This was written for my friend's birthday, but in my irritation with it, has ended up almost two months late, Oops, lol. Anyway, Gippal is insanely OOC, or at least, I think so. Paine… is a bit OOC too. Please understand it has been a terribly long time since I last played X-2 so… Yeah… Anyway, here it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X-2. You wouldn't want me to.

Leaves crunched, and Baralai turned lazily to look at his team's recorder. He stared back into the fire as Paine came and sat next to him in the pile of leaves.

"How is he?" Baralai asked with the barest hint of an amused smile.

Paine shrugged. "He's asleep."

Baralai smirked. "He's such an old man."

The woman couldn't help laughing at that. After a moment, Baralai looked at Paine with all amusement void on his face.

"How are you?" he asked.

Paine flexed her fingers, eyeing her bandaged forearm. "I'm fine," she softly intoned. She looked over to the blonde man, the firelight casting shadows on her face. "How about you and Gippal?"

Baralai smiled broadly, his handsome features shining. "I'm great, and as far as I know Gippal is doing well, though he's been at the river most of the evening."

As Baralai continued to smile at her, Paine felt her face heat up a little, though she tried to pass it off as the fire being a bit too warm for her.

Scooting a little closer to the recorder, Baralai gently took hold of Paine's bandaged arm and said, "Let me have another look at that."

Paine nodded, not sure how else to responded.

Baralai examined the arm, and he must not have found anything to his displeasure because he didn't make any remarks. Still not letting go of the woman's arm, Baralai looked into her eyes. Paine began to feel slightly uncomfortable, and so she blurted out, "I should go check on Gippal- make sure he didn't drown or something."

An emotion akin to disappointment flashed across Baralai's face before he smiled softly once more.

"You do that." And in a move Paine had not been expecting, Baralai captured her lips in a soft kiss. "Good night, Beautiful." And with that Baralai disappeared off to his tent.

Paine continued to sit in the leaves, shell-shocked, for a moment longer before decided she really should go check on Gippal. It wasn't at all like the Al-Bhed to keep to himself as he had been ever since the earlier battle.

!#$%^&*()_+

By the time Paine found Gippal, her concern had turned to an urge to kill. The Al-Bhed had been farther from the camp than she had anticipated, and it had taken her quite a bit longer than she would have liked to find him. When she finally did find him sitting at the bank of the river, Paine crossed her arms over her chest.

"What is wrong with you now?" she demanded, adding a glare for effect when Gippal turned around to face her.

Paine's glare hardened when Gippal smirked at her. "Why, did you miss me?" the Al-Bhed man teased.

Paine scoffed. "Not a chance."

Gippal chuckled deep in his throat. After getting off the ground, he sauntered over to Paine. As he stood before her and stared into her maroon eyes, Paine didn't feel the same shyness she had felt when Baralai had done the same. Instead, she felt more powerful, perhaps even flirtatious.

"So tell me," the Al-Bhed drawled, "who do you like best out of our little team?"

Paine raised an eyebrow at the question, wondering just where the hell that question came from.

Undeterred by his teammate's lack of response, Gippal leaned closer, smirk growing as he continued to stare into Paine's eyes. "Well? Who? Could it possibly be me?" He punctuated the question with a suggestive wink.

Paine scoffed. "It's Nooj."

Gippal's eyebrows shot up, and he jerked away to stare at the woman incredulously. "NOOJ!?" He shouted in shock.

Paine shrugged. "He doesn't invade my personal space like you and Baralai do," she offered off-handedly.

Gippal left one eyebrow lifted. "What?" Then he grinned. He couldn't very well ignore the pink blush that dusted the normally stoic woman's cheeks. He grinned. "So is he a good kisser?" the Al-Bhed man teased.

Paine glared at her teammate and growled, "What?"

Gippal locked his hands behind his head and casually remarked, "Bet I'm better."

Paine rolled her eyes.

"You don't think so?" Gippal asked in mock surprise. "Want to put that to a test?" he teased.

Paine rolled her eyes yet again and turned to leave, but before she got anywhere Gippal had grabbed her arm, spun her around, and locked lips with her. Before she had even realized what was going on, Gippal had stuck his tongue in her mouth! Paine had half a mind to bite it off. Instead, she pushed him away, punched him in the face, and stormed off.

!#$%^&*()_+

A week and a half had passed since the night Paine had been kissed by two of her teammates, and she had barely slept a wink. She couldn't get rid of the dreams of touches and kisses and passionate screams and moans. However, she always woke up not knowing just which one had been in the dream.

Today they had stopped at an inn in some small ocean town called Kilika. Nooj was off talking business with someone, Baralai had gone off to bed early, and Gippal was flirting with the inn-keepers daughter or wife or something. Paine was left to her own devices and she was about to go out of her mind watching Gippal with that girl. She kept assuring herself that she was not jealous, just annoyed that he was being so unprofessional When he turned to grin at Paine, she glowered and left to go to her room.

!#$%^&*()_+

Grumbling, Paine rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. However, the world seemed to be against her as the incessant knocking at her door continued.

Growling in irritation, she threw off the blankets and stomped to the door. Throwing the door open, she just about slammed it shut again. Had Gippal not stepped in before she could react, she would have too.

"What the hell do you want," Paine grumbled.

Turning to the woman, Gippal asked, "Did I wake you up?"

Glaring, Paine retorted, "What do you think?"

"I think you're always this sunny," the Al-Bhed teased.

Paine gave up on glaring- she lacked the energy. "Is there any particular reason you woke me up?"

