A/N: Hey everyone! I was in the mood to write a PainexBaralai fic, even though in reality they're not at ALL my favorite pairing. Well, I thought it would be fun, and I was in the mood to write anyways. Just a warning, I've only been working on this a couple hours, so it might not be great. I also realized, third person is SO much easier than first person. Especially lemon-wise. I hope this one is better than my first fic. (Lawd, that one was bad.) Practice makes perfect, I suppose.

Rated M for delicious dreams, slight language, and high vitamin-c content. And a Baralai boner ^_^

White Tresses and Hot Dreams

Paine looked out over the advanced city of Bevelle. It was early morning, the sun peaking out over the horizon, giving the city a soft, bright glow. She closed her eyes and felt the light breeze waft through her hair. This was the first moment she'd had to herself (besides working) in a while.

These days, she was working with Baralai and Nooj, helping settle disagreements or other issues as a third party. While it was nice having something to do now that the Gullwings broke up, Paine had been awfully busy. No time for a social life these days. She occasionally chatted with Rikku or Yuna over the commsphere, but even they were busy.

Yeah, busy having sex with their boyfriends, she thought, growling to herself. She herself had not had any sort of companionship in a long time, and it had her tense. Add on piles of work, and dealing with the bickering Baralai and Nooj, and that left a very aggravated Paine.

Like I wasn't already aggravated enough.

She opened her eyes, sighed, and headed back towards the New Yevon quarters. So what if Yuna and Rikku are busy? She thought. I'm busy, too…

Paine sighed again. She only said that because she didn't want to seem desperate and lonely, even if she only said it to herself.

As she entered into her workspace Baralai had set aside for her, she went over her daily work. Demands both parties had, complaints the people moaned about, and working on the budget, among other things. Yet, she couldn't find herself to get started on her work. Even if she read a whole paragraph, she didn't really read it. Her mind didn't process the words.

Yevon almighty, I need to focus. Every day, Baralai would check in and collect work she did. But when 12 o'clock rolled around, and she still hadn't had much done, she got worried. And when Baralai stepped into her office, all she could muster up was,

Ah, shit.

"Paine," Baralai acknowledged. "How's it coming along? Have you read section 12?"

"I, uh…" She stammered. She shuffled through her papers. Section 12, complaints from members of the organizations. Before she could muster up some excuse, she just sighed, and shook her head. "No," she admitted, running a hand through her hair. "I'm really sorry, Baralai."

He sat down on the corner of her desk. "Hey, it's okay," he said, patting her shoulder. Paine mentally cringed at his touch. It wasn't that she didn't like Baralai. No, it was quite the opposite. After almost two years of repression, Paine thought Baralai was…quite appealing. She thought that about almost any attractive person she saw nowadays, but most of the ones she saw were in relationships. Nooj, Gippal, Tidus, even…

But Baralai was quite single.

She tried to shake those thoughts from her head. No, Paine. Baralai is your friend. He's your boss. Do not even think about it.

Yet she couldn't help but look at his soft white tresses, his strong firm hands. I wonder if he knows how to use them…she thought longingly.

Yevon, I'm such a horndog! She slapped herself mentally and looked up at Baralai. It seemed he was looking at her the whole time. I bet my facial expressions were priceless…she thought, laughing at herself.

Baralai looked at her with some confusion. "Paine…?" he asked hesitantly.

I cleared my throat and tried to make eye contact, looking into his murky, chocolate eyes. "Y-Yes?"

He looked at me with concern. "Are you okay? You seem a bit on edge lately. Do you need a break?"

She sighed, cursing herself mentally for letting this affect her so much. "Maybe just an hour or so for lunch, if that's okay."

He smiled at her, and she felt her heart flutter a bit. Wait…what? Why is this happening? I knew I wanted to have sex with him—hell, anyone—but why am I practically a pile of goo when he just smiles?

She furrowed her brow in confusion. Yevon, I'm Paine. No man should make me like this. I'm not needy.

Deciding she'd had enough conflict with herself, she stood up, smiled back at Baralai, and walked out the door, hoping maybe at least some food would calm her hormones down for a little while.

Paine sat at her desk, some hours later. Food had not helped at all. No, she couldn't even bring herself to eat. After she had ordered, she just stared at the food, not wanting to touch it at all. Her mind kept wandering to the steamy encounters she had so recently been thinking about, only this time with Baralai. She bit her lower lip and shook her thoughts away. Focus. She commanded herself. Focus on work. Stop thinking about him, and work. Don't think about his strong, soft hands…his beautiful white tresses of hair that stuck to his forehead when he got sweaty…what his body looked like under those green robes…

A rush of heat went straight to her panties. She buried her face into her head and laid it on her desk. This was seriously driving her nuts. Not realizing that it was the end of the day, and that Baralai was opening her door to check her progress yet again, she remained there.

