"Oh for fuck's sake, Gip, make the ground stop moving!" Tidus moaned. He was sitting on what was left of the stage with his head between his knees. He and Gippal were trying to get the equipment broken down and packed up before the heat got to them. It was fairly early the following morning and Gippal was doing a far better job of hiding his hangover.

"Wish I could, buddy," Gippal shook his head with a slight smile on his lips. Tidus fell onto his back and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"Who DRINKS like this?! How do you people party on a nightly basis?!" Tidus whined.

"Us people as in Al Bhed?" Gippal smirked a bit at Tidus's unintentional Yevonite slurring.

"You and Rikku can party like it's your job! That girl goes out on a nightly basis and gets all sorts of drunk!" Tidus's voice was scratching it's way up his throat. His legs were limp, his feet dangling over the edge of the stage. Gippal tightened his jaw at the thought of Rikku partying every night without him. With plenty of other eligible young bachelors. He wasn't going to get mad. Not right now and not over this.

"Well, for one, we're built for the desert and don't get dehydrated as easily as the rest of you," Gippal began, reaching into his pack that was resting against a speaker on the ground. "Also? Like everything else in our society," He pulled out a potion for Tidus. "Our medicine is more advanced than yours."

"Hey, man. I'm not from here," Tidus sat up a bit to take Gippal's offer.

"And it shows," Gippal half smiled as Tidus downed the meds. He shook his head vigorously and seemed to be coming back to the norm.

"Hey fellas. Buddy wants to get out of here, we've got a bit of a ride to Kilika and he's getting pissy and antsy," Paine strolled up to the pair. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was being her usual standoffish self.

"Hey!" Gippal looked up at her with a smile.

"What." she said flatly.

"If it isn't my very favorite, beautiful, wise, not even KIND OF GAY friend Paine!" He slung his arm around her shoulder. She stared back at him for a few moments, then swatted his arm off and gave him a shove.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She grumbled.

"Nothing. Look, I'm sorry about last night, and, well," Gippal scratched the back of his neck and looked for words, stretching and appearing obviously uncomfortable with an apology. "Sorry that I MAY HAVE implied in a few humorous situations that you're a lesbian," he finally got out in a huff.

"You're not forgiven," she replied, monotone.

"Be that as it may, Mr. Yuna is hung over as all hell and I'm shit outta luck here. Can you help me with all this?" Gippal asked her quietly.

"I can HEAR YOU!" Tidus called over to them.

"Shut up," Paine and Gippal snapped in unison.

"I'll help you out. You owe me one. But I'll do it," Paine sighed, trying very hard not to smile.

"Do you have everything, Sweetpea?" Lulu asked Rikku over her shoulder as she dropped the last of the dirty breakfast dishes in the sink to be washed.

"Oh yeah. We're all packed up!" Rikku had her bag in one hand and was roughing up Vidina's hair with her other. He was wrapped around her leg, thumb in mouth, giving her sad eyes about leaving.

"Looks like someone wants to come with you," Lulu smiled as she turned around.

"Aw, I know it's going to be totally fun, little guy, but we're going to be up way past your bedtime pretty much every night," Rikku bent down to pick the child up. He hugged his arms around her narrow shoulders and rested her head against her chest. "Think he likes me?" Rikku joked.

"I'd certainly say so!" Lulu crossed to the pair, running an affectionate hand down Vidina's back.

"Thanks for everything, Lulu. Really. It was so wonderful to get to see you all again," Rikku smiled sincerely. It made Lulu melt into her warmest smile yet.

"Of course, Rikku. You know that you are always welcome here," Lulu reminded her softly but sternly.

"Of course, I know that!" Rikku laughed.

"Good. I know someone that's going to be real disappointed if you don't come by more often and play!" Lulu spoke in a childish voice to Vidina who giggled and hugged Rikku tighter.

"I'll try, but I'm going to be busy for a few weeks," Rikku laughed again. "You and Wakka are coming to the final show at New Home at the end of the month, right?" Rikku looked hopefully up at Lulu.

"We wouldn't miss it for anything, my child!" Lulu grinned. "Now go on and get ready, you've got quite the journey ahead of you," Lulu nodded her head towards the door.

"Lulu," Rikku rolled her eyes. "I've been on way worse journeys than THIS. I think I can handle a month on the Celsius with Paine and Yuna."

"That I'm certain of," Lulu chuckled. "But the journey I'm talking about is not the physical one."

"What?" Rikku wrinkled her nose and cocked her head. What was Lulu going on about now?

"I think you know, Sweetling," Lulu patted Rikku's head. "Do me a favor and listen to what your heart says and not your head," Lulu paused. "Or your cousin." she added as an afterthought.

"What?! Lulu!" Rikku snapped, blushing instantly.

"Your heart, Rikku," Lulu pointed a finger at her. "Any love that was once true can never be completely lost. Keep your head on straight, your heart open and your legs crossed," Lulu said firmly. Rikku's jaw fell in shock. "Well, for as long as humanly possible of course," Lulu broke into a sly grin.

"LULU!" Rikku was till gasping.

"I'm smarter than I look, Honey. You'd do well to heed my advice," the older woman smirked. "Now. Give me back my beautiful baby and get that narrow behind back to the Celsius. They can't leave without you!" Lulu reached out for Vidina and he climbed into her arms.

"Thank you, Lulu. So much," Rikku gave Lulu an earnest hug, slightly complicated by the son in her arms. "I just wish you could come with us!" Rikku whined.

