Look at this! An update! An update! Blimey. Well, thank yooou to all you lovely people who read my last chapter, and a slightly bigger thank you to those who reviewed. Face it, we love reviews. We do. Isn't it marvy? Did I have two chapters the same in this story? Well I deleted one anyway.

Don't you love it when people say, 'Gippal winked'. It's like, the guy has one eye. How can you tell?

…:…

Gippal tried to swallow again, but found that he just couldn't quite do it. He felt so sick, he thought he might actually faint. He wouldn't mind fainting actually; it would give him some time to postpone the inevitable. He stumbled into the shopping centre again, making his way over to the little chapel, where he'd arranged to meet Rikku. His palms were slick with sweat, no matter how many times he wiped them on his jeans. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, and quickly spotted Rikku waiting for him. His stomach lurched as she spun round to meet him. She looked nice, but Gippal was too busy trying to remember to breathe to think about that. He looked down at her and gave her a lopsided smile. She grinned back at him.

They hadn't told their friends what they were doing; Rikku said it should be 'a surprise'. She reached up and took his hands in hers. She smiled up at him and asked, "Ready?"

…:…

Paine and Yuna sat on the sun loungers by the pool, Paine reading a book and Yuna watching Tidus and Baralai splash about in the water. It was another warm evening, and the four of them had headed out to relax and cool down. But Paine was finding it hard to concentrate on her book with Yuna stopping her every five minutes to check on her tan. Yuna flicked lazily at her skin, brushing away a nearby fly. She shielded her eyes from the sun and glanced back up at Tidus. She smiled at the two boys messing around, and nudged Paine.

"Look," she told her, "Any minute now, that old lady's going to start hitting them. See how worked up she's getting?"

Paine lowered her book and looked across at the murderous grandmother giving the boys evil eyes. She raised her eyebrows. "What have they done?" she asked Yuna. Yuna smiled and pointed at Tidus.

"Every time he does a back flip, she gets soaked with water. And every time he," she said, pointing at Baralai, "Throws the ball to Tidus, he misses and hits her. To be honest, I can see her point," she added, as the woman unleashed a torrent of abuse on the other two. Paine smirked beside her and put her book down on the floor.

"Hey, have you seen Rikku?" she asked softly.

"No, not for a while actually. Hey Paine, look, do you think my arm looks tanned?" she asked, holding her arm out for Paine to see. Paine studied it before shrugging helplessly at Yuna. Yuna's face fell and she held her bikini straps up to see if there was any difference in her skin tone.

"I was so sure I was getting strap marks!" she said angrily. Paine smiled to herself. She yawned then stretched.

"I think I might go inside," she said, "just for a little while- oh!" Paine gasped, as the lady that had been yelling at Baralai and Tidus fell in the water. Yuna looked, and giggled as Tidus swam under to rescue her, and she started hitting him as he dragged her up. Yuna looked fondly at them, before agreeing with Paine. "Yeah, why don't we?"

…:…

Gippal glanced over at the chapel that stood before them. He cleared his throat and felt his body start shaking. 'I think I'm actually going to cry!'

He looked back at Rikku and opened his mouth. All that came out was a strangled noise, and he stopped, swallowed and took a deep breath. 'Say no. Tell her no! PLEASE, TELL HER NO!' He opened his mouth again, and looked her straight in the eyes.

…:…

"Jeez!" grumbled Tidus. "You try and do a nice thing for someone, and that's how they repay you! I mean honestly, who would do that?" he cried, rubbing his bruised face.

"I agree, hitting you was a bit much, but I can see why she did it." Baralai said cheerfully, enjoying his friend's pain.

"Can you? I can't!" Tidus moaned. He looked sorrowfully at his friend. Baralai made a face and pushed his hand against Tidus' forehead, making him stumble back.

"Stop pouting. You look like Rikku."

"Good!" Tidus cried out childishly. He frowned then. "Did Gippal and Rikku make up?" he asked. Baralai paused.

