NOTE: This is subtle flirtation, real subtle. This fic was written on a dare that these two interacting couldn't be pulled off well. I think I did pretty well. Oh, and I'm back! Well, for the most part. I've got a new comp and it likes me now, so expect a few one-shots and me continuing on "What Could Have Been" sometime soon. Until then, enjoy this little fic morsel!
LeBlanc stared longingly at the gold Nooj statue that stood erect in all it's glory. A wistful sigh slipped from her glossed lips as she stole another look at the life-like Nooj statue. For all it's realistic embossing, the eyes seemed hollow and devoid of the rough bittersweet twinge that looking into Nooj's eyes often envoked in her.
It was soothing as much as it was disarming. If she turned her head just so, it almost seemed like the statue had the potential to move and speak with heartfelt passion, much like the man... She sighed again and shook her head, the action scattering some loose strands of hair into her face. In a sudden impatient movement, she flipped open her fan and began fanning herself, grateful for the small cool respite amid her stuffy bedroom.
Logos and Ormi had long gone to Yevon knows where. Loyal though they were to their "Boss" it was only so much rueful sighing and pouty-faced-LeBlanc they could stand. Their horrid impersonations on her beloved only made things worse - only made the ache in her heart seem to deepen, made her one-sided longing seem to worsen.
A snort sounded in the stillness, jarring the sphere hunter from her somber thoughts.
"How long are you going to sit here, LeBlanc? It's not like you, of all people, to wallow in self pity. If anything, you should be out there leading the search." The voice was gilded around the edges, yet it's bite was smooth.
Her mood suddenly turned blisteringly sweet. It made the man who stepped so confidently into her Chateau raise a brow. "Gip." She cooed, her lips pursing into a startling smile. "What brings you by?" Even though her voice was sugary, it was dripping fake enthusiasm.
"Cirumstance." He perched himself into her line of vision, reds and blacks and greys blurring together into a happy medium. Winding her eyes up, she finally found his face. For once it was solemn, his lips stretched into a firm line, a faint grimace hinted on his face, making his appearance seem hard and worn.
LeBlanc snorted at that and rolled her eyes. Some mild part of her noticed that he wasn't sporting a smile, which was more then unsettling. Not that it mattered. She only fanned harder and adverted her gaze, perferring not to address his last comment about 'wallowing in self pity'.
"If you're looking for the Gull - er... Dullwings, they aren't here, love. You're barking up the wrong tree. Try tracking down the Celcius."
Gippal sighed and moved to speak but she deftly cut him off, sheathing her fan and pointing the blunt into his chest. He didn't blanch or blink, simply leveled her calmly with the gaze of his eye, arms still stubbornly crossed. "Where's the rest of your Troupe?" LeBlanc's head mockingly titled to the side, sliding part of her short bob over the shoulder of her revealing outfit.
"Troupe?" He repeated blankly, trying to wrestle with her logic.
"Yanno. The praetor. And the warrior. What's her name? ... Oh, what does it matter." She scoffed bitterly. "What brings you here?"
At this, a small smirk appeared, tweaking the edges of Gippal's full lips. He calmly pointed to the Nooj statue, then turned back to LeBlanc, greeted with her sudden frown.
"You, LeBlanc. And a certain Noojie-Woojie you still doggedly pine for." He allowed his smile to widen just a tad at the pet name given to his former Leader. His fingers skimmed out and mockingly traced the hollow of her cheek, traced the tear marks that still left their mark, hours after her emotional outburst.
She batted his hand away before her arms crossed, delicate brows indented and she shook her head valiantly. "What does Nooj have to do with you coming here?"
Gippal turned in a short circle, arms outstretched, as if that explained everything. LeBlanc began rocking on her right foot and waving her fan back and forth in her palm, proof that she was beginning to get highly agitated. Gippal smoothly noticed this and eyed her again for a long while before speaking.
"It has everything to do with things. One, being why you're ... stuck here. In this funk."
Her sharp, harsh laugh filled the stale air. "Being around all that machina is sapping what brain cells you have left, Gip. I'm not in a funk."
"When was the last time you ate or drank anything? For that matter, when's the last time you saw some sunlight? Got some fresh air?" He paused, teasing her with that grin of his. "Or when was the last time you annoyed the living hell out of Cid's girl?"
He chuckled, and even though a tiny smile threatened to break out over LeBlanc's features, she simply turned around, hands on her hips.
"Hn. Why do you care? For one, I'm not hungry. Two, I don't like the blistering sun. It does horrid things to my complextion." She paused, and sniffed offendedly. "And thirdly, Gip, I don't appreciate you just coming into MY Chateau and - "
"Nooj is going to stop Vegnagun." Came the quiet admission that slipped from Gippal's lips as a subtle and pained whisper.
"What?" LeBlanc's fan snapped the air and her lips twisted into a snarl as she whirred on him with a strength he wasn't prepared for. He didn't recoil, but he stared at her with that calm and quiet strength that sobered her mood and brought her back to the harsh reality of his hurriedly spoken words.
"I - " For once, she was virtually speechless. Placing a hand to her brow - a hand she was ashamed to say was tremoring slightly - LeBlanc shook her head from side to side slowly. "When ... "
"He left. Without a word. Well, not so much as a word. When you travel with someone long enough, you know their quirks. If he wouldn't have done it, I would have left the same way. Besides, Baralai is still out there... somewhere." Gippal's jaw clenched with an apprehension that wasn't commonly seen and let out a frustrated sigh. "Every since his disappearance ... " He trailed off and stopped, remembering that LeBlanc was measuring him carefully with her sharp eyes. "Past or not, The Praetor needs to be found. And Vegnagun has to be stopped."
Her soulful eyes cut right through to the heart of him. "And you think you're the man to do it?"
Gippal looked away a moment then met her gaze with a calm reluctance. "Honestly? I don't know. But if I am, we'll do the job to protect Spira."
LeBlanc's lips quirked, an endearing tone taking to her voice. "Look at you. Machina Faction rebel turned hero."
Undaunted, Gippal got back to the point at hand, gazing from the Nooj statue and back to the petite blond in front of him. "Nooj is doing the same, battling with heroics. I'm only here for one thing."
Deciding to humor him, she crossed her arms in turn, mocking his stance. "And what would that be, love?"
"You." He said deadpan, and the slow, unchecked shock that radiated over LeBlanc's face was priceless.
Gippal suddenly recovered, one hand reajusting his eyepatch while the other scratched violently at his head as he cleared his throat. "I meant that only because Nooj is alone. No one should fight alone. So I'm going after him. I thought that you should know, considering how you ... feel for Nooj and all."
"Oh. I see." LeBlanc said, blaming the sudden flush in her cheeks on the damnable stuffy atmosphere. She spread her fan once more, sending gentle tendrils of air to coat her face. "I never knew you to be chivalrous."
"And I never knew you'd lose your fire so fast, LeBlanc."
Her eyes lit up and her nostrils flared. "H - how dare you! Gip, if - "
"Boss?" Came Ormi's gravelly baratone from outside the door. "Is everything okay? I heard you yelling ..."
"Everything's fine!" She immeadiately responded, and waited a beat as she heard Ormi's heavy steps retreating.
When she turned around to lay into Gippal again, he bent down and winked. "That's the LeBlanc we all know and love."
He recieved a sound smack on his arm with her ornate fan for that comment as she turned to fetch the boys.
"Well! You heard One Eye. We're movin' out! Destination? Noojie-Woojie!" LeBlanc called loudly to Ormi and Logos, smiling as she commanded.
Gippal's eyes followed her delibrately as she stalked from the room before shaking his head and following.