Disclaimer: I only own the plot to this fanfic. That's all.
Stranded in Another World
Written by: Crystal Wolfven
Chapter I
Love is in the Air
The red-eyed warrior in black stood on the deck of Celsius; the wind blew through her silver-tinted hair. She had her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feeling of the wind against her face.
The sound of the elevator coming up and then someone walking out could be heard behind her.
"We're almost there, Paine." It was Yuna.
Paine nodded her head, eyes still closed.
Yuna took a few steps closer to the warrior. "Rikku and I were going to dress up for the party. Perhaps you could, too?"
Paine's eyes opened. "Dress up? I don't think so, Yuna."
"But it's for a good reason."
"No, Yuna. I'm not dressing up."
"But if I had to leave Tidus behind just to go to this party, then you should dress up." Yuna put her hands behind her back.
"It's not my fault Tidus wasn't invited." Paine turned and looked at Yuna. "I'm not getting dressed up."
"It's only just this one time, Paine. I'm sure the guys are dressing up, too."
"Fine, but just this one time. You better be right about those three dressing up, or you lose respect points." Paine walked toward the elevator and got inside.
"I'm positive they will." Yuna smiled as she also got inside the elevator.
XxXxX
The three girls got off of Celsius once it landed near Youth League HQ. Yuna was dressed in a long sleeved white dress that fell just below her knees and white high-heel shoes; Rikku was dressed in a pink mini skirt, white tank-top, and her normal shoes. Both girls had smiles on their faces as they walked toward the HQ.
Paine, on the other hand, did not look too happy. She wore a long, black, off-the-shoulder dress. The sleeves were long and wide at the end. There was a split up the sides of the dress that stopped at her hips. She had on her normal black boots.
Nooj greeted them at the entrance. "Glad you could make it." Baralai and Gippal stood beside them.
Paine noticed none of the guys were dressed up and she glared at Yuna. "Two respect points."
"You look…beautiful, Paine." Baralai could not seem to take his eyes off of Paine. Nooj noticed the way Baralai looked at Paine and shook his head.
"Uh…thanks…" Paine rubbed the back of her neck. I wish he would stop staring at me. It's making me regret wearing this dress.
Gippal walked up to Paine and looked her up and down. "This is Paine? Are you sure? She looks…different…"
"Do you want hurt, desert rat?" Paine narrowed her eyes.
"Well I'll be. It is Paine! I didn't think you could dress up, Dr. P." Gippal got right up in her face.
Paine pushed past him and walked towards the door ahead of her. "I knew I should've brought my sword," She muttered as she walked inside.
The others soon joined her in the dining room of the HQ. She was already seated at the table. The table had six chairs: two on each side, and then a chair at both ends. Gippal sat in the empty chair to the left of Paine. Yuna and Rikku sat across from the two, and Nooj sat at the end of the table in the chair between Rikku and Paine, and Baralai was at the other end, between Yuna and Gippal. Food had already been placed on the table, obviously before the three girls arrived. Barya, Donga, and Pukutak were in one corner of the room playing some music.
After everyone was done eating, Rikku and Yuna were dancing, while the other four sat at the table. The guys were talking, and Paine was drinking her wine every now and then. Rikku ran over to Paine. "Why don't ya lighten up and have a little fun?" She twirled around. "You'll like dancing if ya tried!"
"I. Don't. Dance." Paine took another sip of her wine.
Rikku began to pout as she walked back over to Yuna. She quickly went back to dancing and giggling a half a second later.
Gippal grabbed Paine's hand and dragged her over to where Yuna and Rikku were dancing. "C'mon, Dr. P. Dance with me. You can hurt me later if ya want." He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. They began to dance to the music.
"They may such a cute couple. Don't you agree, Baralai?" Nooj took a sip of his wine.
"Yeah…" Baralai stood. "Excuse me." He left the room.
Nooj watched him leave. Rikku and Yuna stopped dancing to watch Paine and Gippal. "Aw. How cute!" Rikku jumped up and down a bit. "We should record this!" The glare from Paine made her rethink that. Barya, Donga, and Pukutak slowed down the music, and Paine and Gippal slowed down the dancing.
What am I doing? I don't know how to dance, nor do I like dancing! Paine closed her eyes and rested her head on Gippal's chest. I have absolutely no idea why I'm doing this. She wanted to push him away and go back and sit down, but she actually liked dancing with him. She forgot about the others being in the room; at least until Rikku spoke up.
"Paine and Gippal sittin' in the tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Rikku giggled.
Paine stopped dancing and looked at Rikku. "You have it all wrong. It goes: Gippal and Rikku sitting in the tree." She smirked as she went back to her seat and sat down.
"Ed tuach'd ku mega dryd!" Rikku stopped giggling. Gippal scratched the back of his head.
Paine noticed Baralai was gone. "Where did Baralai go?"
"I'll go find him." Nooj stood up and limped out of the room.
Nooj found Baralai outside, looking up at the clouds. "If you love her, then you better make your move before Gippal does."
"Yes. I know." Baralai continued looked at the clouds.