"Yevon, just stop!" She told herself out loud.

"Stop what?" Baralai asked questioningly.

Paine shot her head up from her desk. Shit, he was in here? She looked to her clock. Double shit, it's already five?

"Baralai, I—"

"Paine," he interrupted. "Do you want to go home early? It seems like you should go home and relax. You've been pretty on edge lately."

She sighed. Couldn't keep anything from him, huh? "Thanks," she said lamely.

He walked towards her desk. "But, Paine…is there an issue I should know about? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Her mind wandered back to her dirty fantasies and another rush of heat went to her lower half. Yes, please… her mind begged. She gulped and shook her head. "It's no big deal, really. I think I just need to go home."

He nodded and started to walk out of the room. "See you bright and early tomorrow," he said cheerfully. How desperately she wanted him to come back and take her right there on the floor.

She cursed herself. Do you hear yourself, woman? You're Paine. You're a warrior. I repeat, no man should make you feel this weak and needy.

Instead, she just gave him a fake smile and a slight nod and croaked out, "Yeah, bright and early."

Back in Paine's apartment, she attempted many things to try to relax. She tried yoga, meditation, even eating ice cream straight out of the tub. Nothing. All activities involved silence, and when there was silence, those thoughts lingered back into her mind. Around 8:30, she decided to just go to bed.

Maybe when I wake up tomorrow, I won't have as many horrible hormones that I've had today.

Yeah, that would probably happen. She hoped.

"Fuck, Baralai, harder!" Paine screamed, panting and sweaty. Baralai grinned and started pounding relentlessly into Paine's tall but slim figure, his own sweat making his white tufts of hair stick to his forehead.

Paine didn't know how they had gotten there, but boy, did she enjoy it. All the beautiful faces and noises Baralai were making were driving her insane. His tan muscles were lean, yet firm, his biceps well developed.

'His robe definitely doesn't show off much,' she thought. He gripped her slim hips, thrusting into her so fast Paine swore he was blurred. She tilted her head back and let a loud groan escape her lips. Yevon, he was good, and he was hard.

Paine gripped his sweaty shoulders, trying to find something to hold onto. He grunted and leaned in to bury his face in her neck, kissing it gently. She whimpered out of sheer pleasure, out of sheer want.

His breathing had gotten faster and more desperate, and he leaned into to Paine's ear. "Paine, I'm—nngh," he was cut off with a moan.

"Baralai," she moaned, sending the both of them into an oblivion of pleasurable release.

Paine awoke gently, blinking as the sun shone through her window. She could feel herself throbbing beneath her panties, and she groaned and rolled to the side.

Only a dream…she thought sadly.

After reluctantly getting out of bed and throwing off her slightly sweaty pajamas, Paine stepped into the shower. The cold drops of water helped cool down the blood racing through her, alleviating some of the redness from her face.

Only…

Only a dream…

She banged her head against the shower, and slipped into denial as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Upon arriving at the New Yevon headquarters, Paine did not let herself see Baralai. Though she swore he had called out to her, she kept right on walking to her office, slamming the door shut. She started pacing in her office.

"Alright, Paine," she said, talking out loud. Yevon, I really am crazy, aren't I?

She continued. "You are going to stop. As in, no more thoughts. You need to shut the fuck up mentally and do your work, or you'll get fired. You got that? Fired. No more gil. No more meaning of happiness or something to keep you busy." She inhaled, realizing she said all that in one breath.

Just as she started to work, Baralai knocked and creaked open her door. Her head flew up, immediately blushing, as well as feeling a surge of heat roll through her body straight to her lower half, at the thought of last nights dream.

"Oh, uh, Baralai," she cleared her throat, suddenly feeling like it was full of cotton. The words were hard to get out, and she felt she was going to choke. She bit her lower lip subtly, so as not to let him see. "What's up?" She asked, a slight crack in her voice.

Baralai's brow furrowed. He looked concerned, and slightly frightened. "Paine…" he started, reaching out a hand to her. As much as she wanted to turn away, she reluctantly let him place a hand on her shoulder. She winced slightly as she felt his warm hand.

"Really, Paine, tell me what's wrong. You've seemed really distracted lately and it's affecting your work. You can tell me. I'm your friend first, and your boss second."

Oh, how badly she wanted to tell him. How she wanted to ask him to be hers, to let her take him. She simply gulped and shook her head. "I'm fine, Baralai," she said uncertainly.

Next, he shook his head. He took his hand off her shoulder and turned the other way, facing her wall. "I know you're not Paine. Is it the job? Are you not satisfied?"

She bit her lip again, knowing he meant satisfied about her work, but regardless. No, she was not satisfied. Not in her bedroom life.

"Work is fine, Baralai, trust me."

"Then, what is it? Don't say it's nothing."

"I—"she paused. "I…can't really say."

