A/N: I don't really have anything to say about this chapter. I just wanted to point out that anything in italics is Paine thinking. Anyway, read, enjoy, and push that little review button when you're done. And a big thanks to DragonGirl323 for being the first, and only, reviewer so far.

Disclaimer: I'm getting sick of saying it but I do not own the rights for Final Fantasy X-2 even if it is in between my copy of FFX and FFXII.

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I had avoided Baralai as much I possibly could throughout the rest of that day. I had pretended to be busy, ignored him, or just simply left the room whenever he had been around. I knew that it hurt him to be ignored by me, especially since we were normally so close and in to be honest I was hurting myself by hurting him. I bore with it and went back to my apartment as soon as I could. Thankfully I managed to leave the temple without running into him.

When I got back to my apartment I was aware that not only did I not lock the door but that I had not eaten anything since early yesterday. It was a little sad that I had let my over-active mind take over me. As soon as I walked into my apartment I made my way to my kitchen and I found myself face to face with none other than Baralai himself.

"Leaving your door unlocked is a really bad idea." He said as he leaned against the wall with a small smile on his face.

"Unless somebody comes in to steal my bed and some clothes that I doubt they would like, I don't think I have to worry much." I said as I walked towards my fridge and took out the stuff necessary to make a few sandwiches.

"It's not your stuff that I'm worried about." He said with a look of concern on his face that he had tried to mask. "Is that all you are planning to eat?" He asked with obvious disapproval of my dinner choice.

"Why not? A few of these should hold me off until morning."

He chuckled and shook his head. I can't really blame him, cooking had never been my strong point. In fact the only thing that I knew how to cook properly without having it burn or explode was hard boiled eggs. I definitely need to learn how to cook.

"You know what, how about I cook something for both of us?" He said finally stepping away from the wall.

"You cook?" I asked a little surprised. Amazingly, cooking skills had never come up in our countless conversations.

"Yes I cook, pretty decently if I say so myself." He said as he looked through my cabinets and fridge, taking some stuff out.

"Well then, I will have to see this for myself then." I said, smiling at him, as I sat down on top of my counter. He didn't say anything but he did give me a warm smile in return. I sat there while he cooked our meal, nothing but silence between us. Oddly, it was a comfortable type of silence that we both seemed to like. Soon the food was done and he handed me a plate full of pasta.

"Well it looks edible." I teased as he sat down next to me with his own plate. He laughed at my comment and we started to eat in silence. Again it was the comfortable silence that we were both used to. I remembered that Gippal used to tease us a lot about it. According to him there was no in-between with us, we either talked too much or not enough.

The silence was nice but I knew better than to expect it to last. I could almost feel Baralai trying to think of the right way to ask me what was wrong without making me angry. I decided to spare him the trouble.

"I'm fine you know." I said finally breaking our silence.

"You don't seem fine." He said trying not to look as concerned as he felt.

"Really I'm fine; I'm just having some trouble sleeping." Hey, I was being completely honest. I just happened to leave out the reason why I was having trouble sleeping but he really didn't need to know that.

"I see." I knew that he wanted to ask why but he knew me better to know that I wasn't going to answer that question. Not yet, I need to sort things out on my own.

"I'm going to Besaid." I said suddenly.

"You are?" He asked truly surprised. I am? When did I decide this?

"Yes, I am. Why are you so surprised?"

"Well…uh…you never really liked the…um…togetherness of Besaid. You told me yourself that it was very suffocating." He had a point there.

"Well one of my best friends, which I haven't seen or spoken to in months mind you, lives there. I think that it's time that I suck it up and go visit her." What the hell am I talking about? He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Point taken. Does that mean that you are going to Djose as well?" He asked. I hadn't really thought about going to Djose, then again I hadn't thought about going to Besaid either, but I might as well visit Rikku while I'm on the road.

"Yes, I am." Seriously, when did I plan all of this?

"That's good. You need to get out of Bevelle." He said with a small smile.

"I do?"

"Yeah, you do."

"…"

"Do you need a travel partner?" He asked after I kept silent for a little while.

"Don't you have New Yevon to run?" He just wants to tag along to make sure that I go through with it.

"I think they could survive without me for a little while. In all honesty, I'm beginning to believe that they are getting sick of me." He said with a laugh and I couldn't help but laugh with him.

"Well you are a little pushy sometimes." I said with a smile. This only made him laugh harder.

"Just for that, you are now obligated to take me with you."

"Follow me if you want to but if you fall behind I'm going on without you."

"I'll believe it when I see it." He said as he jumped off of the counter and picked up our empty plates. It was my turn to rise and eyebrow but he just chuckled and washed up our dishes.

"Well I should probably be going." He said once he was done. I got up from the counter and walked him towards the door.

"I leave in two days; if you're not here I'm leaving without you."

"I will let the priests know that we will be gone for a few days." He said as he opened the door. I nodded.

"We should do this again some time."

"We should, especially since I have no cooking skills." We both laughed.

"Good night Paine." He said with a really warm smile.

"Good night 'Lai." He turned around and left and I closed the door with a sigh. What was I thinking saying that I was going to Besaid? I don't want to go to Besaid. Well I do but that's really just to see Yuna. Like Baralai said, I don't really enjoy being in Besaid too much. Not because of the people but more of the way they were there. Whatever. I'm making too much out of this. Right now what I need is sleep. I had just realized how tired I was. Three nights of not sleeping well would do that to you. I didn't bother changing into something more comfortable; I just slipped into my bed and slept better than I had in a long time.