A/N Final Fantasy X-2 is owned by Square Enix and not by me.
Hey, leave all questions and comments in a review or at my email, which is in my profile. If you want me to email you back, leave your email in your message since unless you decide to show it I can't see it!
Last Night
By Ringy-P
Rikku woke first. Her head pounded, her mouth was dry and she could remember nothing from the night before. She squinted her eyes as soon as she woke, the sun coming through rock lined windows made her head hurt even more. She groaned and rolled off Gippal, flesh sliding over flesh with ease.
'Wait, Gippal,' Rikku accidentally rolled the rest of the way and fell with bump to the floor. She tried to say something but her mouth was too dry and even the sound of her body hitting the floor made her wince with pain from both hitting the freezing stone and the way it made her head move. She stood up and rubbed the back of her head, her skin exposed to the chilly morning air puckered into goose bumps. She shivered. Her brain still couldn't comprehend the fact that she had woken up on top of a completely nude Gippal.
She glanced around the room, ignoring her naked state until she located both the exit and the bathroom. Rikku stumbled to the bathroom and leaned against the sink. She even looked hung over. Her face was pale and her eyes still blood shot. Hair disheveled and down, braids trailing over under and through the rest of her hair. Her hands shook as she turned on the water and splashed her face. It didn't help much and her mouth tasted to bad to even want to try drinking the water. She grimaced and licked her lips with a dry tongue. Her eyes roved trying to find something to relieve the taste in her mouth with. They locked onto a bottle of green mouthwash.
Rikku took a deep swig of the powerful mint concoction and swished it about in her mouth and then spit it back into the sink. 'Oh, that's much better.' She thought and opened the mirror above the sink. 'I hope, oh yes, he does!' With eager hands she opened a container of white Al Bhed headache remedy. The stuff was well nigh miraculous.
She almost couldn't swallow the water she used to wash the pills down. It was so cold from the mint in the mouthwash she'd used previously. She took deep breaths to warm up her mouth and turned back towards the bedroom. Rikku closed her eyes and nibbled the inside of her lip and when her eye's snapped open, her lips thinned to a line and she snatched up a small cup, the remedy and the mouthwash.
'Gippal will need them when he wakes up,' she thought. The pain in her head easing as the medicine hit her bloodstream. She placed everything on a bedside table and slid back under the sheets, pulling them up to her chin as she sat against the headboard of Gippal's elaborate bed. 'Well, I hope it is Gippal's.' She thought. Anyways, it was no use being cold and from her new position she looked around the room. 'How did my knit scarf get over there?' she blinked as she catalogued where all her clothes were. Skirt on the floor, top over a chair, bottoms nowhere to be seen and scarf over Gippal's desk chair all the way across the room from her top. Rikku leaned her head back and discovered where her bikini bottoms were, over the light. 'Okay, how in sands did they of all things get up there?' She asked, but didn't get to ponder the question long.
Gippal groaned, placing his hand over his one eye.
"Hey," she whispered.
He jumped, his hand flailing away from his eye and the other pushed him up. His head whipped over to look at her and she tried to smile innocently.
"Hey," he groaned, looked down and noticed his state of undress. He glanced back at her and she flushed and shrugged. He nodded as if in understanding.
Rikku silently passed him the mouthwash, remedy and glass of water. Somehow Gippal used them in the correct order and then dashed for the bathroom.
Rikku began to giggle. "I think I've seen it Gippal!" She grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, laughing into it.
"It's cold!" Gippal complained from where she couldn't see him. She could hear water hitting water.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'd complain about location but I don't know where I am!"
"Djose, my room," Gippal walked back out, wrapped in a towel. Rikku placed the pillow next to her.
'Why didn't I think of that?' She mused about the towel. "Oh, well, it's nice to know we're someplace safe."
Gippal rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I guess."
Rikku sighed, closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She didn't notice that the sheet fell to expose one of her breasts. Gippal looked away and cleared his throat.
"Umm, Rikku," he stammered.
