Chapter Four: Off into the Sunset

Paine blinked her eyes open around 9:30 a.m. She was still against Baralai's chest. He himself still had the book open on his lap. His head was turned, looking down at her. His arm was on her back.

'He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping.' She smiled. Now, he'd need the wake-up call. She took her index finger and ran it down his nose. His eyes blinked open slowly.

"Good morning, sleepy-head." Paine smiled.

"What?" His voice was raspy. "We didn't get to finish the play." She giggled and laid her head back down.

"We fell asleep. And the fire was still going." Baralai lifted his head and looked over to the fireplace. It was now just glowing embers.

"Thankfully, I didn't put too much wood in it." He looked down at her and kissed her forehead. "Come on, we need to get going." Reluctantly, she sat up and stretched and yawned. Baralai walked by and tapped her under her jaw.

"No yawning. It means you'll fall back to sleep on me."

"Someone's cranky. I think you need your coffee buzz." She smiled. And that's exactly what he was making.

"Leave me alone" he smiled. "Do you want any?" Paine shook her head.

"Where's the phone? I'm going to call Nooj."

"It's here against the wall." Paine stood up and walked into the kitchen. She picked up the phone and dialed Youth League's number.

"Hello?" a woman answered. It was Lucil.

"Hi, this is Paine, is Nooj available?" Paine asked. Baralai came behind her and rested a head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Good morning Paine! Yes, he's here, I'll send you through to him."

"Thanks Lucil." She leaned her head back against his opposite shoulder.

"Morning Paine. And I'm surprised to hear you so early in the morning." Typical Nooj.

"Oh, shut it." She laughed. "So, are you coming with us to find Gippal?"

"Us? Are you at Baralai's, or vice-versa?"

"I'm at his place. Why?"

"Just wondering. Anyway, I did get a week off. Baralai asked last night. Which I'm sure you're well aware of." Baralai kissed her in the corner of her neck and shoulder. "Anyhow, I was hoping you could come over and get me. Hover's not working the way it should be."

"Sounds like mine. Did you want to talk to him?"

"No, it's alright. Can you try to be here around noon-ish?" Paine turned her head to Baralai's.

"Noon-ish sound good?" She could feel him nod. "Yeah, sounds good. We'll see you then."

"Good. See you then." The other end clicked.

"You're coffee's burning." Paine laughed. Baralai immediately let go and checked on his drink. She walked behind him, rubbing her neck.

"You didn't give me a hickey, did you?" Baralai almost choked.

"Not on purpose." Her jaw dropped and she playfully hit him in the arm.

"I'm getting dressed." She walked back into the master bedroom. When she got there, Paine checked herself in the mirror, particularly the neck. There was a small, red splotch. "Jerk" She said softly. She closed the door and locked it. She slid into a dark red, short-sleeve top and dark blue jeans. She brushed her hair down, which was long enough to just reach her shoulders and cover the spot. But, just to be safe, she put make-up over it

She reached and opened the door to find Baralai on the other side, portraying a puppy-dog face.

"Baralai!" She laughed. "What?"

"Am I really a jerk?" he asked. Paine held her head in one hand. She looked back up, only to see his eyes more bulgy and his bottom lip almost covering his chin.

"If you keep that face up, you will be in my book." He instantly stood up. "I think that coffee is getting to you." He was dressed as he usually was. The olive-green robe decorated with all sorts of Yevon symbols. "What time is it?"

"Um, 10. What should we do for two hours?" Paine shrugged.

"I haven't seen too much of Bevelle. Wanna go for a walk?"

"That sounds great. I know some pretty nice spots." Paine rose and eyebrow.

"You? You know some nice spots?" She laughed as she slipped a black sweater on. She walked out the door, followed by Baralai. When they stepped outside, they were hit with a crisp breeze of cold air.

"Well, I'm glad I got my sweatshirt." She rubbed her arms. "You lead, remember, you know it better."

"Yeah, I know." She took his hand and walked alongside him. It never occurred to her at that very moment that Gippal could be there. He could be watching them as they walked along dirt paths.

"Smell that?" She asked him. He sniffed the air.

"Yeah, flowers."

"Yeah, lilacs. They're my favorite."

He looked at her puzzled. "Favorite?" He stopped. "Where did my Paine go? I never remembered her talking about flowers." Paine laughed and gave him a hug around the chest. "Here," He said, handing her a small branch with the tiny blooms on them. "Lilacs." She smiled.

"Thank you." She took the small bouquet and twirled it around between her index and thumb.

They continued to walk down the path until they emerged behind Baralai's office building.

"Oh, so that's how you found this place. You saw it out of your office window." He nodded.

"I've never walked on this path before. Ick, its 11:15. We should probably get going, huh?"

Together, Baralai and Paine walked back to the house, so Baralai could grab his keys, and then they drove off to Youth League HQ.

"With our luck, he won't be ready yet." Paine laughed.

"Knowing him." She agreed. They pulled into HQ just shy of 11:50.

"He's got 10 minutes." Baralai said as he unbuckled himself. He took Paine's hand as they walked into the Tent.

"Hello." Baralai said. Nooj looked up.

"Hey, you two." I'll be ready in a minute. I have to send this off with Elma, and then I'll be all set."