"I don't know…" he said thoughtfully. Tidus shrugged.

"Well, whatever. Ooh, wanna play on the pinball machine?" he asked happily. Baralai nodded. As they walked over Baralai noticed Paine and Yuna sitting at the bar in the lounge. It was darker inside, and his eyes took their time adjusting to the light. The lounge was full of deep red sofas, mahogany chairs and stools, not to mention other people buzzing and milling around. Baralai felt a little fazed by the amount of people you get crowded in Bevelle. Besaid was much quieter. Tidus however seemed completely at home as he rushed over, not even noticing the girls. Baralai rolled his eyes at his friend, and told Tidus he was going to grab them some drinks. He walked over to Yuna and Paine, and rested his hand on Paine's back, smiling at her as she turned gracefully round. She smiled gently back, and Yuna gave him a little wave.

"What do you want, Lai?" Yuna asked.

"Two cokes, please. We're just over there," he said, pointing over to where Tidus was roaring in victory at the poor man he'd just beaten. He laughed softly as Yuna ordered the drinks for them. Paine surveyed the vintage movie posters framed around the lounge. They were sat nearest the one advertising the classic film; 'Breakfast at Bevelle', starring Yunalesca. She smiled slightly, and took a long sip of her lemonade. She glanced down at her watch. 19.15. She had last seen Rikku at 16.35. Where could she be?

"Baralai, when did you last see Gippal?" she asked. Baralai turned back to her and frowned.

"Hmm… well, about an hour ago I suppose. He was doing his hair in our room. As usual." Yuna spun round when she heard.

"Gippal's hair isn't natural?" she cried. Baralai looked at her strangely.

"Yuna… I hate to break it to you, but… well; Gippal uses enough gel on his hair to keep the whole industry running! I'm sorry," he added, seeing her disappointment. Yuna shook her head.

"It's alright… I just always thought…"

"I know," Paine said, nodding. "We all did."

…:…

Tidus laughed happily as he won yet again against his opponent. He turned around to him and shook his hand.

"Good game, my friend," he said. He left the machine behind and wandered over to his friends.

"Hey, you didn't play Lai!" he said accusingly.

"Sorry," Baralai told him, before glancing back at Yuna. Tidus, noticing her stricken expression, asked. "Hey… you ok?"

"She will be," Baralai said, before tugging on his friends arm and leading him away.

"Have you noticed that Rikku and Gippal have been missing a while?" he asked.

"Hmm…" Tidus said. He looked back at Baralai and shrugged. "I suppose so. You don't think she's finally killed him, do you?" Baralai thought about this for a minute.

"No…" he answered eventually. "No, she'd have been back by now, telling Yuna and Paine all about how she did it. Maybe they got back together again," Baralai suggested. Tidus grinned dirtily.

"Ah, I see what you're saying," he said, nudging Baralai.

"No, you really don't." Baralai sighed. Paine and Yuna stood up and walked over to them.

"Yuna just tried to ring Rikku; no answer." Paine informed them. Tidus clocked Yuna's worried expression.

"Well," he said, acting as the leader of the group, "I think Gippal and Rikku will most likely be together. Split up and look for them?" he asked. The other three stared at him. Paine shook her head in wonder. Never did she think she'd see the day; Tidus being sensible. After recovering, Baralai agreed with him, and they decided the two of them would search around the strip while the girls searched the hotel, then if they didn't find anything, head over to the shopping centre to look together there.

…:…

Tidus pushed his face up against another dirty window, smearing his mouth all over it. Baralai grimaced in disgust. Tidus wrenched his face off the glass and turned back to Baralai.

"Not in that one," he said, gesturing to the greasy café they had eaten in for breakfast. Baralai sighed and scuffed his shoe against the floor. He looked up and squinted against the setting sun at the strip, looking out for any signs of blond, spiky hair. Tidus shook his head and looked in the other direction, for any petite, mad blondes dashing around; possibly with an axe. They looked back at each other and Tidus shrugged. He took his phone out and rang Paine.

