Author's Note: Always wanted to do a "i. ii. iii." thing! For the three word challenge at the Gippal/Rikku community on LJ.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX-2 or FFX.

Least Favorites

i. shield

Brother was Rikku's absolute least favorite person to go shopping with. Having never been on the field in the heat of battle, he knew nothing about weapons or armor or sundries, but waxed knowledgeable until she was ready to stuff her own hair into her ears just to drown him out.

"And a shield, you never carry a shield!" His voice was shrill, scandalized, annoying in the overly-manicured-nails-grating-across-a-chalkboard way.

"Are you serious?" she asked, exasperated. "I can't carry around a shield! It's way too heavy and it gets in the way!"

Brother was laughing before he even took the cheap shot. "Kind of like you!"

"Crid ib!"

Then they were chasing each other around Luca square, Brother flailing erratically while Rikku chucked pebbles, plants, and whatever else she could get her hands on at him.

ii. regret

Tidus was Rikku's absolute least favorite person to go drinking with. She didn't drink often, just every now and again when things were particularly dull or bad, and through some stroke of misfortune Tidus usually found ways of tagging along. Rikku had assumed that being so fun sober, he'd be all that much more fun drunk, but all he managed to do was depress her with talk of Old Zanarkand.

"I love it here, but I miss my mom, you know? And I had this friend, Rik – man, he was a blast. You would've liked him." Tidus said all this into the crook of his elbow where he had his face nestled, staring blankly at the mahogany bar top.

"Are you serious?" Rikku muttered under her breath, her slight buzz completely gone. When Tidus asked her what she said, she replied, "I said it's time to get you up. C'mon, Yuna's waiting at the hotel to tuck you in."

"Yuna," Tidus's voice brightened, and Rikku's spirit did too once they were out of the noisy club and into the quiet streets of Luca. "I love Yuna."

"I know you do." Rikku hefted his arm over his shoulder and they began the slow walk back to the inn.

"And I love you, Rikku!" And then he had his arm wrapped around her and was hugging her and carrying her all the way back to the hotel and, in his drunken confusion, right past it.

iii. forget

Gippal was Rikku's absolute least favorite person to talk about The Big Vegnagun Adventure with. It was one of the only times he got quiet, all stoic and stony and silent-like, and it drove her bonkers because (in the grand fashion of all men) he just wouldn't talk about his feelings.

"Jeeze, what is it? Why don't you ever wanna talk about it?" she asked one night. It was winter in Djose and late, so they were curled up on the couch in his office – and she was having none of this cleverly-avoiding-the-question nonsense. "So a fiend nabbed most of my gil and we all almost died. That's nothing new!"

"Rikku," he said, removing his arm from around her to massage his temples, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Whoa, call Shelinda, that's a newsflash." Rikku barely noticed when she was sarcastic anymore, she'd been around Paine so long. "C'mon, it was fun, even if it was dangerous! Remember that big explosion when it went down, and Shuyin and Lenne and –"

"No I don't, I don't remember it!" he yelled, flinging his head back. In a smaller voice, the sheepish one Rikku rarely heard and completely adored, "Look, I got hit on the head by its tail or something and was knocked out. I didn't come to until right before we left."

"What?" Unfortunately, Rikku's question was half word, half laugh.

"Nooj and Baralai promised not to tell you…" Gippal groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

There was silence for a little while, Rikku still in his lap, deep in thought. Finally, she said decidedly, "I'm telling Paine."

Gippal's head snapped back and he stared at her, wide-eyed. "What? You can't!"

"Are you serious?" Rikku was laughing now, smiling from ear to ear, her cheeks pink with merriment at his red with embarrassment. "Can you imagine how good my respect points will look after this? I'll finally be ahead of someone!"

Gippal stood up so fast, Rikku fell onto the floor. He spent the next fifteen minutes tickling her into submission, at the end of which she finally surrendered, Gullwings' honor. Of course, Gippal wasn't a Gullwing and Paine was – so the next day she told her. For approximately seven seconds, Rikku was not behind someone in respect points – then she lost four for tattling and was two behind Gippal again.