With a sheepish grin, Gippal offered, "I was lonely?"

"Whatever."

Gippal flopped onto her bed. "Did I make you jealous?"

"Oh please," Paine drawled.

"Awww, I did, didn't I?"

Gippal would have expected any response other than the one he got, which was a lapful of Paine and her kissing him hard enough to kill him.

Finally pulling away from the shell-shocked Al-Bhed, Paine drawled, "Get over yourself."

Still dazed, Gippal replied, "You need practice."

Paine flushed a deep scarlet.

Gippal grinned and held her arms. "I'd be more than happy to help."

In the blink of an eye, Gippal had flipped both him and his teammate so that he was on top of Paine, kissing her fiercely. Paine gripped blonde hair tightly, hoping to inflict some pain on the cocky Al-Bhed. The ferocious kisses continued as Gippal brought a knee between Paine's legs, pressing it against her sex. The woman gasped through the kiss, grinding against the knee.

Almost growling, Paine demanded of the man, "Shirt off, now."

With a smirk, Gippal more than happily obliged.

As soon as the shirt had cleared his head, Paine was back on his mouth, kissing violently. She once again threaded the fingers of one hand through his blonde locks. The other hand gripped at his muscular back. Gippal ran calloused fingers down Paine's strong neck, growing quite pleased when the woman shivered from the touch. However, he was quite surprised when he felt Paine's fingers trying to rid him of his pants. He wasn't one to complain, though it hardly seemed fair he would be naked and she wouldn't, not that she was wearing much anyway- only a tank top and her panties, all black.

Grabbing her hands, he pinned her to the bed by her wrists.

"Now, now," Gippal chided. "Play fair."

Paine glared up at the man. "What the hell are you talking about?" she nearly growled, making the Al-Bhed grin more.

"It's hardly fair for me to be naked and you to not," he teased, making Paine's red eyes flash in irritation.

Despite her aggravation, the recorder consented. "Let me up, and I'll get undressed," she promised.

However, Gippal wasn't so easy to please. "Sorry, don't trust you that much."

"What!?" Paine exclaimed.

"I trust you with my life, but not my penis," Gippal explained with a playful grin. Placing one final, playful kiss to the woman's lips. "Once you make up your mind, you can come and get me." That said, Gippal stood and left the room, leaving Paine both confused and sexually frustrated.

!#$%^&*()_+

Three days later found the quartet camping out again. Paine had disappeared from the camp sight to escape Baralai's flirting. She didn't understand why she wasn't interested. He was a polite man, and she should admire that. She had before Gippal and the night at the inn. Now, however… She was unsure what she wanted.

That was a lie. She knew very well what she wanted. She simply was unsure why she wanted it, and just how to go about getting it- him. Gippal had gotten under the woman's skin, and it really made her want to beat the shit out of something.

The past few days she had been in a ridiculous rage, and all but the Al-Bhed had been worried about her. Gippal just smirked that infuriating smirk all the damn time!

!#$%^&*()_+

Hours had passed since Paine had left the camp, and Gippal had decided that maybe he should go find her and explain to her why he did what he did the other night. When he finally did find her, he understood why she was mad at him the night she came to find him at the lake.

"Paine, look…" he began, a little uncertain of just what he was going to say. "About the other night…"

Paine's eye twitched. She didn't want to hear about it. "Forget it." Her voice was rough from aggravation.

Gippal's face twisted into a scowling pout. "Now wait just a minute, Paine!" When the woman didn't respond, he got impatient. Storming over to her, he spun her around and planted a kiss on her frowning lips.

When he finally pulled away from the more than confused Paine, the Al-Bhed spoke. "Now look here, Paine, I didn't reject you because I don't…" He faltered here, slightly embarrassed at what he was going to say. "It's not because I don't like you," he murmured, face flushed. "I just… Well… I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO BE USED IN PLACE OF BARALAI OR NOOJ!"

The Al-Bhed's face was searing, almost as red as Paine's own eyes, and she found it more than funny. The suave man was blushing about some confession that sounded like it could have come from a little kid.

Taking his face between her hands, Paine responded, "You don't need to worry about that," and kissed his lips firmly.

The passion between the two escalated, and somehow Paine found herself pushed uncomfortable against a tree and being stripped by the Al-Bhed. At some point, she had managed to rid him of most of his clothes as well.

What took place was all a blur of lips and hands and pants and moans. Paine finally understood why all those women would swoon over Gippal, and for a moment she felt a bit insecure in the face of his experience. It all left quickly, though, in the midst of mind-blowing sex. At least, as mind-blowing as sex against a rough tree and on dirty, leaf covered ground could be.

Paine wasn't certain how long it had been since they began, but she only knew it was over far too quickly and that her legs were weak. She hated Gippal for it, knowing he was bound to make fun of her predicament. However, to her surprise, he didn't say a word. They both simply got dressed again and fell asleep watching the stars (Paine had refused to be helped by Gippal back to camp, so in the end it was the only way).

!#$%^&*()_+

The next morning when the two returned, they were met with annoyance that had stemmed from worry. Paine felt slightly bad at the betrayal that she had seen cross Baralai's face, but soon forgot it when the urge to punch Nooj came along. His teasing was not appreciated.

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Ffffffff! Most infuriating thing I think I have EVER written! I could NOT get those two to have sex if my life depended on it. This was supposed to be full out porn for him, but instead I had to just settle for a smut. So yes, VERY glad to be done with this damn thing!