(1,882 words) This is a double update so make sure you read the chapter before this as well. There was a problem that occurred not last update but the one before where no one noticed it had been a double update. May have confused some people.
Enjoy
Disclaimer: I don't own this
28) Good Idea
Paine was wakened by the sound of squawking birds outside; with weary eyes she lifted her head and glared at the window she'd left open. If she'd remembered to close it before she'd gone to REI's HQ the day before she could've had a wonderful sleep in. With a red face she laid her head back on Gippal's chest, on multiple occasions she'd woken at night and forgetting he was there, luckily she had shut her mouth before any screams of surprise could come out. She had no want to wake him, not now even despite that the sun had already risen.
She allowed sleep to take her to the world of dreams once again, the sun was barely over the horizon, it was early on a Sunday; she could chance this.
She woke up around nine, finding herself alone on the couch, curiously Paine propped herself up and scanned the room around her. Gippal was in the kitchen helping himself to what little food was in her cupboards.
"Remind me never to tell someone where my food goes." She sighed and jumped up off the couch and rounded the small coffee table to reach him.
"It goes in the cupboards of course, that wasn't a hard one." He joked, a cheeky grin present.
Paine rolled her eyes and dodged him to reach a cupboard full of glasses. "I meant which cupboards you idiot." She picked up a long glass and poured herself a cup of water.
He laughed at her annoyance, apologising. "I know I know, I'm not stupid."
"I know you're not." She said before finishing off the glass.
"Then why'd you say it?" He asked jokingly.
She took a glance up at him, over the edge of her empty glass, "Okay now you're being stupid."
He chuckled and dropped the subject. "Yeah yeah I know. So what are you planning to do today?"
Paine threw the glass in the sink and strode past him, into her room, still in earshot. "I have to go back to REI, I was supposed to be told something yesterday but the person who was supposed to tell me it wasn't there, he got sent on a mission because the person that was originally intended to be sent was injured. So I'm going to have to be told it today."
"So if what wasn't supposed happen didn't happen, why did you take hours?" He questioned with a mixture of hurt and honest interest.
Paine stopped her search for clean clothes on the floor of her room for a second to glance back at him, still standing on the same spot in the kitchen. A pang of guilt hit her for purposely taking so long to come home. When she was in a bad mood, it really was better for her to be by herself. So instead of hurting him she lied and said, "Well something else happened obviously." She groaned when her mind thought back to it, "The nerve of those people." She muttered.
Back in the kitchen Gippal heard the groan, but her words sounded indistinguishable at this distance. "What'd they say?"
Paine bit her lip as she begun to feel sick in the pit of her stomach, thinking about it sickened her; no way would she actually get it out of her mouth. It made her worries go into overdrive.
"I don't even want to think about it, "She replied truthfully, "I think it'd be better to just let me forget."
"Alright then." He replied, and returned to finding himself some breakfast. Glad he had stopped trying to pry; Paine resumed her search for clean clothes. She picked up a black singlet top and a crimson and brown halter skirt. She added a black leather belt to keep up her skirt which was too loose on her thin waist, and grey cuffs around her wrists.
She exited her room and went back to Gippal, nicking a piece of his toast.
"Hey!" He complained, she gave him one of her rare smiles and it made him shut up. Lazily she laid back on the bench, tilting her head with quizzical eyes.
"So where are you going today?" She questioned, knowing after she went out the door they'd have to separate. He'd already spent one whole day in her apartment; he wasn't going to spend another.
"Umm." He hummed, tapping the bench as he thought, "I guess I'll hang out with some of my 'friends'. They've been asking me to hang out for ages; I guess I might as well say yes for once before they drop me for someone who doesn't always refuse."
Paine nodded and pushed herself away from the counter. "I hate those people; they are so superficial, caring only about appearances. They probably hate everyone secretly, but because they look good together they make a group." She spat in disgust.
"I know, I hate them too, but if anyone is going to get hurt because of my connections I'd rather it be people like that instead of Rikku."
"Right." Paine inwardly sighed; Gippal would always look so dejected when he spoke of her. He ended their friendship when him and Paine started going out, fearing if it was ever discovered the people he knew would be hurt as well. He chose the least likeable group, because no one would truly care if they got into harm's way. It hurt him inside, they had been best friends, and he was more than aware that RIkku had feelings for him, which made him dread her ever having to find out about his relationship; she had to be thinking that Paine is creepy, just like everyone else.
