Disclaimer: I do not rights to the characters in this fanfiction.

Author's Note: I felt like there hadn't been much Rikku/Gippal love lately, so I decided to rememdy that. Enjoy :)

Things were always heated in the Sanubia Desert. It was where the Al Bhed thrived, under the heat of the sun, but any Al Bhed would agree that the arguments that took place between the Machine Faction leader and the Al Bhed princess herself made the burning sands look cold. With Vegnagun defeated and peace returned to Spira there was finally time to rebuild Home. Cid's hot headed temper and lack of patients led him to hand over project leader to Gippal, and of course Cid's girl did not approve.

"You know the only thing he's got between his ears is a bunch of bolts!" The Al Bhed princess protested.

"Well if that's what you think, then who should I leave in charge little lady?" Cid stared down at his enraged daughter.

"Me! Duh!" she threw her hands up in fursteration.

"Rikku, how many times have we gone over this? I do not want my little girl around all that heavy machinery!" he scolded her.

"You know just as much as I do that I know more about those machines than half the Al Bhed do!"

"Rikku, I don't care how much you scream and cry about it Gippal is in charge, and that's my final decision!" he turned away from her.

"But-"

"If I hear one more squeak out of you so help me Yevon I will turn you over my knee and give you a spankin'!"

Rikku stomped off haughtily. "Well if he won't listen, then I'll make bolt brain listen!" she huffed as she marched towards the hangar where she knew she'd find Gippal.

Gippal was angrily working away at a crane engine that had blown a piston as he wiped away the sweat pouring from his brow. "This cannot actually be happening!" he growled as he broke yet another piston ring. The day was hot and his temper was oh so much hotter as he continued fishing through spare parts to rebuild the blown piston. Once he fully assembled the necessary parts he aimed to replace the piston when he caught a glimpse of blonde out of the corner of his eye. Rikku entered as he leaned over and back to his work. She saw beads of sweat collecting across his clothing free broad shoulders, his smooth muscles covered in sweat and grime, flexed as leaned under the hood, the way each tempting muscle moved, she ended her distracting thought, reminding herself why she was there.

"Gippal, we need to talk" she marched right up beside him.

He didn't even remove his head from under the hood when he responded, "Look Cid's girl, I don't have time for childish meandering today. I've got a crane to fix, a team to brief on their next project, and-"

"It's important!" she stuck her hands on her hips.

He turned to her sticking a grease covered finger in her face. "Look I know why you're here, you're pissed that your old man put me in charge and now you're trying to find someway to under mind him and it's not going to happen princess." Beads of sweat were rolling down his shapely body.

"You know that-" she began twirling her bikini ties, resorting to an old excuse.

"Don't give me that 'I know more than' excuse, I've seen this conversation coming from a mile away. Now I have a crane engine to get back to" he turned away and continued with his work as he listened to her light footsteps walking away. Rikku grabbed a near by wrench off a table, turned, and threw the hunk of metal as hard as she could in his direction. Gippal didn't even flinch as he caught the wrench. He started after her, "Now listen here, I'm in charge and you need to-"

Rikku marched right up to him, "Don't give me this holy than thou bullshit Gippal just because you know a thing or two about pistons!" she yanked the part out of his hand. "First of all, it's easier to put back in when you take this out first." He watched as she leaned over the engine and fixed the piston back into place with quick and relative ease. Gipple noticed the dimples of her lower back peeking out from under her skirt, the smooth tanned skin of her back, and her pony tail spilling over her shoulders while the small colored beads caught glow in the light. When she finished she stood up and wiped the sweat off her brow. "Now put your shaft in that and crank it!" she smiled triumphantly folding her arms over her chest that she hadn't bothered to notice he was staring at. His pleasant thought was interrupted by the verbal garbage exiting her mouth.

He leaned over and inspected her work. Gippal smiled back, "Only one problem," her jaw dropped to speak, "you managed to get the piston back in, but did you notice anything else wrong with it?" Rikku went to turn around but Gippal firmly grasped her arm. "No peeking."

"There's no air filter?"

