fandomhighdorms | Rooftops, Tuesday Night

Bridge came up to the roof hoping to find his roommate there, and instead he sees... Rikku and someone he doesn't recognise. Huh.

"Um, hey," he says, giving a friendly wave.

"Hi!" Tidus waved back cheerfully. "I'm Tidus, kinda new here."

"I'm Bridge and I'm... not new, really." Bridge says. "You a new student?" He was pretty sure the summer students weren't supposed to arrive until after graduation, but you never knew with this place.

Rikku smiled and waved. "Tidus, Bridge. Bridge, Tidus. He's, uh. An old friend? Just in town for a couple of days before he heads back home. No cookies this time." She bit her lip, hoping he'd understand.

Bridge's face lights up in a grin. "You did it!" he says excitedly. "I knew you'd figure out a way."

"Rikku's pretty stubborn when she wants something," Tidus said, amused. "Nice to meet you, Bridge."

"Well I fully approve of stubbornness when it pays off like this, dude." Bridge gives Tidus a thumbs-up.

Tidus grinned and gave a thumbs-up in return. "Seriously, even landing in onion dip, I'd much rather be here than wherever I was."

Rikku giggled and grinned back. And reached out for a ~~very duckable~~ quick hug. "I didn't, Dawn did, and then Door, and Isabel got us there, and I just kinda ran around like crazy with a cat and hoped it all worked, and it was still kinda scary and I am NOT doing anything that awful again but I am still waiting to wake up because no way is this real and I'm doing it again, aren't I?!"

Bridge hugs her back tightly. "Rambling? Kinda a little. But you know, I think you're allowed, all things considered."

Rikku laughed. "Yeah. Yeah, I think this is a one-off kinda thing. Get out of jail free. Not that I'd need one, 'cause I totally busted out last time. Still doing it. Okay. Yeah. So we didn't break anything, that's good, right? Except maybe my head."

Bridge frowns thoughtfully and peers at the top of Rikku's head, as if looking for cracks. "Well, you *seem* to be in once piece..." he says with a wink.

Rikku giggled again. "Check his head next, okay? I'm not the one that face-planted in the onion dip."

"You're not keeping me up!" Tidus said, still grinning. "I was practically sleeping for six months straight - I think I can handle being up late."

"You're gonna have to crash with Jude, if that's okay. When you finally sleep, I mean. Hermione's pretty great, but I don't think she'd let me bring a strange guy in to sleep on the floor of our room. Not that you're strange! And Jude's room has an extra bed anyway, that's where Bayla stayed and that's a long story and ..." Rikku stopped, laughing. "I'm rambling again."

"Crashing with Jude, got it," Tidus said, on the edge of laughing again - Rikku rambling was just the ticket to making him feel at home. "Who's Bayla?"

Rikku laughed. "Bayla is a long story but I guess people here pop in from alternate timelines and futures and the past? 'Cause I had to go back into the past to fight some weird samurai fish-things to get some friends back, but that was a while ago and it all turned out okay and that's another story. But in some future, uh, everything works out with me 'n Jude, and ... that's, uh. She's ... our daughter. She's seven and she's a complete hellion and it was so hard to send her back but wow, do I owe my dad an apology." She facepalmed. "Rambling again. Totally your fault."

Tidus' eyes widened. "Your daughter? Whoa! That's kind of weird but really cool!" He cuffed her shoulder gently, grinning at her. "I like you rambling, it catches me up."

"I know," she said, shivering a bit. "She was beautiful and crazy and hyper and she stole things and was banned from a lot of malls for pranking people and I barely slept the whole time she was here but letting her go back to her own world ... that was hard." Rikku looked down for a long moment. "That's also when ... I did some crazy stuff, trying to get you back, and ... that's when I kinda realized it. About me deserving a future, too."

There was a sudden, sharp yip and a cry of "VLADDIE. GET BACK HERE!"

Then a small puppy came hurtling out onto the roof, followed by a harried-looking Rory holding a leash. She paused and waved at Rikku. "Hey! Good to see you're not four st...oh, sorry, am I interrupting anything? Runaway dog, sorry."

Rikku smiled and waved to Rory. And Vladdie. "He's still a puppy? My kitty's a boyfriend again. Uh, different guy. That ... sounds bad." She facepalmed, then introduced them. "Tidus? This is Rory, she's a friend of mine. Rory, this is ... oh! Oh, dude, I did tell you about it!" She gasped suddenly. "Rory, this is ... from the Special Collections? And the library? The dream-thing?"

"...this is the guy who di - who you were trying to - " Rory stared. "It worked?"

"I know!" Rikku said, and the rest poured out in a rush. "No scary stuff this time! Just Dawn and Door and Isabel and okay things got a little scary, by accident? Something kinda almost got to Dawn at the end and I don't know what but he's here and I still don't know what's going on but yes. This is him!"

Rory processed this, and then asked the important question.

"Does this have to do with why Luke needed dip?"

Rikku laughed. "He brought it! We didn't need it but he said we should have snacks because he didn't bring any on Friday when we had the meeting about doing it? And then everybody landed in it and I think people still smell like it but that's okay because nobody was hurt, right?"

"Right," she agreed. "Is this...is he back for good?"

