This chapter includes Yuna getting overexcited about simple things, Rikku and Gippal in a cliché moment, Brother being confronted, Yuna and Paine becoming secret agents, and Rikku having an emotional breakdown. Enjoy!

We're going to look in on Yuna and Paine now

Yuna stood up.

"Well, c'mon!" Yuna said briskly, jumping from the landing. Paine leaned on the railing.

"Where?" she asked, clearly not thrilled to see where this was going.

"Well, I wanna see Gippal kiss Rikku again! That was so sweet! He closed his eyes! Well, eye, but you know what I mean. And she blushed like CRAZY! I think he really loves her!" Yuna was obviously getting carried away, making elaborate hand motions. Barkeep and Paine stared blankly at the jumping bean. Brother had a crazed look in his eye, and Buddy looked slightly afraid of Yuna. Shinra's expression remained a mystery. Paine imagined Yuna had not seen people kiss often to know that both ends usually close their eyes.

"I'm sure this he that you and Rikku talk about closed his eyes when he kissed you." Paine said, still not buying into this plan. Yuna flinched back at what Paine said as though she had been pinch on her cheek, though she quickly recovered. "And besides, if he loves her I'm sure Rikku wouldn't want you getting involved in their relationship." Paine added on. "Besides, she was all he could ever talk about. I think they'll be just fine." She mumbled with a note of amusement.

"Hm? So you did know him!" Yuna said, pointing at Paine. Paine shrugged.

"Awhile ago. All he could talk about was Rikku and about how he was going to take her to all the places we went when he got back." She said more loudly so she could hear. Yuna stared up at her, her eyes glinting as if there was fire inside them.

"Come on! Please?" she said, clasping her hands together. Paine sighed.

"Alright, fine." She said, sighing and wondering what she was getting herself into. Yuna yelped and ran for the elevator, with a hurried explanation to Brother.

"If that Gippal is there give him a smack for me!" Brother called after Yuna. Paine turned to him.

"Why won't you do it yourself?" she asked. Brother froze for a moment.

"Because! I'm the only person keeping this ship from spinning out of control!" he stated in his thick accent that almost made Paine want to laugh. Almost.

"Then why are you here in the cabin?" Yuna said, coming back and waiting in the doorway for Paine. Brother turned back to his food and grunted, pretending he didn't understand. Yuna giggled and turned back to the elevator, Paine walking slowly there. Shinra and Buddy looked at each other momentarily until they continued eating as though nothing had happened, while Brother mumbled things in Al Bhed about "no good, ungrateful" something or others, mostly directed at Paine.

Rikku

Rikku walked slowly towards the temple, trying to make out who it was at the front. She passed one of the pillars when a hand snaked out and grabbed hers, spinning her around until she was somehow against the wall. She found herself staring up at Gippal, who put both his hands on the wall next to her shoulders so she couldn't slip away. Not that either of them were expecting her to.

"Surprise!" Gippal said, smiling at Rikku.

"Eh, not really. I could've seen it coming if I wasn't so worried about my latest interrogation." Rikku said, shrugging. Gippal seemed to look concerned, but he was also interested.

"Interrogation?" he repeated. She waved her hand in dismissal.

"Yunie wants to know about you."

"And did you tell her?" Gippal asked hopefully. Rikku frowned at him and looked down.

"No, not yet. If you don't want me to keep it a secret, I won't." she said. He grinned and shook his head.

"As long as I have you back, I don't care what happens." She and Gippal met each other halfway as Gippal slid his hands down and around her slender waist as Rikku put both her arms around his neck, pushing his head roughly closer to hers with her hand on the back of his head. One of his hands trailed down her hip to her thigh and held onto the edge of her khaki skirt. Rikku just knew there would be a dent in the pillar from where her head had been by how hard Gippal was pressing his lips against hers. He seemed slightly desperate. Like it would be a long time till he saw her again. She broke away from him and watched him apprehensively. She was taking deep breaths in a slight pant as he stared back at he, panting as well, though not as much as Rikku. After a moment, he seemed to realize what her look meant. He wrapped his arms around her so tightly she was sure that she would pop any second.