"Wrong there's a missing belt," he released her arm, "and that's why you're Cid's girl and you need to get out of my shop." She exited without another word. Gippal returned back to his work, but his distracted thoughts led him to take a long needed lunch break. He sat there in the chair in his office with his feet resting on the corner of the desk. A nearby fan blew cool air onto his exhausted muscles as he leaned back taking another sip of water from his canteen. A small droplet spilled over his lip as he stuck out his tongue to lick up the stray drop. His mind flashed to a very similar droplet rolling between the small swells beneath a familiar princess's top, and this unholy urge to be wanting to lick said droplet from its incriminating position. He stared down at his desk as his eyes wandered to a photograph of the whole group after the defeat of Vegnagun. He noticed the angelic look on Rikku's face, and his arm around her. Everyone was so happy, even Nooj was smiling. "Nah…" he sighed to himself, "won't ever happen." He knocked the frame over so it lied face down in paperwork. "She's a royal pain, and you're a toad" he marched angrily back to his work to relieve his mind of such foolish thoughts.

When he returned Rikku was sitting there on the closed hood of the crane. She leaned on her grease covered hands, the black grime smeared across her cheeks and bare stomach. His muscles tensed, he was angry she was there again. She was the exact thing he was trying to get away from, but he was not immune to the grime covered form in front of him. Rikku leapt off the hood and lifted it, propping it up, and standing aside as Gippal approached the piece of machinery. He looked down at it, back at her, and then back again at the machinery.

"I found out why your piston blew and fixed it," she spat, "and that's why you're an asshole." Gippal slammed the hood back down, and stepped directly into her personal space.

"I never said you weren't good!" he defended, "The Machine Faction is no place for you," he got in her face, catching a whiff of machinery and something distinctly Rikku.

"Why not!? I may have missed your belt at first, but I fixed what you didn't even notice," she got right back up in his face. He stared down into her fiery eyes, her anger igniting the blood in his veins.

"You couldn't handle the mental and physical abuse that the Faction puts their bodies through on a daily basis!" he knew she could, he didn't want to admit it to her, he wanted to be the one to put her body through that physical abuse. His pride was at stake, but this argument was already too far gone and he wasn't going to back down.

"Oh yeah? Prove it…" and that's when he looked down at her small frame, and noticed the curve of every toned muscle, the anger inflamed surface of her skin, the way her body glistened with sweat, and hard work. He noticed the defiance in her gaze, the way her hands were propped on her hips, and the way her legs disappeared beneath her skirt which remained an insult to him with her knees locked.

"Okay Princess." Gippal gripped her wrists and yanked her over to the work bench and pinned her there with her back facing him. "Now let me tell you a thing or two about the Machine Faction," he held her there with his weight and hands both firmly on her waist. He breathed hot and wet breaths down her neck, "we deal with intense heat under the sun all day." She doesn't understand at first and then he placed his hands roughly over her breasts and pressed her firmly against his chest, "and some days it's so hot you can barely breathe." She gasps for air. He slid his hands down the front of her body down to her hips again pulling the hem of her skirt up so it gathers at her waist. "The heat burns," he pulled his hand back, "and stings," he says as he cracks his hand against his ass, after which giving it a soothing rub. "We deal with the most ridiculous problems," he sighs, "grinding gears," he presses his hips against her as his fingers play along the hem of her bikini bottoms, "and sand gets where it doesn't belong," her legs are beginning to tremble. "I thought you said you could handle the abuse princess…" he whispers in her ear.

"I can."

"What was that again?" he nibbled on the side of her neck.

"I can take the abuse," she moans.

"Alright then, we'll continue" he slids his hands over her flat stomach again. "Now where was I?"

She grabs his hand placing it between her thighs again, "sand getting where it doesn't belong."

He can't see her face, he doesn't need to, he knows she's begging for it in her eyes. "That's right," he rubs her slit through the fabric, "the problems we face." His free hand slides up her back to the top of her bikini as he tugs on the strings and they come lose, "we have to strip everything…" he throws the top aside, "take everything apart," he slides her skirt down her legs, "throw out what we can't use," he grabs her, leading her over to the crane, and presses her down on the cold steel of the hood, "and once we're finally under the hood," he breathes along her naked breasts as her bottoms finally join the rest of her clothing on the floor, "we have to clean house." He looks down at her half lidded eyes staring back up at him, her chest rising and falling with each wanton breath. Gippal presses himself between her legs with her naked body flush against him and asks, "I'm going to ask you one more time, can you handle that kind of abuse?"

