Disclaimer: still don't own Rikku or Gippal
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay!
Several months past as the walls of the new sector of Home rose as quickly as did the tempers of the floor leader and his assistant. Things ran smoother than ever for construction, but the constant explosions that took place between their bosses kept their workers running for more to do, because none of them wanted to be caught in the cross fire.
"Rikku! How many times do I have to tell you!?"
"Tell me?! Why don't you tell them! I know what I'm doing!"
"Quit it princess, I don't have time to give you an attitude adjustment!"
"Attitude adjustment?! You're the one that can't stop barking orders you power hungry ogre!"
"Ogre!?" Gippal clenched his fists, "I am your boss!"
"That doesn't mean that you can be an asshole! Maybe people would actually want to work if you learned some damn manners!" she growled before storming off to find parts for a power convertor. The seconds after she left Gippal always felt the worst. This was how every argument ended since that day in the office, shutting the door before it was resolved.
"Power hungry ogre?" Rikku whispered to herself, "Yevon, what were you thinking!"
Gippal watched Rikku as she weaved in and out of machina, jumping in to help a worker replace a piston and then moving through the floor doing such tasks for others. Every argument was a fleeting as the last, as he stared at her in her element he often forgot why he had been angry with her in the first place. The girl was a painter with wrenches and covered with smudges, but even the dirt and grim couldn't stop him from admiring her from afar.
She was so different from back then, her hair was longer and her lean tomboyish body more curvy. The heat kept the workers clothed only as much as necessary and Rikku was the same. She traded in her mini-skirt to avoid bare skin metal burns for pants that remained tear free for little time and tank tops that rode up on her hips.
Rikku drug her wrist across the base of her bandana wiping the sweat from her brow as she finally threw her wrench back into her tool belt, "good work guys, hopefully that's going to be enough to hold for now," she smiled at the men around her as they finished securing beams to a pallet to be lifted to the third floor. Gippal noticed how more light-hearted the men were when Rikku was around, she was like a disease that you wanted to catch. Rikku cringed as the beams were lifted, "looks like I spoke too soon!" She shouted to the worker sitting inside the lift, "Hold it!" Gippal's eyes shot open as he saw the beams groan against their bonds. "I said hold it!" Rikku screamed, but the liftman did not hear her warnings.
Gippal quickly got dashed across the floor as the crane began to buckle under the weight. Workers were quickly trying to throw ropes over the load to assist the crane in redirecting the palette. Men were groaning trying to quickly work pulleys, but the weight was proving to be too much. Gippal quickly grabbed up rope behind Rikku, her pores were pouring out sweat as she gripped the rope.
"Hold on!" Gippal yelled above the chaos.
"I'm trying" Rikku groaned out as the rope tore at her flesh.
The pallet swayed slowly as the crane's supports creaked and bent before the pallet was successfully lowered onto the ground of the second floor. The breath let out by all the workers let out was like the gust of a sandstorm.
"Get that crane to the shop and call it a day boys!" Gippal announced, "You guys deserve the rest of the day off." Gippal turned to Rikku and noticed that she was biting back tears as she clutched her gloveless hands shut. Gippal quickly grabbed her hands with were seeping blood between her fingers. "Where are your gloves?" he quickly sputtered.
"I took them off to tie support knots because they were in the way, I didn't have time to put them back on," she blinked back more tears.
"Rikku…" Gippal whispered.
"Please don't scold me Gippal," she took her hands back and held them close to her chest as she walked towards the infirmary, "I've learned my lesson," she replied solemnly.
"I wasn't going to…" he blinked back his own stinging tears.
Cid burst through the door as Rikku's hands were being treated, the medic had just finished cleaning the torn flesh, and Rikku's nose was red from tears.
"Where is he!" Cid bellowed, "Where is that boy who let my little girl get hurt!"
"Dad…" Rikku sighed, "Please stop overreacting."
"Right here," Gippal replied as he stepped through the door to check up on his assistant. "Go ahead Cid, let me have it," he sighed.
"How could you have been so irresponsible Gippal!" Cid began.
"Dad!" Rikku yelled, "Stop it!" She stared Cid down as he quickly backed down, Rikku had always been kind, but she was not the girl whose bad side you didn't want to be on. "It was an accident, the crane buckled under the weight and because of what we did no one else was killed, or hurt!" she barked, "Gippal was right down there with us, and I won't have you yelling at him!" Cid remained silent.
"Let me know if you need anything…" he finally muttered as he walked out the door.
"Stubborn old man!" she yelled after Cid.
"Thank you for that…" Gippal smiled as he turned to her.
"It wasn't your fault, we thought the crane could take the weight," Rikku cringed again as the medic began applying the bandages.
"She going to be okay doc?" Gippal asked.
"I want her to stay off the machina floor until her hands heal, but she'll be just fine."
"What!?" Rikku protested, "no," she immediately disagreed.
"Rikku, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to agree with the doc here," he sighed waiting for the imminent tantrum, her face had already begun to glow red as the doctor finished and left. "I hate to take you off the floor, but your hands won't heal if I keep you there. I want you to take a few days off so we can get you back sooner, I need you."
"…You need me?" she remarked with a confused look on her face.
"Are you dense? Yeah I need you!" he ran his frustrated fingers through his hair, "you're impossible and yet I couldn't ask for a better assistant if I had designed the schematics myself."
"You don't mean that," she laughed.
"Yes I do," his face was completely serious as he approached her, he took her face into one of his hands, brushing his thumb across her cheek. "I…" he paused and then scoffed, "it doesn't matter" he dropped his hands. "Take the week off Rikku," he turned to leave, "report back to my office after you see the doctor again," he muttered as he left.
Rikku placed her fingers against her cheek, "I need you too…" she whispered.