"I'll see you later than?" She spoke up to rid them of the silence that had arisen. Gippal forced a smile and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Yeah, see you later."
...REVIEW...
Paine entered HQ around ten, and got out about half an hour later. What she had apparently needed to be told wasn't really anything at all, just an update on the situation. They had made progress with Mech and thanks to it had dealed with others connected to him. Still Paine felt like the progress they spoke about was utter shit. They had caught a large amount of the gang's members in only two months, but just like always when they made great progress, he would recruit more and they'd end up right back where they started.
It made her suspicious of a traitor; someone had to be assisting him. The police were clueless of the situation going on in the underground, but REI had far more skills than them, surely they should know more than they did at this point in time. Mech had made himself an enemy to them years ago, when he started as nothing more than your everyday drug dealer. Soon he gained more and more, becoming the leader of multiply drug rings and having a hand in every aspect of the dark life. When he first appeared REI knew his face, when he became what he was today, he changed his appearance and had successfully kept himself hidden ever since.
Something wasn't right, if something wasn't up, then REI must really be screwing up, and REI weren't like that, they were the perfect assassins. Nothing added up unless the possibility of a traitor was true. She decided to keep her mouth shut despite her reasoning, she made perfect sense, but because of her youth and inexperience no one would give her the time of day to explain. All it'd earn her was more fights.
Paine was glad when the talk was over and done with, she could go home and flop on the couch. She wouldn't have to feel frustrated by all of REI's crap, she wouldn't need to speak; she wouldn't need to do anything at all. She headed for the exit speedily.
"Oi, idiot!" The voice of the most annoying person on Spira -in her opinion- stopped her before she touched the outside. She would have ignored him and continued if he hadn't grabbed her wrist and pulled her back with so much force she tripped. It did nothing to help her growing bad mood.
"You moron what on Spira was that for? Go away!" She yelled from the ground, to Tidus who stood above her, his expression somewhere between blank, irritated and amused.
"Why do you look like you've been crying again?"
She blinked as he said it, "Eh? Crying?"
He nodded and pointed to her face, "Your eyes are red around the edges, looks like you've been crying."
Paine 'TSKed' at him and picked herself up, wiping off the dirt from the ground. She growled thinking how dumb it had been to push her down in the entrance hall; it was the worst place possible.
"If I'd been crying I would've noticed." She barked.
Tidus frowned and eyed her strangely, trying to find some hint to her mood besides the obvious.
"What's your problem?"
Paine paused wiping off the dirt, and glanced up to him. He would listen wouldn't he?
"Hey, can you keep a secret?" She asked in a low voice.
He slanted his head like a confused puppy, before deciding, "Yeah, whatever."
Paine breathed a long breath to calm herself before she informed him of her thoughts. "The other night when I was on a mission, I heard this voice. A very familiar voice, one I know I've heard before-"
"Well of course you've heard it before, you're always sent after the same people aren't you?" He cut in but stopped at her deathly glare.
"I meant here. Here, at HQ. Someone from REI is associating with Mech and no one will believe me. He said something about 'let's let them think everything is fine for now'."
"So in short there's a traitor and everyone just thinks you're stupid and over analysing is all?" Tidus summed it up.
Paine rolled her eyes at his use of words, but nodded yes. "Exactly, damn REI is going to destroy itself from within."
She waited for him to respond, and got it faster than she expected, but also a far different one from what she expected. Tidus hid his face behind his hand as he began to laugh his head off. He attracted a look or two from passing members but by the time he said anything they were already out of earshot to hear his hushed tone.
"I always knew this day would happen, it was bound to the way the members live." He calmed himself down albeit a slight chuckle here and there, and continued his sentence. "Hey, here's a question for you, how 'bout we help the idiots get what's coming to them?"
Paine against what her common sense told her, smiled in reply. It was a good idea, one she'd always wanted to do.
"Finally the idiot says something smart for once."
Whenever someone says 'hey' or 'right?' in my mind the character says 'ne'. Too much Anime...
I've been watching a live action version of Sailor moon, and the fifth season of Sailor moon at the same time. My Minako-sama is a J-pop singer in the live action version. It is extremely fake, espeicially Luna, her movements look natural but she herself looks sooo fake.
My sister likes the idea of Seiya being with Usagi, and now she feels like a traitor. She believes in the canon match up of MamoruXUsagi, Seiya is a girl after all and even if he's a lesbian Usagi is straight.
Review for COOKIES! 3
Jya ne,
~Serah Villiers Valentine