She hooked her fingers on the inside of his belt, her green fingernails peeking out of the fingerless leather gloves as she yanked him forward onto his elbows. "Only if you can give it…" He smirked before pressing his lips down on top of hers, the contrast of his rough actions against the smooth flesh of her lips was a predatory need. Rikku's fingers moved feverishly across the leather of his belt, fighting the clasp. Gippal simply brushed her hands aside. Rikku pulled away to protest, but he simply silenced her again with unrelenting kisses. She fisted her hands in his hair as he let out a growl against her lips. He drug his fingers across her skin needing to feel her skin beneath his fingertips while his pants hung loosely around his waist. She drug her fingers across his scalp and he threw his head back in pleasure.

"Cid's girl… You're going to be the death of me," he admitted as he freed himself of the last of his clothing.

"I thought you could take the abuse," she smirked. That comment was all it took for him to stop and rub himself teasingly over the slick flesh between her thighs. She arched toward him as he pressed against the flesh, but only enough for a taste.

He leaned down next to her ear, "what was that?" He pressed against her again, and pulled away as he ran his tongue along the shell of her ear.

"I… Gippal," her eyes rolled back while her hips searched for him. He kept a firm grip on her hips, not letting her have what she so desperately wanted.

"You going to do what I tell you to do?" he pushed a little.

"Yes…" he pressed a little further.

"I'm going to make you feel good Rikku," was his last whispered promise before he breeched her wall and sunk into oblivion. He pressed his forehead against hers and he let out an animalist growl in response to her pleasurable cry. She was lost as he gripped her hips and nipped at every piece of available flesh, listening to each cry fall in sync with his thrusting. He stared down at the writhing form beneath him, watching her eyelids flutter between her eyes rolling and staring up at him silently pleading for more, always more.

He picked her up and set her down on his work bench pulling her flush against him. He stood there with her legs wrapped around his waist with a hand on her rounded bottom, and the other pressing her as close to him as he could. She kissed him long and deep again while he began thrusting again. She clutched his board shoulders as she tried lacing kisses down his next between her cries. Gippal grabbed her jaw, turning her to face him so that he could ravage her lips, and invade her mouth as he invaded her body. Her legs were shaking, her breath was short, and her moans turned to ragged gasps.

He pulled away from her lips taking her face in his hands, watching the desperate look creep over her face, "please," she moaned. He thrust harder and her cries grew louder, "don't stop," she let loose a throaty growl. She anchored herself against his shoulders as she matched his movements as her muscles tensed and her body convulsed. Gippal felt her muscles rhythmically beckoning him as she threw her head back. He let himself go as he watched her ride out the pleasurable spasm after a few more thrusts. She took his face in her hands as his mouth fell open and his eyes squeezed shut as she listened to the whimpers leaving his lips as his body emptied itself of his pent up frustration.

He rested his head against her forehead while his heart pounded loudly trying to slow down his breathing. He looked up into her eyes as she traced her fingers along the outline of his eyepatch. He kissed her heavily again.

"You're still a royal pain in the ass," he murmured between kisses.

"You brain is still full of bolts," she smiled. Gippal wiped the grime away from her cheek. She stepped down onto shaky legs and slowly pulled her clothing back on. "So…" the unanswered question hung in the air while he pulled his pants back up.

He came up behind her, placing his hands on her hips, "See you later tonight?" She turned and he kissed her again.

"After that…" she paused, "I better," she smiled.

"Now…" he leaned down for one last kiss, "get the fuck out of my shop."

"Gippal!" her eyes set aflame.

He pulled her in pushing her bikini aside exposing her left breast, "you said you'd do what I tell you to." He took the hard nipple momentarily in his mouth, sucking gently. She grasped his hair and he knew he had won. He pulled away, replaced the fabric, and gave her ass a tight squeeze. "Now, be a good girl or I'll have to give you a spanking."

"That just means I'll have to bother you more often," she smirked defiantly.

"I can only hope," he smiled.