Rikku opened her eyes to look at him. "What?" Then she looked down, "Oh, does it really matter? Evidently we got it on last night so I can strut around here naked if I want! Why should you care? You've seen it!"
"It's a good argument but I kind of don't remember last night." Gippal admitted.
"Well, I don't either, but isn't that besides the point." She crossed her arms and pouted.
Gippal swallowed and looked back at her. "You don't remember."
"I just said that," she threw up an arm. "Look, I woke up on TOP of you for goodness sakes. Argh, I don't even know why I'm here?"
"On top of me?" Gippal repeated.
"Gippal, your shirt is next to my skirt, pants are on the floor next to the bed. Oh, just look for yourself." She griped and defiantly stood up and went to stand in front of him. Gippal looked around just to keep from looking at her.
'Oh fuck, she's right.' He thought as he glanced about the messed up room. Clothes crumpled, rug rumpled and sheets wadded on his oversized bed. He was inevitably drawn back to Rikku however, who was staring up at him. He looked down at her and his lips twitched into a smirk. "I hope we had a good time."
"We did from the looks of things." She shrugged, her hair splayed down her back. She bit her lip and looked across the room. "Where's my blue scarf?"
"You're what?"
"My scarf, for my hair." She sighed.
"Hey, I want to know what happened!" Gippal protested.
"So do I!" She retorted, "But I'd also like to know where all my clothes are."
"You'd be better off with a towel," he muttered.
"There you go with the nudity again." She placed her hands on her hips and glared up at him. Suddenly her eyes twinkled and she whipped his towel off. "There, now we have no problems." She threw the towel away.
"I was going to offer you the shower," he muttered. "I might change my mind."
She darted past him clothes could wait. "Not if I get there first."
Gippal belated reached out to grab her and then thought better of it. He slumped against the doorjamb as the water started running behind him in the bathroom. He looked around the room and sighed. He leaned down and picked up the towel and wrapped it around his waist again. 'It looks like there was a war zone in here, but exactly what type of war was it?'
"Rikku?" He turned around.
"What?" She stuck her head out and shook her head to get the water and wet hair out of her eyes.
He ran his fingers through his hair. "You sure you don't remember what happened?"
"You're worried over nothing, think of what this can do to your reputation."
"I'm not worried. I," he paused. "My reputation?"
Rikku shoved the curtain open and giggled. "Oh come on, if we woke up this shit laced, we can't have been the only ones. I'm sure someone remembers what went on last night."
"Rikku, could you at least pretend to be serious about this. And put on a towel." He muttered.
She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her torso. "I tried being serious, it didn't work. You know this isn't the end of the world. So why bother to be serious about it? It happens to people all the time."
"And I'm the one who's supposed to be patronizing."
"Then start acting like it!" She tucked the end of the towel in to secure it and glared at him.
He leaned down to look her in the eye. "Generally it pisses you off."
"I've survived this long," she said as water dripped down her hair and face. "I think I can survive longer."
He sighed and she grinned.
"Unless," she smirked, "You don't want to be patronizing." She wiggled her eyebrows.
"And want to be something else."
He smirked. "You aren't up to it, Cid's girl."
"You wanna bet," she grinned. 'Ah, here is the Gippal I know.' She rested her forehead on his, "I woke up on top after all." She murmured.
He felt her breath tickle his lips and his stomach twisted. "I only have your word for that."
"True," her eyes twinkled. "But my word is good."
He captured her lips with his, his head twisting and forehead pulling away from hers to do so. He didn't touch the rest of her body since she'd just gotten out of the shower and he was still dirty. She'd complain and he'd never hear the end of it. All sensation focused to his lips and his eye closed. Her lips were soft, sweet and unresisting to his caresses. And when she responded, the cold room no longer mattered. The heat of his body pushed it away.
