, not about things like that." Yuna agreed, grinning.
“I never got any romance in the dreams,” Rikku pouted. “It’s so not fair. Even Lulu ends up making kissyfacing with Wakka, which was ... weird, since they’re like siblings.”
"Well, Lulu and his brother... yes... but, I think I would have been happy for them. I won't know until I dream about it, but it doesn't actually shock me that much. Maybe it is a little weird, though." Yuna replied, thoughtfully.
She looked out around the parking lot, then, "Where are you parked? I'm... actually really hungry. We should get something to eat on the way home."
“I’m pretty close, and we can totally do that. I think I hear your tummy growling,” Rikku giggled. Her own was following suit, and she bounced over toward her yellow VW Bug.
The car was as adorable as Yuna remembered it. They went through the process of getting her luggage all into it somehow, and then Yuna got in and clapped her hands together, "Alright, off we go! For food and hair braiding and a really fun night."