"See if the girls had better luck," he told Baralai.

…:…

Yuna checked again in their room, even under the beds and in the bathroom.

"There not in here…"

"Weren't in the boys' room…"

"Or the lounge," Yuna added. "Or the pool, corridors, restaurant…"

"Basically," Paine interrupted, "they're not in the hotel." She sighed and glanced back in their room. She was going to murder those two when the found them. Yuna blew her fringe out of her face and leaned against the wall.

"Shopping centre?" she asked. Paine started to nod when he phone started ringing. She reached into her pocket and answered it. After a few seconds she snapped it shut and looked back at Yuna.

"Shopping centre," she confirmed.

…:…

"Yes, Gippal?" Rikku asked him. She was starting to get a bit worried about him, he was looking quite ill. Gippal closed and opened his mouth a few more times, making Rikku giggle. He looked just like a goldfish.

"Yes?" she prompted. Gippal stared helplessly at her and shrugged weakly.

"Are you ready?" she asked again, tilting her head in the direction of the chapel. Gippal looked at it, then back at her. He opened his mouth one last time.

"… Yes…" he squeaked in defeat. Rikku stared hard at him for a few seconds, before smirking, which eventually turned into full blown laughter. Gippal stared incredulously at her. Was she insane? 'Should I get help?' Rikku stopped laughing as quickly as she'd started. 'Did I say that out loud?! Did she hear me?' he thought. Rikku smiled and shook her head at him.

"Oh, Gippal," she said, before laughing a little again, "I can't believe you were about to marry me. Do you really think I want to get married now?!" she asked. Gippal felt all the blood come back into his face, and suddenly the world seemed a better place. He smiled at her, relieved. Then stopped in case it was a trick. He regarded her cautiously.

"You don't?" he asked, making sure.

"Of course not! I just wanted to see if you would've gone through with it. I guess you really do love me, huh?" she asked, smirking at him. He looked hard at her, before breaking into a relieved grin. He shook his head and wrapped her in a bear hug.

"Oh thank you for not making me marry you! Thank you! Thank you!" he cried, overcome with happiness.

"Ok, alright, don't over do it. Jeez Gippal, this is how you got into this mess in the first place- are you crying?" she asked in wonder.

"Tears of joy, Rix. Tears of joy." Rikku shook her head at him again, and smiled up at him. Gippal grinned back; he was so relieved it was just a trick. He was too happy to even be annoyed.

"Tell me you like my dress," she instructed him. Gippal looked at her properly. She had a cute, plain white mini dress on. It made her look incredibly tanned. He started to get a sneaking suspicion that she did this whole thing just to be able to wear it. Still, he smiled at her and told her, "It's lovely." She smiled back and wrapped her arms around his waist, as he kissed the top of her head.

"There they are!" they heard a voice shout, and looked over to see Tidus barrelling over to them at top speed.

"Losers!" he cried out, "We've been looking for you! Why didn't you answer your phones? Why didn't you tell us where you were going? Did you make up? Oh, finally!" he said, glaring at them.

"Sorry Tidus!" Rikku said, untangling herself from Gippal to give him a hug. Tidus stopped being angry and smiled happily at her.

"C'mon, me and the others want to go find a nice place to eat!" he said, letting Rikku slip forwards to join the girls. Baralai joined them, and they both gave Gippal a strange look.

"Hey, what were you doing anyway?" Tidus asked him.

"Don't ask, Tidus. It's still too painful to talk about." Gippal told them, as they exchanged looks. Baralai mouthed, just don't ask at Tidus. Tidus nodded and they left the air conditioned mall to be hit with the hot and heavy air. Tidus' stomach rumbled, and he looked excitedly about, eager for food.

"We passed a nice looking Al Bhed place on the way over," he said loudly. "I want to eat there!"