Rikku didn't want it to stop. His smooth lips were creating sensations in places she had known existed but didn't know if they'd been excited like this before. Her fists clenched, nails biting into her skin and the rest of her body tingled even though he wasn't touching her anywhere else. But it had to end eventually. Even her breath capacity couldn't last. Rikku slowly pulled back and licked her lips. "Shower's all yours," she murmured.
"Better make it cold," he stood up.
She giggled and went around him and didn't look back as she went into the bedroom. She thought her comb was in her pouches of her skirt and she wanted to find it. Her hair was a mess. And true to form, there was no mirror in the bedroom so she went back to the bathroom and began to work the rats out of her hair.
Between concentrating on her hair and the gushing of water from the shower, she didn't notice the door open and close in the other room. And the other person didn't say anything until after Gippal turned off the water, reached blindly for the towel, wrapped it around his waist and was exiting the bathroom to find some clothes so they could figure out what happened.
He paused at the bathroom door.
Baralai stood in the middle of the room looking about. "You do know that anybody could just waltz in here and take this place over right now."
Gippal snorted. "I'd like to see them try. A cranky Al Bhed is a violent Al Bhed." He leaned against the doorjamb and casually looked over his shoulder. Rikku had stood up and was staring at his back. She paled when she heard Baralai's voice. 'Oh, so she isn't as casual about this as she appears.' He thought and looked back at Baralai.
"Another wild night?" Baralai shook his head.
"Looks like it," Gippal smirked.
"Who was it this time?" Baralai frowned.
"This time?" Gippal raised an eyebrow. He heard Rikku squeak and hoped Baralai hadn't. "You wanna explain that," he growled. "Cause I'd dearly love to know."
"Oh come off it, Gippal." Baralai snorted. "You are a ladies man. What do you expect people to think?"
Rikku rested her forehead on his back and Gippal hoped she wasn't about to punch him. She'd never done that before, but then again they'd never woke up in the same bed before.
"Well, people are wrong." Gippal crossed his arms.
"It isn't like I approve of it in the first place." Baralai continued.
"Baralai!" Gippal shouted through gritted teeth. "Look, why don't you head to my office and we'll talk there."
Baralai started and his eyes widened. "Fine, I'm just saying."
"I know what you're saying and I'm saying you're wrong. On second thought, this doesn't concern you at all. Wait, it never concerned you. So, whatever you want done leave the plans in my office. I need to check on my people." He growled on the edge of violence.
Baralai turned and began to walk out. "I worry about you Gippal," he said as he paused at the door. "And all the girls whose hearts you leave broken."
Rikku stepped out from behind Gippal her face twisted in a sneer. "Well, my heart's just fine thank you, get out." She snarled.
Gippal wrapped an arm about her waist to keep her from jumping at Baralai. Gippal wasn't sure if she would but that appeared to be in her nature when she was angry. He made a note to never make her angry with him. Baralai's eyes widened and he looked between Rikku and Gippal. He turned and walked out the door and let it slam behind him.
Rikku placed her hands on her hips. "Why that arrogant, selfish, prudish, preachy, moralizing straight laced bastard. I don't know what Paine sees in him. She can have him!"
"I think you told him," Gippal chuckled and wrapped his other arm around her.
Rikku's shoulders relaxed and she looked up at him. "I did, didn't I?" She grinned. Suddenly she frowned.
"What?"
She shook her head. "Not important."
"You don't believe him do you?"
"Actually no, if he was right. You'd be very eager to confirm it." Rikku nestled against him. "It makes me feel nice to know I've had you all to myself."
"You don't know if you've had me," Gippal reminded her.
"Bleh, and I take it that is what we're going to try to find out, while checking up on your people." She sighed.
"There are other ways to find out." He intoned.
Rikku's eyes widened and she wiggled out of his arms. "I'm gonna get dressed now." She muttered and began to collect her clothing, jumping onto the bed to get her underwear.
Gippal's mouth widened into a grin and he watched. He knew she wouldn't be able to handle it.
She happened to look at him. She sighed. "That is not the reason, jackass," she muttered. "We just got clean."
"There's no shortage of water." Gippal moved into the center of the room.
