Hello there, it's time again for another spurt of fiction. It's rather sad, i've noticed lately that fanfiction for FFX-2 has dwindled. =(This has given me much dismay, but then again every dog has his day. Still little nibblets of it every now and then won't hurt anybody – so here's my small contribution.
It's a bit of a strange but quick idea i had and just wanted to throw out there... feel free to comment criticism.
Thank you. =)Disclaimer; I own nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing.... =(

In Flight

Chapter 1

Paine scanned the new shelf in front of her before picking up another book. It was on alchemy of a very basic level and indeed looked extremely dull. Paine was sure she knew what was in it and she hadn't even read it before. Yawning as she put it back in the bookcase, the warrior carried on analysing the titles before taking out a different book that sounded vaguely more intriguing than the rest. Reading the blurb Paine surmised it probably wasn't. This time she stretched and sighed heavily when she came to the conclusion she wasn't likely to find anything of interest to her in this shop. Paine liked to read; she found it relaxing and took her to a place where she wasn't disturbed by life's pathetic irritations. Today, she desperately needed to find such a place to go but her mind was restless and nothing took her fancy. She was going to be bored when they finally got back into the air so it was important she find something, whilst she was here, to occupy her mind with later. The trouble was – with what?

"Need any help?" Paine was just about to refuse the assistance of the bookshop owner when she recognised the voice. Looking around to see who it was Paine was met with one green eye; the colour of the prettiest emeralds she'd ever seen & an iris like a tornado spiral.

"Not today thank you." She smiled.

"Are you sure? We've got lots of different books on offer." Spoke the owner of the eye. He was serious as he spoke but she could tell he was being playful, despite the lack of humour in his voice. His perfect voice; smooth like the desert wind and cool like the ocean in Besaid. It soothed her immediately and she couldn't help wondering if the voice had always been that calming or if it had just intensified over the years.

Shaking her head, the crimson eyed girl replied "Not unless you can find me something different from the norm that will keep me occupied on a long flight."

"A long flight? Do you plan on being bored?" asked the man with many nice attributes.

"I plan on avoiding a boredom I am most certain to come across. So unless you can help me, please move out of my way."

Slowly the man stepped aside, but he watched as the woman walked past him and turned to look at the books further down the aisle. He couldn't help it but his gaze was always fixated on her. She looked so unique it set his curiosity ablaze when she turned up looking crazily different from everyone else in Spira every time he saw her. Her once short, spiky grey hair had grown down to her shoulder blades on this occasion, but she had it tied up in a plat to keep it out of the way. Probably a new style in Yevon she wanted to try out since she'd been working up there so much of late. Her hips swayed as she walked and he could tell because even though her clothes were no longer so tight, the material she wore hung loosely off her muscles so he could observe every little movement it made. Her eyes were still bright like the burning sun and when they were turned on him it made him heat up under the collar, he even found it harder to breathe. She was a good friend to him and he didn't see her enough, if he did then he wouldn't notice the changes. But to him they were drastic because he'd left it just so long to pay her a visit. Even now wasn't a visit, it was a handy coincidence that he'd seen her this soon; he'd tagged along on the airship since they were headed the same way. "Why are you looking in the laws of physics section?" he asked.

"Why not?" she responded.

"Isn't it a bit deep for an airship ride?"

"Well it's not something I'm all that familiar with and it's interesting."

"How about a quick chick flick like one from over there!?" Gippal pointed towards the fiction section.

"Because if i wanted to hear about the tragedies of love, life and over-dramatics I'd get Rikku to tell me a story." Paine responded as she moved further down the bookshelf. She had a fair point.

"What's making you so restless?" Gippal asked.

"You can't guess?" Paine retorted sarcastically. Gippal followed her down the room and watched as her eyes flicked over the spines.

"Ah, the whole Bevelle thing." Summarised the Al Bhed as he remembered why they were flying together anyway.

Chuckling, Paine stopped and then shook her head slightly as she looked up at him, "The whole Bevelle thing?"

"You know what I mean."

Swallowing slowly, she nodded this time, "Yes."

