Author's Note: You guys, I swear that I'm NOT a liar. I didn't want to take this much time to post an update but I've been having MAJOR personal life issues. My sister has been in the hospital for the past week and a half and it's just been a major ordeal. I've been watching my niece (who is 3 months) that entire time. And it's impossible to write a fic with a baby in one arm; screaming, I might add. Plus I've been cardio training for a while and it's rendered me a bit…worn. But here's the update. Next chapter will be the last! =(

"As amid the hectic music and cocktail talk, she hears the caustic ticking of the clock."- Sylvia Plath

Tick.

"Time for cake!"

The room nearly trampled in upon itself as Brother tapped his fork against a wine glass and made a loud movement to indicate that the dining room was open and ready for any and all visitors to partake in the ritual of the Happy Birthday cake.

"Rikku….I'm sorry."

Yuna glanced over her shoulder at Rikku. Her younger cousin seemed to be in a trance. And the man in front of her seemed to be the cause of it all.

Instantly a flooding of protectiveness washed over her. Hadn't he already done enough to her?

"C'mon Yuna!" Tidus said in that boyish tone of his. A tone that all but drowned her in love. That had been one of the first things she had noticed about her guardian. Aside from his outlandish attire and bright blue eyes…his voice. It was so innocent. Something that he was far from. A walking oxymoron if she had ever seen one.

Perfection.

"I wanna get Rikku first. Will you hold a sec?"

Tidus' searched her face imploringly. As much as he cared about the fair-headed Al Bhed, he was far more concerned about the marble cake in the other room.

His fiancee, however, would not budge.

Sighing; admitting his defeat, he nodded, "Alright. Hurry up! I don't want a middle piece! I want a corner! They have more icing!"

Giggling a bit to herself, Yuna navigated her way through the thinning crowd. Even if it wasn't nearly as brash as Rikku's many volunteer efforts of her life for Yuna's, it would still spare her cousin an emotional death.

Her throat constricted as she tried to think of a way to respond to that. How could you respond to that? It wasn't like he was asking for some sort of answer. It was a statement. An apology. He knew what he had done. And he was…trying to…

His eye found hers. She was unmoving and completely bewildered. Had she been expecting something else? Surely she thought more of him than what she was acting like now. He was a heartless son of a bitch sometimes, but he would never…intentionally break someone's heart…especially hers. If her heart broke…

Shaking her head, she silently attempted to make sense of it all.

As the beaded necklace around her neck clanked against itself, tears joined the air as she continued to shake her head. Again. And again. And again.

Denying him?

Accepting him?

Uncertainty? Which was it?

Tock.

"Listen…I didn't come here to-"

"Rikku!"

The former lovers froze. A skip of their unified heartbeats. Both turned slowly to find the High Summoner Yuna waving at them (Rikku); drawing in far too quickly.

His moment was going to be stolen. This could be the only time that he could clear the air. At least make everything acceptable. No longer dead; nonexistent. Even if he couldn't have her…he wanted her forgiveness.

"No," He whispered, glancing at Yuna one last time before grabbing a hold of Rikku's hand.

The small Al Bhed woman yelped in surprise as he squeezed her hand a tad roughly, "Gippal, what are you-"

"In ten minutes, meet me outside."

She raised an eyebrow, completely confused by it all. Did he owe Yuna money or something? He was fleeing the scene like he had just taken an old woman's pocket bag.

He glanced at Yuna before turning back to Rikku. He said nothing as his eyes held hers briefly. Then he released her hand and glided off.

'Outside? Where outside! This is a desert! Oh that big idiot!' "Gippal!"

But he was gone.

Yuna reached Rikku, her face a puzzle of concern and uncertainty.

"Um…didn't you have a counterpart?"

Rikku nodded, "He just up and left."

Yuna looked at her cousin timidly, "It was because of me…wasn't it?"

The younger of the two smiled up at her too-caring relative, "I think he just wants to talk to me alone. It had nothing to do with you."

"Can I ask you something?"

The princess nodded.

The High Summoner, from a life left far behind, tilted her head; her layered hair framing her curious face, "What did he…say?"

Rikku stiffened. She wasn't even sure what was going on so how was she supposed to tell Yuna?

"Rikku!"

A hush fell over the two as Tidus came bouncing towards them, his blond-shaggy hair catching every glimmer of light from the candles in the room, "I don't wanna break up the meeting but I'm telling ya, they're serving that cake and I don't do middle pieces. Can we chit chat about this in a bit?"

Yuna glanced at Rikku and searched her eyes for her answer.

Rikku smiled, "Sounds good. Let's grab some sweets!"

Tidus snatched a hold of Yuna and pulled her close, "Got mine."

The thief rolled her eyes as Yuna giggled, "You're so corny."

He shrugged, leaning towards Rikku so that only he and the thief were part of the conversation, "Maybe I am…but I have mine. Where's yours?"

Tick.

Her eyes rounded as she stared at him in disbelief, "Tidus, you-"

For the first time, in a long time, his eyes were grave. The last time he had seen such gravity was when he had witnessed Seymour seal his union to his beloved with a kiss. Determination. Seriousness. Warning. And hope all melded into one solid stare.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes was all that she had to figure out what she was going to say to him. Fully prepare herself for what was to come. This was it. The turning point.

Where exactly did he expect her to meet him? This was outrageous. No details of where they were to rendezvous. This landscape was not a place to get lost in. Ever. Death would be your punishment. Period.

Rikku's brow furrowed as she spun around, glancing in every direction for blond spikes and a smug face. Nothing.

Where would he go to meet her? Somewhere they both knew?