She jumped off the bed and wrinkled her nose. "Gippal, are you sure you want to know what happened?"
Gippal blinked in surprise. He hadn't thought about that really. "I figured curiosity was eating you alive."
"I'm short tempered, I still have a headache and I'm hungry!" She shouted and stalked into the bathroom, then stuck her head out the door. "Which is a real mood killer don't you think?" She smiled and shut the door behind her.
Gippal sat down on the edge of the bed and laughed until tears rolled out his eye. He shook his head and stood up to gather his own clothes.
--
It took Rikku the longest to get dressed, mainly because she insisted on re-plaiting and placing her hair back up into it's elaborate style, despite her hunger. Gippal had lain on the bed and started reciting his favorite breakfast dishes to annoy her. She had responded in kind so it hadn't worked well.
They went down the stairs about a foot apart, her hair swaying like a gold silk waterfall. Gippal desired to reach over and tug it just for fun but refrained. She'd most likely push him down the rest of the stairs and that would be it for him. It would be better to wait until he was on a flat surface and could get away with it.
Rikku glanced at him. "Don't even think about it," she muttered and pushed her ponytail over one shoulder. "You're worse than a five year old."
"I am not," Gippal protested and reached over to tweak her hair back behind her head where he liked it.
"Yes, you are," she retorted.
"You are just easy to annoy." He grinned.
"I suppose I should be flattered." She swung her arms and the bows on her sleeves began to flutter as well.
"Oh?"
"Little boys only tease girls they like," she grinned.
"I had to ask," Gippal drawled and they swung into the chaos that was an Al Bhed mess hall.
Since no sane Al Bhed kept regular hours or had time to cook either, the mess was open all the time to accommodate those who needed a bite to eat. It was hard when working on an intricate machine to remember to eat sometimes and when you couldn't ignore the growl of your stomach anymore it was comforting to know you could fill it without having to raid the kitchen. The cooks would be mildly annoyed to find food missing and so considered it well worth their time and effort to just keep the place open.
It was more noisy than usual. As Gippal had observed, cranky Al Bhed were violent Al Bhed, fortunately most of them knew better than to have fistfights over the eggs and bread. So they would resort to yelling instead. Both Rikku and Gippal were used to the bedlam and managed to ignore it as they crossed the room to grab trays and their own meal. They didn't try to say anything to each other. They wouldn't be able to hear what was said, though Gippal from time to time stopped to clap a person by the shoulder and chat with them with Rikku twisting her braids around her fingers in the background while she waited.
It was times like these that Rikku remembered how large the Machine Faction actually was and how many of her people had gravitated to it after leaving Bikanel. Rikku didn't know whether it was because it was familiar being an Al Bhed organization or the fact that machine skills weren't needed in the temples. The temples seemed determined to get rid of the machines and mechanicals under their care, since most had gone rogue anyways. Rikku shrugged it off and trailed after Gippal when he chose to move on, smiling at those who noticed her and generally ignoring those that didn't.
The other thing that this reminded her was that Gippal was the head of this organization and generally a good one. She'd been happy to know that at least Gippal knew how to delegate so that when he left, like when they fought Vegnagun, his people didn't fall apart like Nooj's or Baralai's. Of course, that was also the Al Bhed way and a credit to the way her people were, which made her more proud to be an Al Bhed.
"Gil for your thoughts," Gippal leaned down to ask as they came upon the line.
"Machine Faction, leadership, you and the Al Bhed," she replied.
"Glad to know I was on that list someplace," Gippal chuckled.
"You would have preferred to be first though," Rikku quirked her eyebrows and cocked her head.
"Nah, just glad I was on the list." Gippal picked up a tray and headed down the line and she came after him.
"And your thoughts?"
"Pretty incoherent." He shrugged.
"Not fair," she pouted.
He laughed. "You aren't the only one who's hungry."
She swept her tray off the line and grinned. "No comment."