"You worry me running around out there with Brother and all those fiends at your ankles. And plus all these politics. I can't keep an eye on you like I used to." He said, his voice muffled by her hair. He kissed her head once then turned his head to rest his cheek on her soft hair. Rikku grinned and closed her eyes again, leaning the side of her head on his shoulder. She opened her eyes long enough to see a whirl of blue go behind a bush in a desperate attempt to hide. She sighed deeply and leaned fully against Gippal, causing him to tighten his grip and bit and take one step back.

"Something wrong?" he asked, stroking the back of her head as though trying to smooth down the mass of golden hair she had. She turned her head and talked into his heart beat.

"Mah 'riends hollowed meh 'ere…" (A/N: Translation- My friends followed me here. Even though I'm sure you could get that on your own, I had to cover my mouth with my hand to see how it sounded, hehe) she mumbled, closing her eyes. Her head jolted back a moment as Gippal laughed softly. Her nose bumped against his hard chest again when she came back.

"Eow…" she mumbled, rubbing her nose. That got Gippal to laugh harder than she had seen him laugh since she had first seen him after two years. She pushed him while slightly laughing herself. "It's not funny! How much work do you do? I think you bruised my nose." She said. His arms encased her, and Rikku realized she had given him quite an invitation.

"A lot. Wanna feel?" Gippal said with a Gippal-ish grin. Rikku pushed him off.

"Geroff me." She said, allowing Gippal to grab her hand and pull her into another warm hug anyway. He bent down his head and rested his forehead against hers. They stood like that for a few minutes, swaying their weight from side to side and staring into each others eyes until Gippal pulled Rikku down to sit against the wall. He wrapped his arm around her and she snuggled into him, desperately hoping she would fall asleep against him.

Back to Yuna and Paine, Yuna being a snoopy little… snoop

Yuna and Paine sneaked over to one of the bushes outside the temple and watched Rikku walking tentatively towards the temple.

"Where is he?" Yuna hissed, looking around frantically, until she saw Rikku get pulled into a dark corner. "Come on Paine!" Yuna said leaping out from behind the bush and running forward, fussing behind another so she could see the pair. Paine walked slowly to the bush, watching the ground so she wouldn't fall in one of the holes Gippal's crash landing machina made constantly. Yuna grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly down. She watched as Gippal kissed Rikku roughly. Yuna squealed and pawed at Paine's arm without turning her head. After a few minutes, they stopped and Rikku looked accusingly at Gippal. What? WHAT? Rikku? Kiss him! Yuna screamed in her mind. Then, Gippal hugged Rikku so tightly that even Yuna could see the pressure of it. Apparently what he whispered to her then satisfied her, and she snuggled closely into his arms.

Yuna hadn't realized she was standing up until Paine grabbed her wrist as Rikku opened her eyes. It seemed too late though. Rikku turned her head and said something to Gippal. He laughed shortly, causing Rikku to bump her nose against his chest. She didn't seem to notice that he put one hand under her chin and one on the back of her head to make sure he hadn't hurt her. Yuna felt herself smiling. They seemed like such a comical and ironic pair. Gippal took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her with a smirk on his face. Rikku pushed him, only to be pulled right back to him. Their foreheads rested against each others and Yuna watched as Rikku's eyes seemed to shine with the stars. From the way Gippal stared back at her, he seemed to think so too. Aww they definitely love each other!

"Paine we have to get them back together!" Yuna said, clenching her fists purposefully.

"Looks to me like they're "together"." Paine replied, watching them. "Look, they're moving." She said, as though she were watching a wild animal. (sarcastically, of course) Gippal and Rikku were leaning against the wall, staring up at the stars. At least, Gippal was. Rikku stared longingly at Gippal. He seemed to notice her stare and turned his head, putting two fingers under her chin and kissing her lightly. Her entire chest seemed to expand when he did, like she was taking a deep breath, and when he took his lips away from hers, she stared at him disbelievingly for a moment. Then, she turned away hugging her knees and buried her face in her arms. Gippal seemed to gape at her. Yuna did too. Was she crying?

"We should go." Paine said, pulling on Yuna's arm.

"But-!"

"Yuna! This is not something for us to eavesdrop on!" And that was the end of it as Paine marched away. Yuna reluctantly followed, looking back at the pair and mumbling ruefully,

"We couldn't even hear them…"

So why don't you stop and take a break, then?