"Oh come now, I'm not nearly as much fun as I used to be. You kids stay up far to late for me," Lulu brushed off Rikku's shoulders and fixed her hair in a motherly way, all the while with a broad smile on her dark lips. "You know you can always call if you need something, anything. Even if it's just to talk," Lulu reminded the younger girl.

"Yes, I know. And thank you," Rikku replied honestly.

"Beautiful." Lulu kissed Rikku's cheek. "Now get a move on!" she ushered Rikku out the door and she and Vidina waved goodbye, watching until their friend was out of sight down the road.

"So, ah, you think you could put the moves on Rikku so that Buddy will stop being and idiot?" Paine asked, out of breath and she and Gippal dropped the last case in the engine room.

"What?!" Gippal yelped.

"Shut up. Don't tell me that you and the mage were too drunk to notice." Paine gave him a look.

"Again," Gippal looked back at her. "WHAT?!"

"This whole innocent act of pride and ignorance is very cute and all, but seriously, Gippal. How long do you intend to leave her alone?" Paine snapped.

"Forever! She wants me to," he looked away. Paine stared at him for a few moments, trying to decide if he was serious.

"OH , COME ON!" she cried, throwing her hands up once she decided he was.

"I need you to stop bothering me about this!" Gippal hissed. "I'm doing what I can! The rest is pretty much up to her," he snapped. Paine's eyes widened just slightly.

"What do you mean?" she asked slowly, eyeing him.

"I am trying to figure her and myself out. I don't know. Lulu and her deadly wine got me thinking," Gippal grumbled.

"And?" Paine pressed.

"And it's really none of your damn business," Gippal looked her up and down.

"Yes it IS!" Paine snapped, punching him in the arm.

"OW! HEY!" Gippal shot her a dirty look.

"I live with her! In very, very, close proximity, need I remind you, and contrary to popular belief I don't completely loathe everything. She falls under that very small umbrella of things I can tolerate and sometimes even want to tolerate. You've been part of my life forever now and whether I like it or not I have to live with you, too!" Paine snapped at him in a quiet but fierce voice. "So if I am going to carry on living the way I like to, which means doing what I want when I want with few to no distractions along with plenty of 'me-time' I am going to need you two to be happy so you don't bother ME about it. Understand?!" She whacked him in the chest.

"Wow, Dr. P," Gippal smiled at her. "The truth comes out. You DO have a soul!"

"Shut up!" she snapped. "Do yourself a favor and get your ass in gear," she pointed at him as she stalked out of the engine room.

"Wow!" Rikku cried out involuntarily as they strolled down the docks of Kilika Port away from the airship. "Look at this place! I haven't been here in months!"

"It's really shaping up around here, huh?" Paine glanced side to side. The old structures of Kilika had been rebuilt after Sin's attack a few years ago, but now that Spira was united, a lot of Al Bhed filtered into Kilika. A lot of simple but effective machina was combined with the standing structures. There were a lot of pipes hidden against the docks that lead to indoor plumbing. The huts were connected with power cables now and there were basic light fixtures indoors and out. The Al Bhed were ecstatic to experiment with the raw power of the ocean. They never got the opportunity in the desert. Many of the larger buildings had slowly turning waterwheels outside them churning out power for large portions of the city.

"Gippal, this is really some nice work you've done," Yuna turned to him with an honest smile. It made him uncomfortable. He was trying to politely blend into the back of the pack.

"Thank you," he muttered.

"What is that all about?" Rikku whispered to Paine.

"You're welcome. It really is great to see the Machine Faction's advancements all over Spira," Yuna smiled a perfect political smile at him.

"This is his work?" Rikku whispered quickly at Paine again. She was eyeballing all of the constructions and designs. They were annoyingly flawless. Her green eyes darted all over the place as they walked, checking every pipe joint, hinge angle and mounting work. The handiwork was all perfect.

"Yeah, The Kilika Advancement was actually one of his biggest projects a while back," Paine replied nonchalantly. "It was all being finalized when you two were breaking up."

"He never mentioned it," Rikku trailed off, disappointed. Her eyes were still glued on the craftsmanship on the systems of pumps and waterwheels.

"It was kind of a secret," Paine shrugged it off as if this were all common knowledge.

"So how do YOU know about it?" Rikku hissed, trying to keep her voice down. Jealousy always made her louder.

"He asked me to be a part of it," Paine looked straight ahead to avoid smirking at Rikku's shocked expression.

"What!" Rikku snapped.

"It seemed his first choice wasn't speaking to him at the time," Paine couldn't fight the grin now.

"Wait a minute," Rikku whispered.

"Yes?"

"He wanted me to help with his biggest-"

"Yes."

"But he didn't because I was-"

"Yes."

"So he asked you to be-"

"Yes."

"And you said no?" Rikku hissed, this time looking up at Paine.

"I already have a job," Paine shrugged after a few beats of silence. "Two, if you count telling Baralai how not to fuck up the unified council a few times a month."

"Gullwings!" A strong low voice cried out as they approached the bustling center of town. "How wonderful it is to have you all here!"

"Thank you, Dona. It's a pleasure to see you as always!" Yuna smiled as she and Dona exchanged pleasantries.

"We've prepared a banquet in your honor! Please, we'd love to have you all join us for dinner." Dona gestured to a large hut behind her that had a few people coming and going.

"Thank you! We'd love to," Yuna replied, taking Tidus by the hand and heading in first. Dona paused to greet each of them as they entered. Gippal fell in behind Rikku. She watched over her shoulder as Dona kissed his cheek and spoke softly. The way she touched his arm and the way he looked uncomfortable made Rikku's stomach sink. She knew that look all too well.

They had totally slept together.

And it was good.