He grabbed her elbow and steered her to a smaller door off the mess hall. It led to a smaller and much quieter room. Rikku glanced about and noticed a woman in green and a few other higher ranked technicians.
"Berura over there is my procurator. She keeps track of everything we have in stock." Gippal told her quietly.
"Oh," Rikku bit her lip. "I didn't ask."
"Your face is easy to read, Rikku." Gippal chuckled and placed his tray down on a small table. She placed hers across from his and frowned.
"No wonder it's hard to win anything against you if you can read me like a book." She commented.
"I find it endearing," Gippal leaned over and murmured.
Rikku giggled and he pulled back. "So, any clues?" she asked.
Gippal dug into his food and thought about it while he chewed. Rikku took her clue from him and began to eat enthusiastically. Silence stretched between them and Rikku focused on her food to refrain from pushing Gippal. She was learning something from Paine and losing her respect points. 'Silly system,' she thought. 'It's so subjective.'
Gippal swallowed. "Well, we weren't the only ones drunk enough to forget things."
"I knew that already," she whined.
"And other than that, people's memories are pretty fragmentary. For instance, one person swears you were dancing on the tables while others remember glimpses of us in corners. One man had the gall to suggest I jumped up there and danced with you."
Rikku exploded into giggles. The look on Gippal's face was so chagrined.
"Hey, you can laugh," Gippal pointed his fork at her. "But you were up there first."
She controlled her laughing with effort. "It's something I'd do though!" She began to giggle again. "And?"
"Isn't that enough?" He frowned.
"I have a feeling there is more." She said.
"Umm, so I started singing." He shifted on his seat.
"Oh no," she widened her eyes and dropped her mouth comically.
"And it was a sappy depressing love song so I think that's when one of the guys said you took me to a corner."
"I took you," Rikku sat up straight.
"And Baralai was saying I seduced you, turns out it was the other way around Cid's girl." He grinned at her. "It seems you are quite the temptress under that façade and I'm the innocent one of this party. Taking me to bed at a time of vulnerability."
"Innocent! You're not innocent, you're evil," she sputtered and turned red.
"After that it still is anyone's guess. I mean even when drunk I like my privacy." He considered the eggs on his fork but was really looking at her.
"Now you are willing to entertain the thought," Rikku muttered and turned back to her own food. She tried to hide her flushed skin behind her braids. She applied her attention to her meal for a bit. After her embarrassment had cooled she asked without looking up, "So, any ideas why I'm here?"
"Nope," Gippal responded.
"Shit," she muttered. "I so do not want to call Brother and ask."
"Maybe you finished."
She looked up and shook her head. "I don't think so. I feel that there is something nagging at my brain if only I could remember it."
"That must suck."
"Sarcasm not appreciated." Rikku frowned and furrowed her brow. "I mean, why would I be here and arrive in time for a party no less? And what in sands were we celebrating?"
"Good questions." Gippal observed.
"Thirdly, how did I get here? And why aren't the others here as well? What do I know that they don't and somebody would need me here for?"
"You're rambling." Gippal took a sip of his tea.
Berura cleared her throat. "We're behind schedule Gippal." She cut in on the two.
Rikku leaned back and closed her eyes to rack her brain more. Totally ignoring Berura until she mentioned something about a crane.
"That's it!" She yelped.
Berura started and Gippal stared at her. Rikku sat up straight. "The crane, you needed help fixing it and that's why I'm here. It's my crane."
"Your crane?" Gippal asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, so you technically own it but I designed it. My crane," she affirmed. She swiped the rest of the egg off her plate with her last bit of bread.
Well, it made some sense now. Gippal drank the dregs of his tea grimacing.
Rikku picked up her tray and sauntered towards the door. "I'll get right on it."
"So eager to leave?" Gippal questioned.
"Careful, you'll make it sound like you want to keep me around." She winked and left.
'But I do,' Gippal contemplated the inside of his cup. Berura cleared her throat. He glanced up.
"And Baralai left a report on your desk," she finished.