"We could, or there's a nice, old little restaurant that's only about twenty minutes away," Baralai suggested.

"But that's ages!" Tidus whined. Baralai rolled his eyes. Rikku stopped suddenly and swung round to Tidus.

"Just for that we're going to the far away one!" she scolded, waving her finger in front of his face. Yuna smiled and pushed her fringe back off her face. She was enjoying this holiday way too much for it to end. She hummed and linked arms with Paine, who awkwardly did so back. Yuna glanced behind them and saw Rikku had also linked arms with Gippal and Tidus, who was dragging Baralai into it too. The six of them ambled along, five of them completely ignoring Tidus' whingeing.

…:…

Yuna forked a mouthful of spicy spaghetti down her throat and subtly transferred a large tomato from her plate to Rikku's. Rikku stabbed at it with her fork and shoved it in her mouth, without even looking to see what it was. A week had gone by and they were on their last night here. They had all packed up their suitcases and were ready to load them into the car early in the morning. It was time to move on, and for the next two weeks they would be spending their time in Zanarkand. They finished up their meal, settled the bill and wondered back to their hotel.

"Bye hotel lobby," Rikku said sadly. "Bye hotel reception. Bye hotel restaurant. Bye hotel pool. Bye hotel elevator, and goodbye hotel corridors." Rikku ran her hand affectionately on the walls as the girls walked back to their room. She opened her mouth again but was cut off bye Paine.

"Rikku I swear, shut your mouth now and don't open it until tomorrow. Alright?"

"Ok…" Rikku sighed. Yuna idly twiddled a strand of hair round her finger and stood looking wonderingly around her as Paine unlocked their door. They trudged in and Yuna flopped down onto her bed, picked up a magazine she had left on the floor and started leafing through it, not bothering to read anything. She felt too fed up to concentrate, and the evening air was sticky and bearing down on them. She chucked the magazine back down and just spread out on her bed instead. Paine crossed the room and opened all the windows she could, while Rikku switched the air conditioning onto full. Paine leant out of a window and sucked in a lungful of clammy, warm air. She backed away in disgust and sat underneath the window instead.

"I need to get out of this room!" Rikku whined.

"We just got into the room," Yuna pointed out, still looking up at the ceiling. She wondered whether it would be cooler underneath her bed.

"But I can't stand it," she replied, her lower lip jutting out and her eyes taking on just the right amount of teary-ness. Yuna, who couldn't see this, was immune to their power, so she happily ignored Rikku and flexed her arms out in front of her.

"C'mon you guys, please? I'm dying here!" she added. Yuna started to count the freckles on her arm.

"It's just too much," Rikku tried one last time, her voice catching. Paine sighed and pushed herself up.

"It would give the air-conditioning a chance to cool our room down. Maybe we should go out," she said reasonably.

"Where?" Yuna asked, still not convinced enough to sit up.

"Let's go into town! Go to a club or a bar or something!" Rikku chirped, happy to have been noticed at last.

"We're not old enough to drink," Yuna put in again.

"Doesn't matter if we can find someone to buy them for us. And no one cares enough to check in a busy club!"

"For once, she's right. And I can't listen to another minute of her anyway. I'll come out. Yuna?" Paine turned to her. Yuna lay there for a second, contemplating her options. Go out, have fun, cool off. Stay here and hope to pass out at some point. A mosquito flew in through the open window and hovered above her, humming just above her nose. She watched the heat weave around its wings. She closed her eyes for a second, and breathed out deeply. She heaved herself into a sitting position and swung her legs down onto the floor.

"I'll come," she said.

"Peer pressure, works every time," Rikku smirked to Paine.

…:…

"I'm sweaty!" Rikku yelled into Yuna's ear, wrapping a sticky arm round her neck.

"What?" Yuna screamed, straining to hear above the pounding music. The beats vibrated up her legs, through her body. The music had a funky vibe, and Yuna's hips were swaying in time all by themselves.

"I'm HOT!" Rikku shrieked.