He turned to face her. "Well, I think you should. This is affecting your work, which in turn affects both New Yevon and the Youth League, which affects the rest of Spira's wellbeing."

She sighed, knowing he was right. "Well…it's just kind of embarrassing is all."

He chuckled. "Paine, I'm sure it's not that bad. Please, tell me—what is it that has our rough 'n tough Paine in such a state?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and turned away. She felt a blush creep onto her face. "Well, Baralai, you know I guess you could say that I'm not satisfied."

"What's wrong? Do you want better hours? A vacation? A different position?"

She hesitated. "It's not work-related."

He paused for a moment, and she swore she could hear the confusion written on his face. She tapped her foot, trying to look for some kind of distraction while all the blood in her body went to her face.

"Do you mean…you're not…sexually satisfied?"

She bit her lip again. Must he be so blunt? She cleared her throat in an awkward kind of way, to show her discomfort. "Yeah," was all she said.

There was an awkward silence, and then Paine heard him chuckling. Her heart stopped. Laughing? He's actually laughing at me? She scoffed mentally. What a—

But her thoughts were cut off as warm hands wrapped around her, resting on her stomach.

Dazed, but enjoying his soft embrace, Paine stammered, "B-Baralai, what—"

"Paine," he said softly into her ear. He blew into it gently and she shivered. "I can help you, you know. As your boss, I'm supposed to help my employees in any way I can." His fingers traced her figure, and then ran up her spine, causing her to shiver again out of his mere touch.

"Baralai, y-you don't have to—"

"Paine," he whispered again. "If it'll make you happy, then I want to. Really," he promised.

Before she could say anything else, all thoughts were cut off when she felt his warm lips on the nape of her neck. His fingers gripped her hips, and massaged them by tracing slow circles around them. She gulped.

This is actually happening… she thought. She felt happy, embarrassed, aroused—but mostly, aroused. She let a little moan escape her lips as his kisses traveled up to her ear, before gently nibbling on her lobe.

His ministrations on her hips slowly went to the hem of her shirt, pausing his kisses momentarily to shrug it off. Shortly after, his lips found their way back to her neck, while his fingers moved to the clasp of her bra.

It only took him a few moments to understand the clasp before it fell out of place, as he slipped the garment off her shoulders. Paine blushed the darkest shade of red she could imagine.

I'll bet my face matches my eyes… she thought, but only for a moment before her brain shut off, returning to the land of pleasure.

Once the bra fell off her shoulders, Baralai glanced at them for a moment, turned Paine to face him, and placed his lips on her collarbone, slowly tracing his way down. Paine trembled out of nervousness and anticipation, before finally he engulfed one of her perked nipples into his mouth.

Paine moaned from the friction, feeling his skillful tongue move across her breast. When did he get so good at this? I would think a religious Yevon boy would have no time for getting to know women's anatomy. All thoughts halted when he sucked lightly on the pink flesh, causing her to let out another mewl.

He had barely touched her, and already she was putty in his hands.

After giving the same attention to the other breast, he slowly worked his way downwards, crouching as he did. Paine bit her lip as he slowly slid undid her belt buckle, teasing her.

She threw her head back, hitting it against the wall. Yevon, I wish he would just hurry up!

Once the belt was slid out of place, he s-l-o-w-l-y unzipped and unbuttoned her pants, receiving many groans of impatience from her as he did. He chuckled lightly before removing the garment completely, revealing her grey satin panties, a wet spot already forming.

At this, he looked up and smirked at her. "Well, well, well," he smirked. "You're wet already? You really did want this, huh?"

She blushed. "Baralai, I—" she was cut off with a gasp as he cupped her sex through her panties. She bit back a whimper.

He traced her folds through the cloth, hearing her not-so-held-back whimpers escape her lips. He hooked his fingers into her panties, slowly pulling them down, past her knees, to rest with her pants at her ankles. He looked in awe at her sex.

She was shaven, save a small tuft of hair in the front. She was wet and aching, and he could tell she was ready by her shaking knees and whimpers for "please, Baralai."

He blew a stream of air across her slit. She inhaled sharply and bit her lip until it bled. He was going to be a tease, she knew this much. He sure was taking his time.

He drew one long, achingly slow lick across her slit, causing her to shiver with pleasure. He blew cool air on it again, his fresh spit intensifying the cold. He alternated between hot breaths and cool air, before she was almost literally a puddle.

Yevon, he's torturing me! Paine thought, aggravatingly. Although, she found herself kind of enjoying it. She didn't know Baralai could be like this, lazy and slow and simply mind blowing. It kind of…turned her on. A lot more than she'd like to admit.