"It's going to be ok you know." He informed her. He was serious; She would be ok. He wasn't so certain about himself however but he wouldn't tell her that; he was meant to be brave.

"I know." She looked to the ground as she thought, he wanted to be inside her head. "I just can't help over-thinking everything about it."

"That's not a crime." He spoke softly as he came closer to her. When he was close enough for his height to make him hover above her, close enough to hear as her breath made its way passed her lips, he stopped and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure?" she asked as she looked to where his skin made contact with hers.

"You know I'm never sure about anything. I just say do what you gotta do! If thinking about it until you want to pull your hair out feels like the right thing then go for it." Paine looked up at her friend, she could tell when he was teasing her, but his remark concerned her. She didn't know what the right thing was; she didn't even know what she wanted to do. All she was aware of was that Gippal was standing way too close, but she felt sure that she didn't want him to move away any time soon. Slowly she turned and rested her head against Gippal's chest. Learning into him she felt safe and comfortable, she felt right for the first time in a very long while. As she brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders, his arms had made their way to her back. He was holding her tightly to him and she could feel the warm caress of his touch as he smoothed the fabric at her shoulder blades. Paine inhaled deeply and could smell him, so fresh, so appealing, and so toxic. She would happily breathe that scent forever. They were both so still and silent she could even feel his heart beating rapidly beneath his chest. He was so sturdy, Paine was positive Gippal would never break – nothing could break this skin, these muscles, that smile, that mind, that spirit. He was so perfect. He was better than any male role model she could have ever wished for, no fairytale father, brother or cousin could beat Gippal. He had been her closest friend in the squad and she despaired at the fact they had fallen so out of touch. She couldn't force her face to find a smile again, she was just back to feeling unsure and anxious.

Gippal could sense a change in her mood. When she folded into him he felt like a huge weight was being pushed from her, he was keeping her safe in a little bubble and he wanted to keep her there forever. As she breathed in he wished he was allowed to keep her, but he knew he couldn't. He wasn't able to keep her safe years ago & he was no different now. He was probably the worst person to do that. Leader of the Al Bhed – a big target for Al Bhed haters. Not that Paine needed taking care of, she was probably fiercer than him; still it didn't stop him wanting to try. But her relaxed aura didn't last long, suddenly he felt her worry crash back down and it concerned him. What WAS she thinking about so much? She should be happy, there was no reason for her to feel sad but none-the-less here she was. Gippal took Paine's chin in his fingers and pulled her face up to look at him, her brows were knotted.

"What?" Gippal asked, it was almost inaudible, he was just so close to her he couldn't bear to ruin their intimacy – it was so rare between them now. But Paine just shook her head and tried to avoid his gaze. He gently pulled her head back up so she had to look at him, they were so close he just wanted to be able to reach down and see what her lips felt like, see how they tasted so many years on. He gulped hard as she started into his eye, what was in her mind at this second? Wouldn't it be funny if it was the same as his thoughts? But it never would be would it? It wasn't like that between them anymore. "What's making you sad?"

"I've missed you." The crimson eyed lady said suddenly. It took Gippal by surprise, she missed him? For real? He looked down at her for a long time, and she watched him as an array of emotions presented themselves on his face.

Man he probably didn't even realise so much time had passed since they'd last hung out, she now felt like he wouldn't understand her sorrow but then again why hide how she felt? If he truly was her friend then it wasn't weird to say she'd missed him was it? Why wasn't he responding? Did he just not feel the same... Paine wanted to go back to burying her head in his chest. No she wanted to get out of his presence, get away from the humiliation. So she decided that's what she'd do – she stood up completely straight and pushed from his grasp before she turned and walked in the direction she'd originally been heading.

Gippal's brain took a moment to fire into gear. Of course he's missed her but the words weren't coming out. When she pushed from him and started to move away, it gave him the push he needed to work like a human being again. "Whoa whoa whoa!" Gippal grabbed Paine's arm, holding her locked in his grip. "I missed you too."

Thank you for taking the time to read.... you could also comment just to say hi! hehe Just want to know who still reads out there (I'm not the only one am i?)

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