"That's fine, only because we have no idea where we are going." Baralai sat down and nodded to the seat next to him. Paine sat as well.

"I was thinking we could split up Spira in three groups. Like, Baralai, for instance, can take Besaid, Mushroom Rock Road, and Kilika. I can take, Mt. Gagazet, Thunderplains, and Djose. You, Nooj, can look in Mi'hen, Luca, and Guadosalam." Baralai nodded. "You can probably do it in any order. I was going to go to Gagazet first. Of course, I'd need a boat ride, so we'd just have to travel to Luca."

"Well, Baralai can just stay here." Nooj replied.

"No, I wanted to check Besaid. To ask Yuna if she had seen him by chance."

"Where did you want to look?" Paine asked Nooj.

"Well, I guess I could take Mi'hen. I could ride the boat all the way to Besaid, then just hike the whole trail."

"What are you going to do?" Baralai asked Paine. She looked down.

"I have no idea. None of those places are around Besaid, or at least bridged to, like Mi'hen is."

Baralai glanced at Nooj, asking for help.

"You can always buy a ticket at the port in Besaid." Nooj said. Baralai mouthed "Thank you" to him. Nooj winked.

"Yeah, I think that'd work." Paine smiled.

"Well. Let's go." Nooj stood up. He folded the paper in an envelope and left it on Elma's desk. Baralai took Paine out to the hover and folded the back seats up.

"Is it alright if you sit back there? I don't think Nooj can get back there." Paine smiled as she saw Nooj come out, limping on his cane. Every time she saw him, she noticed that he was getting slightly better.

"Yeah, that'd be fine." She hopped in the back and sat behind Baralai.

"Just don't give me a hickey" He whispered as Nooj got in. She hit him on the shoulder. He chuckled. "So, off to Luca?" Everyone nodded. Paine buckled herself in, but leaned forward so she was in between them.

"Out of curiosity, how long are we going to be gone?" Paine asked.

"Well, I got a week out of work. So I'll be out for about a week." Nooj said.

"I got two weeks." Baralai smiled.

"I can be out for a week at most," Paine said. "Maybe two. But what should we do if one of us finds him?"

"Do you have your commsphere on you?" Baralai asked. Paine felt in her pocket. The small device acted like a cell phone.

"I have mine."

"So do I." Nooj replied.

They traveled for about 10 minutes more before they arrived in Luca. Baralai pulled his hover into a parking spot, and then paid for a week's worth of parking. Next, he bought three tickets to Besaid. Nooj and Paine took a seat next to the fountain.

"Alright, here. The guy said only the three of us were going. Everyone must be at the beaches in Kilika." He handed each of them their ticket. "The boat leaves at 12:30, meaning we should probably get on it now." They nodded and began to walk towards the ports. Baralai pulled Paine to his side and held her around her waist.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"Nothing. I just don't want to be separated for a week or two."

"It won't be that long. It'll go by in a flash." They gave the ticket person their tickets and walked into the cabins.

"I call north." Paine laughed.

"Why's that?" Nooj asked.

"So the sun won't wake her up early." Baralai laughed. He chose the door next to hers. The cabins were small. Only a cot bed and a bathroom. Paine smiled and started to beat on the wall. She could hear Baralai on the other side, laughing. Soon, he started too beat also, then stopped She jumped straight up when Baralai stormed in.

"Baralai! Don't scare me like that!" She laughed. He started to walk closer to her, his face was dead serious. "Baralai, what's wrong?" She stopped laughing completely. He stood two feet away, locking his eyes with hers. After an odd minute, he smiled and tackled her, pinning her on the floor. "Ah! What was that for! You scare the living crap out of me." She pushed him up arms-length away from her.

"That would be payback." He smiled and kissed her on the tip of her nose.

"Payback? For what?"

"For banging on my wall." He whispered.

"Where's Nooj?"

"He's in his cabin." Baralai ran a finger through her hair. He smiled when he saw the make-up on the corner of her neck. "So, I did give you one, didn't I?" She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you did. There's a reason why I should get payback." She smiled. "Then again, I can always bang on your─" Her sentence was interrupted by Baralai passionately kissing her on the lips. She could feel herself melt from underneath him. His lips were so warm and soft, and she had no other choice than to give in and kiss him back. She could feel him slip a hand under her neck to help pull her up to the sitting position. Paine was now on his lap. Both of her arms clung around his neck. His hands held her up, right at the waist. Soon after, she pulled away and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. He hugged her, pulling her closer into his broad chest.

"I love you so much Paine. I'd give up all of Spira to be by your side." She closed her eyes, burying her face into his chest.

"I love you too. So, so much." She opened her eyes to see what looked like the top of someone's head outside her window. She sat up and squinted. The hair was blonde.

"What?" Baralai whispered into her ear.

"Someone's watching us." Paine slowly crept to the window, but by the time she got there, the person was gone. All that was left was a piece of paper. She unwrapped it and read it.

"What does it say?" She turned back to him and sat next to him. This didn't help much, since he pulled her back into his lap.

"It says 'I'M TELLING'" She looked up at Baralai, who was staring down at the small piece of paper. "Whoever it was saw our little make-out scene there."

"I wonder what it means." Baralai said.

"I bet it's someone's sick joke." She ripped it up and got up to toss it out the window. The boat was now just leaving the docks, off towards Besaid.