Rikku bit her lip and looked over at him. "I th-think so. We brought him from where he was. He ... if he's here, he should be here, you know? He was in a dreaming sea thing and ... I think he's real now." She shivered, still not wrapping her mind around it.

"Good," Rory said warmly. "Congratulations."

Rikku smiled back, still shivering a bit. "Thank you. And for the help and talking and ... warning me about Hades. This - I'm so glad he's back, but it's not worth that, you know? Nothing is."

"Cute dog," Tidus said, crouching down. "You're not interrupting, don't worry; we're just hanging out."

Vladdie yipped and licked Tidus's hand. "Um, he doesn't bite or anything. His name's Vladdie," Rory offered, wandering over. "Hi. I'm Rory."

"I'm Tidus," he said, smiling at Rory before looking down at Vladdie, reaching to pet the little dog. "Sounds like you know who I am already, from Rikku?"

"She told me a bit about you," she said, smiling softly. "Welcome back, as it were, I guess."

"Thanks," he said, smile widening to a grin. "It's nice to be here."

Valntin lookd rathr disgruntld as h wnt up onto th roof. Goodnss only knw why, xactly.
"Rikku," h said, giving a wav of his hand. "You found a companion of sorts?"
H'd go all day spaking without that lttr if h had to just to look normal.
Accursd pink rabbits.

Rikku waved. "Valentine! Oh! Hey! When are we doing the third movie? That's not gonna be over break, is it? I gotta go home. Tidus! This is Valentine and he's, like, a director of movies and I'm the leading lady because I am awesome. And Valentine this is Tidus and do you remember the whole cookies and apologies thing and everything else? Because this is him and can you believe it?"

Rikku was never getting to sleep tonight at this rate.

Valntin stard for a momnt, thn noddd his had slightly.
"That's..." Damn. "Th' guy who wasn't suppos'd to ... xist... but did, and shortly aft'r ... didn't?"
H sighd havily.
"Th' third can wait until th' school thing starts again, if you won't ... uhm. It will wait, alright."

Rikku blinked, oddly confused, but concerned. "Are you drunk?" He was slurring his speech pretty badly. "I mean, are you okay?"

And nodded with a quick smile. "Yeah. Did, didn't, and back again, without any nasty soul trades. And really?! Oh, good! I'd hate to lose the role. I'll only be gone a week, honest."

Valntin shook his mask and that which it was a part of briskly.
"No, I most assur'dly am not drunk," Valntin str'ss'd. "I'm suff'ring from a swap that I ... did... to attain my juggling balls from a small rabbit-thing in pink." His mouth was drawn into a frown in frustration. "But it's good that your soul is still your own. Didn't I say, act on it and it'll turn out... good? Mor' profitabl' than just hanging around in common rooms shoving your baking at individuals that you may or may not actually hav' hurt?"
Okay. So Valntin was going to miss that thing that normally sat around "d" and "f." Lots.

"You swapped a ... oh! Hamlet's bunny?" Rikku giggled. "I gave him some stuff I had lying around. He seemed funny. You ... gave him your ability to talk right?"

And she lifted a finger. "A-ha, but it was partly the cookies and the apologizing that led to me telling people, which was what got Dawn thinking we could find a way, which started things up again. So if it weren't for me saying I was sorry, he wouldn't be back right now. Think about that."

"Not my ability to talk right. I'm good at it if I can find words that work for what I'm trying to say. Just that on' l'tt'r." Valntin's frown wors'n'd slightly. "And alright, I can't complain about cooki's. Only a madman would do that. Yummy and all..."
....
"It's still a nasty word, though. I can actually say that word, and I still don't want to. Ugh."

"On' l'tt'r ... whoa, dude, you can't say 'e'?!" Rikku stared at Valentine. "Why would you ... you could have given him your pocket change and some gum and he would have been happy and you gave up a vowel!?"

"'Sorry', 'sorry', 'sorry', 'sorry', 'sorry'. I'd say it a hundred times if it could change things. Words matter, but not like people do." She looked over at Tidus, remembering their earlier conversation. "And I think ... I think I forgive myself now. Not because he's back, but ... because I get it."

Valntin flail'd his arms about for a bit. It was a tiny bit of consolation, anyhow. Flailing, that was. That much was still normal to him.
"H' didn't want gum! H' want'd a l'tt'r! I don't know how it works, it just... works! And I hav' my balls back. So... it's good." A short thought, a tilt of his chin. "It's only a day. Not lik' giving up your soul. That'd last a significantly long'r, mor' unhappy amount of tim'." Arms stopping mid-flail, Valntin took a short sigh. A grin. A shrug. "But you und'rstand now. That's good. B'tt'r than cooki's. And you still hav' full rights to your soul."

Rikku smiled. "It is. I mean, it's not quite what you were meaning, or anybody else, but it's my life anyway, and that's what matters, right? But thank you. For all of it."

And then grinned. A bit evilly. "Excellent, a day with limited use of vowels! You could have easily entered into an alternate agreement, one which would not comprimise your speech, but you accepted his challenge. His requirements were agreeable. Enjoy your ailment!"

Valntin off'r'd Rikku a grunt and a scowl, both of which h' could do without imp'dim'nt, and cross'd his arms in front of his ch'st.
"Y's, y's, I'll 'njoy it a fair bit, I think. Stop rubbing it in, would you?"

Rooftops, Tuesday Night

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