"I know," Gippal set the cup down and pushed away from the table. He chuckled a bit as he remembered Baralai's face at seeing Rikku.
"I have a feeling I don't want to know." Berura muttered.
Gippal collected his tray and shook his head. "No. You don't. Tell me when Rikku finishes with the crane."
--
Rikku put the finishing touches on the crane by nightfall, complaining all the while that their machine operators were awful. Something like that shouldn't have happened if the crane was being used properly. The men stood around and looked uncomfortable. They refrained from telling her exactly what her crane was being used for.
The Celsius' headlights washed over the bridges and onto the temple. Rikku stretched as she walked towards the ramp with Gippal.
"You sure you don't want to stay another night?" He asked. "Just to make sure things are okay."
"Relax, I told you I fixed it." She reassured him.
"That isn't what I meant Rikku," Gippal sighed and glanced over at her.
She stopped at the bottom of the ramp and looked up at him. A smile tugged on her lips. "Oh, you mean us. Wow, an us, that's strange to hear coming from my mouth."
Gippal shook his head. 'She can't ever be serious.'
Rikku reached up and hugged him. "It's fine, Gippal."
He wrapped his arms about her waist picking her up slightly, glad that they were in the shadow of the ship. "You sure?"
"Just no having sex with other girls, while I'm gone." Rikku teased.
Gippal almost dropped her. "You're coming back."
"You are not getting rid of me that easily." She teased. "I'll be back when you least expect it." She leaned in and kissed him gently, her legs wrapping around his waist.
He pulled back and grinned at her. "Next time, Rikku lets be sober."
Rikku giggled and nodded. She jumped down and Gippal let her go. She jogged into the ship. He sighed and walked back to Djose. It seemed lonelier than it ever had before and he glanced up as the Celsius took off vertically into the night sky.
He mounted the stairs to his room and sighed as he saw that the sheets were still disheveled and their towels were crumpled on the floor. He flicked on the lights and a glint of metal in the corner caught his eye. 'Huh, that shouldn't be there?'
He picked it up and blinked. "A sphere recorder?" He unlatched the sphere from inside and stared into it for a few moments. His eyes widened. "Oh shit."
--
END CHAPTER ONE!
A/N You read right, this fic has (gasp) more than one chapter! Well, if you enjoyed this story, I strongly recommend you go read Bittersweet by OverLOAD, which has a similar idea in it. Great minds must think alike, as this was one of the first scenarios that came to my head, but not to computer screen, as you will.
And if any of you have read my reviews recently and seen those left by SonnyB (glares) you'll see that I'm posting shorts as a way to give myself time to finish my longer stories based in this universe. I have a policy not to post a story until they are finished. Thus, no reader will be disappointed by an abandoned story. Too bad that this is a very recent policy (shrugs)
So onto the shout outs for Gippal's Girl and the rest of Play Acting!
Lyninese: Cute is the name of the game. I hope this story makes you just as happy.
I Won't Tell: Thank you. I've had long discussions with SonnyB to understand the characters, in particular Gippal
Tonkeli: I've been writing for about four or five years now and doubt I will stop soon. It's a great creative outlet. Glad you enjoy my work
Kingleby: They are a cute couple, heh.
DerektheRogue: Ideas, do I have ideas… I have this problem, the ideas they don't stop and well… you get to read the result.
Gippikku: En Garde! As announced I have longer stories in the works right now and if I ever have ideas on how to lengthen Gippal's Girl, I might come back to it, so for now it stays a one shot. And flamers make me mad for a day and then I get over it.
SonnyB: Quiet you! And do I have to proofread your reviews now.
Thousand Winds: College English taught me the value of a short story, before I was stuck on epics. I almost thought it ruined me for fan fic writing
Lady D3ath: LOL, of the couples I saw in X and X-2 I find Rikku and Gippal to be the most plausible outside of Tidus and Yuna.
Letselina: thank you for the wonderful constructive criticism. Many people don't understand that criticism works both ways. Hope to see you around!