"I would be careful, though. You could lose the friendship that you have with Gippal if you two fight over one woman." Nooj turned back around to go back inside. Baralai sighed and followed him inside.
Paine was leaned back in her chair when Nooj walked back in. Baralai was behind him. Yuna walked over to them. "We should get going. Brother is probably worried about us."
"He's probably worried about you, not us." Rikku ran to the exit. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" She ran out.
Everyone had followed Rikku out, and as the three girls were getting aboard the Celsius, Gippal ran over to Paine.
"Dr. P, the guys and I were thinkin' about goin' to a bar and just hang out like we did back then. Wanna join us?"
Paine crossed her arms.
"Go ahead, Paine. Have some fun. We'll pick you up later." Yuna told her.
"I'll go, then. Should I change?"
"Nah. You look fine to me." Gippal said. Paine joined the three down on the ground, and watched Celsius take off.
XxXxX
It was a few hours later, and the four friends were still at the bar, laughing and having fun.
"We should really do this more often." Gippal said, trying to stop laughing.
"What? Get drunk and laugh at all the stupid things we did when we were younger?" Nooj asked. The group burst out laughing again.
"You make it sound like that's a bad thing." Paine swirled the ice around in her empty glass.
"Perhaps it is." Nooj drank some of his drink.
"That's the alcohol talkin'." Gippal pointed out.
Nooj shrugged. "It may be. I've had a lot to drink. As have the rest of us."
"Yeah. I'm gonna have a serious hangover when I wake up in the morning." Baralai stared at his empty glass. "I'm going to get a refill." He stood up, picked up his glass, and looked at Paine. "Would you like another?"
"Yeah. Sure." She handed her glass to him and watched him walk over to the bartender. He has a nice ass. Paine mentally slapped herself. Alcohol makes you think stupid things, that's for sure. She looked away from Baralai and over to the window. She noticed it was already very dark outside. How long have we been here? She shook her head. At least we're having fun.
Baralai handed Paine her glass and sat back down. "I've got a wonderful idea."
"Uh-oh." Gippal put his hands behind his head. "Fryd huf?"
Baralai rolled his eyes. "It's nothing bad, Gippal." He took a sip of his drink. "Maybe we should meet up here once a week? Sound good to you?" He looked at all three of them.
"Sounds good to me." Nooj was the first to answer.
"I like that idea." Paine put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands.
"Ditto!" Gippal balanced his chair on two legs.
"Then it's settled. We'll meet up here again a week from today, at the same time." Baralai stood. "I must get back, now. I have a lot of paperwork to have finished by tomorrow."
Gippal stood and stretched. "We should all get back to our homes. It's late."
The group walked out of the bar. Nooj was the first to say good-night as he headed in the direction of Youth League HQ. It wasn't that far away.
"Sleep well, my friends." Baralai smiled at Paine before turning and walking in the direction of Bevelle. It was a long walk off, but he needed to walk the alcohol off, anyway. He didn't think anyone at Bevelle would like the idea of their Praetor coming back drunk.
Paine watched him leave until he disappeared into the darkness. Gippal scratched the back of his head. "So, the girls are gonna pick ya up, right?"
"Yes." She turned to face him. "You gonna wait here until they do?"
"Yeah. Someone may take advantage of you being drunk."
Paine laughed. "I'm not that drunk." She swayed back and forth a bit. Okay. Maybe I do feel a bit dizzy.
Gippal watched Paine as she leaned up against the stone wall of the building. "You feelin' okay?" He walked over to her and stood just a few inches in front of her.
"I'm only drunk. I'll get over it." She closed her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. This headache I probably won't get over. She opened her eyes and smirked. "It's not like I'm the only one drunk."
"Hey, I didn't drink as much as you did." He looked up at the sky. "Do you think they'll be here soon?"
She shrugged and pushed herself off of the wall. She stumbled forward and Gippal caught her.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
She chuckled. "I'm fine. Never been better. I'm just a little drunk, that's all." She looked up at him and the two stared at each other. Gippal leaned down and kissed her softly on her lips. The two leaned back up against the wall. His hand slowly went up the side of her thigh and up to her waist.
The sound of Celsius coming closer could be heard by the two. Gippal stopped what he was doing and just stared into the eyes of the woman. "I-uh…"
"I should be going." Paine softly said, pretty shocked at what just happened. Celsius prepared itself to land. Gippal stepped away from Paine.
"Would you like me to-"
"No. I think I can handle getting on Celsius. Thanks anyway." She straightened out her dress and waited patiently for Celsius to finish landing. Once she was inside, she took one last look back at Gippal, and then continued to make her way towards the elevator. She was up in the cabin in no time.
"Did you have a good time?" Yuna asked as Paine walked by her and towards the stairs.
"Yeah." That was all that she felt like saying.
"I saw Gippal back there. The other two must've already headed home. It was nice of him to wait there with you."
"Yeah." She started to walk up the stairs. "Good night."
"…Good night…" Yuna cocked her head to the side. 'I'll just leave her be. She needs a good night sleep anyway.' Yuna quietly left the cabin and headed back up to the bridge.