"I'll say," a passing man commented. They went into hysterics, clinging to each for support. Yuna tried to untangle herself and carry on dancing, but the club was packed with people, and they sandwiched her in and blocked her movements. Rikku managed to escape by ducking down and re-appearing again to Yuna's left. She linked her moist fingers with Yuna's and stuck her elbows out, forcing a path through to the bar. Yuna got dragged behind her, dodging and darting out of people's way, narrowly missing getting hit in the face a few times. The flung themselves out of the crowd and onto two free bar stools, and Yuna climbed gratefully up onto it. She bent down and leant her forehead on the cool metal counter. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears, keeping time with the music. She could feel her cheeks on fire, and sweat prickling on her face. She lifted her head and put a hand to her cheek. It was like two infernos on the side of her nose. Rikku vaulted up onto the stool next to her and whipped out a makeup bag from her clutch. She tipped out a mirror and set it up, then got out six different pots and proceeded to remove the shine from her nose, powder her face into perfect matt condition, redo her eyeshadow and eyeliner, apply blusher and finally put on a layer of lipstick followed by lip-gloss. Yuna watched, stunned, as the whole ritual was over and done in two minutes flat. Rikku tipped the whole lot back in and shoved it into her impossibly tiny bag, easily.

"Where's Paine?" Rikku asked, swivelling round to Yuna and catching her off guard, as she was still trying to work out just how she had done it. Confused, she shook her head and shrugged. Rikku stretched her neck and peered about, and Yuna giggled at her.

"You look like a meerkat," she told her. Rikku was just about to feel insulted when she spotted Paine in the crowd nearby, swaying peacefully with the crowd.

"Dr P!" she screeched. Paine's eyes snapped open and found Rikku immediately. Unnerved by Paine's stare, Rikku shrunk back slightly. Paine walked over to them, slipping through the crowd like water.

"What's up?" she asked them, swirling her crimson eyes to Yuna. Yuna was getting irritable again, the heat made everything more intense, and she wasn't enjoying it. She gestured that she was thirsty, not bothering to try and compete with the noise anymore.

"And hot," Rikku added, her voice getting drowned out slightly.

"Let's go outside," Paine said, leaning in to them so she could be heard. They nodded, and Yuna slid off the stool, the plastic sticking to her thighs and ripping back painfully. She smoothed the hem of her dress down and followed Paine, who had somehow trickled her way through wall of bodies, heaving and thrusting from all directions. She stuck close, with Rikku tucked in neatly behind her, and they came out the other side in a matter of seconds. Paine pushed open the heavy door and they stumbled out into the burning night. The humidity wrapped itself around them like a blanket, stifling them. Paine yawned and looked at her watch. It was 1 o'clock in the morning already, and they had to be up early. She conveyed this back to the others, and they agreed to go back to the hotel.

"But I'm going late night swimming first," Rikku said forcefully.

"No skinny dipping," Yuna scolded, though privately she was agreeing to swimming, they needed to cool off.

"Let's go," Paine monotoned, turning and walking up the strip in the direction of their hotel. Yuna and Rikku trudged after her. They stopped off at an all-night petrol station, buying three bottles of chilled water. Yuna squinted against the harsh strips of lighting as she dropped her money onto the plastic counter. She twisted the lid off and tipped the water down her throat. It was refreshing, and it felt damn good against the dry heat in the shop.

"Air-conditioning broke last night," the man behind the till had informed them. Rikku flicked through a magazine, the glaring light reflecting off the glossy pages. Paine watched the till guy watching Yuna, and wondered if she could use his obvious interest to their advantage, and bag themselves a few free snacks. And possibly those aviator sunglasses hanging up on the counter, next to the rapidly melting chocolate bars. She'd already tried them on thought they'd quite suited her. She coyly slunk her arm around Yuna's waist and held up the sunglasses.

"Can I have these?" she asked, innocently.

"Take 'em," he said, trying desperately to catch Yuna's eye.