Deciding Paine had had enough torture, he licked her slit again, toying with her pearl at the top. She mewled and moaned as he twirled his tongue around it, taking pauses to lightly suck on it. Her gasps were desperate and overwhelming it seemed, and when he looked up she looked almost on the verge of tears. But, nothing in her expression said, "stop." No, it was the opposite. Everything in her eyes screamed, "more, more, more."

He then entered a finger into her tight heat, feeling the wetness engulf his finger as her insides gripped it. He continued his lapping at her nub, enjoying the sounds and faces she was making. He entered a second finger, moving them at a slow but delicious pace.

"Baralai…" she moaned out. He felt incredibly turned on by the way she said his voice during her mid-coital phase. "Oh, don't stop…" she groaned out.

Now that, Baralai thought, was hot. He could feel blood rushing to his groin, but right now, all pleasure was focused on Paine. He was sure he could attend to himself later.

His movements with his fingers grew faster and harder at her pleads to keep going. His tongue lapped at her clit, and her exclamations got louder and sexier. "B-Baralai…oh Yevon…mmhh.."

After a few more moments of his treatments, Paine felt ready to come. Well, she felt that way every time he came in the room, but now Paine felt really ready. She could feel that familiar feeling coiling inside her, and she bit her lip.

She still couldn't believe Baralai was doing this to her. Baralai was going to give her the orgasm she had dreamed about for who-knows-how-long. Baralai was going to taste her.

These thoughts, along with his ever speeding movements, caused Paine to choke out, "Baralai…I'm…I'm going to…nnhh…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. It was too embarrassing, even if she was in the heat of the moment.

Baralai looked up at her, and stopped the movements on her nub with his tongue, instead using his thumb. He sat up and started kissing her neck, continuing his movements with his hand. "Come on, Paine," he purred. She whimpered. "Come for me."

She closed her eyes, and with one last choke of his name, Paine released on his fingers, her insides enclosing his hand. It was long, and she rode out wave after wave of this intense feeling. Yevon, how she missed how it'd felt. Baralai continued his thrusting with his hand until she was done. She was panting, sweating, flushed, and completely satisfied.

Her head rested back against the wall. Baralai slowly removed his fingers and helped pull up her panties and pants, buttoning and zipping it into place while she sat there helplessly catching her breath. She was at a loss for words. After an orgasm that amazing, from her boss and long time friend, what would she say? Thanks?

Before she knew it, she was fully dressed again. When did that happen? She thought. She turned to Baralai who was sitting on her desk, a shy boyish grin on his face. She looked at him, then at her feet, and then at the wall, weighing her options. Then she thought,

Ah, well. Screw it.

She leaned in and kissed his lips, wrapping her hands around his broad shoulders. He seemed the least bit surprised, almost immediately kissing her back, his right hand caressing her neck. In the midst of it, Paine had realized they hadn't once kissed each other on the lips amongst the heat of it all. Well…not the ones on her face, anyways…

The kiss felt so perfect, his lips so warm, his tongue tasting like mint toothpaste and lemon jello and…Paine. She finally broke away for breath, but continued holding onto him. He smiled up at her and she returned it.

"Baralai…that…that was…amazing."

He grinned sheepishly and removed his hand from her neck. "Thanks," he said meekly.

After a somewhat comfortable silence, Baralai got up to move. His own arousement was tented in his robes, but he shifted to hide it. "Well, I guess we should get back to work now."

He really didn't want to leave, didn't want to leave Paine. He wanted to take her hand and run back home and hold her and kiss her and make love to her for hour after hour. But, he had New Yevon to run after all, and he was sure Paine didn't want to be involved with someone so busy. After giving her one last little grin he turned to the door, and just as he was about to turn the knob, she called out, "Baralai, wait!"

He turned back to her. "Yes?"

"Well, it's just…you…"

"I what?" he asked.

She grabbed his hand and leaned in closer, her warm breath against his ear. "You didn't let me return the favor," she whispered sexily, licking the shell of his ear. He visibly shuddered, and she reached her hand down and cupped his member through his robes. "For that, I think you should be punished, praetor."

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. He looked slightly scared, slightly happy, slightly in awe, and very aroused. His eyes were darkened with an animalistic craving. "My bad," he muttered, before locking his lips with hers in a passionate kiss.

Well, she thought as she started to peel away his green robes. I guess now I have a different reason to be distracted at work. At least this one has delicious muscles that I can actually taste, she giggled to herself, as his lean, muscular torso was revealed, showing Paine the oh-so-sexy body he kept secret from the rest of the world.

I guess Yevon is just good to me.

A/N: Well! That wasn't as horrible as my first lemon (I hope…)

Reviews are always welcome! (Even you anonymous folks who don't have fanfiction accounts)

I also wouldn't mind any suggestions for other ideas for oneshots! For the life of me, I can't get into longer stories. I'm sorry if you're sad.

Well, R&R, many happy nosebleeds to all, and merry Christmas, even though it's April ^_^

~RoseP