"Thanks," Paine said, and steered her friends out of the shop and back into the night. Yuna flicked a few drops of her water onto her face. Rikku looked over at Paine, who was wearing her freebie in victory. She strode ahead, eager to jump into the swimming pool.

…:…

Yuna peeled her clinging dress of her skin, threw it down onto the floor and dipped her toes into the water. It was freezing. Lovely. Stripped down to her bra and pants, she sunk into the pool and submerged her head completely. She stayed there for a few seconds, cold water swishing round her. She slowly came back up to the surface to see Paine floating on her back, and Rikku about to splash her. Yuna kicked herself back down to the bottom and looked up at the surface. Water flooded her nose and the chlorine stung her eyes, but only a little. She opened her mouth and exhaled, watching the bubbles float up. Rikku suddenly loomed into her vision. Yuna jumped and a stream of bubbles escaped from her mouth. She broke up to the surface again, sucking in a lungful of air and water. She spluttered while Paine ignored her and Rikku laughed at her.

"Not funny," Yuna pouted. They swam around for a while longer, before they climbed out of the pool and stood dripping on the edge. They pulled on their clothes again, and the wet material stuck to them. They walked back into the lobby and pressed the button for the elevator. Yuna shifted her toes through the soft carpet as they waited. The lift came down and the doors opened. Rikku said a final goodbye to the pool and they stepped into the elevator to take them to their rooms.

…:…

"C'mon girls, rise and shine!" Gippal's voice came floating through the door, and his fists pounded on the wood. Rikku opened first one eye, then the other. Her hair was sticking to her face, and she pushed her hand over her sweaty forehead.

"Dammit," she hissed, "it's even hotter than yesterday!" She rolled over onto her back, and looked across at Yuna and Paine. Paine was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, sat up in bed, while Yuna had her face buried in the soft pillows. Rikku swung her legs onto the floor. She shook her head slowly, and the smell of chlorine hit her. She swore quietly, remembering how she'd neglected to wash off the swimming pool water last night. She fingered her hair anxiously. It was dry and crispy. She slid her eyes over to Paine, who was just feeling her own hair. In a split second Rikku had shot across the room and was slamming and locking the bathroom door. Paine threw herself against it as Rikku was stepping into the shower and sluicing off sweat and chlorine. She had been beaten. Paine walked over to her bed again and glanced over at Yuna, who was smirking.

"Should've washed it last night. I told you to!" Yuna said with smug glee, having hopped straight into the shower on their return to the room. Paine tutted and looked at the clock.

"C'mon Rikku!" she roared. She would have less than 5 minutes to wash. But Rikku's voice could be heard through the downpour of water, singing and carefree. Paine fidgeted for a moment, before decidedly grabbing one of last nights half full waters, and ripping open the window. She stuck her head and improvised a shower. Water and the smell of chlorine smacked the pavement below, soaking several very un-amused hotel guests. Rikku sauntered out at this moment, cheerful and with a healthy, just washed glow. Paine glowered at her as the boys started hammering on the door.

…:…

"That's the last one," Tidus said, lifting Rikku's suitcase into the car boot, and slamming it down. He climbed into the back of the car and nodded at Paine, who started up the engine.

"Ok, it's a ten hour drive to Zanarkand, so I suggest four of us drive for two hours each, and the last two drives for one hour. I think Rikku and Gippal should drive for one hour each, because Gippal's an idiot and Rikku gets bored easily. Ok?" Baralai said, to the agreement of all except Gippal, who instantly became offended and started sulking, his bottom lip jutting out, until Tidus told him he looked like a girl when he pouted. Paine rolled her eyes and pulled away, as Yuna rolled the window down and put her head out, squinting her eyes up against the wind. Baralai flicked through the car CD's as they drove onto the main road, and towards the city that never sleeps.

…:…

Drink it up. Drink it up like lemonade on a summer's day. And a review wouldn't go amiss either.