…

"GIPPAL!" She howled at the night sky, the stars twinkling at her mockingly. They reminded her of his eyes.

No answer.

The former guardian sighed, scratching at her scalp out of frustration. Gippal was such a strange package. Perhaps it was that factor that kept her coming back to him. Like a drug. A fix.

She smiled.

There was certainly no better high than being with him…for the most part. No drug would be able to make her heart flutter and falter the way just one look could from him.

No drug could make her feel like somersaulting through Spira without so much as a moment's break. His smile could.

Alcohol could not make her feel as tipsy and silly as his laughter did.

Withdrawals could never make her sweat and breath erratically like a touch from his fingertips could.

And hunger for drugs were nothing compared to her hunger for him. A hunger that was devouring her from the inside out. If she kept up at this rate, she would be eaten alive.

Tock.

Spinning around to take in the landscape, she let her shoulders sag and her head bow slightly. He was no where in sight. Not even a sign that he had been this way.

"Where would he go?" She wondered aloud, pressing her tongue to her upper lip as she thought thoroughly on all the possible spots he would want to meet her.

"Somewhere we both know," Rikku told herself, slowly aligning the pieces.

…

Then it hit her. Like a wave of sand nearly drowning her.

Snapping her fingers with her revelation, she did her best to hightail it towards the special spot. Although high heels were making it rather difficult to do as much.

The moon's rays barely reached here. This was a dark place. But she found that spotting him standing amongst the sand and stars that it was rather easy to see him. And the fact that she had felt his aura the moment she had rounded the corner helped her make the deduction as well.

"Gippal."

He had been staring up at the sky. And he continued to do so even after she called his name, "C'mere."

Panting, and removing her heels, she padded over the soft sand to stand at his side, "I couldn't find you at first."

"Oh?"

"You didn't tell me where to meet you!"

His gaze remained on the night sky, "And what made you decide to come here?"

Rikku looked at his profile thoughtfully, a slight blush threatening to tint her cheeks, "Because this is where you saved me."

Tick.

"I remember."

She nodded, following suite, joining him in his adoration of the universe, "Do you remember why I was out here that night?"

"No," He answered softly, the stars dancing in his eye. Moments like these made her remember exactly why she couldn't stay away from him. Moments like these reminded her of the young boy that had stolen her heart the day he had come into her life. Moments like these rendered her breathless.

" I had ran away. Pops had told me that I couldn't run that new machina unit…the XZ9000, remember that one?"

"I do."

"And I was upset because Pops always told me 'no'. He always let Brother have his way. You and Brother, to be more precise. You were like the second son he'd never had. And so I told him that I hated him and ran away."

She grew quiet, wriggling her toes in the cooling sand of Bikanel, "I didn't pay attention to the changes in the air. The smells. The sounds. The calmness. I ran straight outside without caring."

This sand, so dormant and beautiful, had turned to death in an instant.

"Then it happened. A sandstorm. The sandstorm."

"Mmhmm," Gippal breathed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tux.

Rikku watched his profile again. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips as he listened patiently. Patiently! This man never ceased to amaze her. Times like these made her wonder if she was the reason they had never…

"I was crying. I screamed. I clung to the side of Home for dear life. I couldn't see well enough to make a run for the doors. Besides…with the way the winds were whipping over the dunes, I would have been lucky if I didn't blow away with the sands. And then I heard it."

A slight smile pulled at the sides of his mouth as he bowed his head and closed his eye.

"'Cid's girl! What the hell is your problem? If this storm doesn't kill ya, I'm goin' to!'"

"I was kinda pissed."

Rikku giggled, "Kinda? You wanted to beat the snot outta me!"

"You deserved it."

"You came alone, Gippal. You could have died looking for me."

"I knew you wouldn't be that far. You were never really fast. I could always outrun you."

She rolled her eyes, snorting at his ego, "I could take you anytime, Gippal."

"So that's why you chose to come to this spot in particular?"

Tock.

Rikku nodded, turning to face him fully now, "Yeah, it is. Gippal? Why did you choose this spot?"

He turned to face her, his face passive. Then he shrugged lazily, "I dunno. Just seemed like a good spot to me."

Her mouth fell open as she reached out to swat at his shoulder, "You big jerk!"

Gippal laughed, shaking his head, "It's a joke, Cid's girl. Calm down."

"You don't call me Rikku, anymore."

Immediately, his eye grew stern and his face solemn, "I haven't earned it yet."

'Earned it?'

Shifting uncomfortably under his newfound (and rather intense) interest in her face. She could take Gippal staring, but when he stared at her like that, it left her feeling lightheaded and quite a bit silly.

Gippal watched her visibly argue internally with herself. He always knew when she did because she'd purse out her lips and her brow would furrow as if she were trying to ponder the meaning of life. It was endearing. He remembered fondly the first time he had ever seen such an expression on her face. It had been the very first time he had set eyes on her, honestly.

"'Ku-chan! Look at what we have here! His name is Gippal. He's going to be staying with us from now on. Doesn't that sound like a good time?'" Cid asked with a smile.

The young (then double-eyed Gippal) glanced over to find a small tow-headed girl with a machina glove on one hand, and a blanket in the other. Her hair was terribly light blonde, practically white. And her eyes were wide and all too big for her face.

She remained quiet as hard eyes took him in for all that he was. He felt like he was naked, the way she was staring at him.

"'No.'"

Gippal's mouth fell open as he threw his head back so that he could look at his newly adoptive father, Cid. The leader of Home. The Al Bhed's example in the world of Spira.

Cid simply smiled and walked over to his daughter, bending down so that he could mess up her hair, "'Ku-chan, he doesn't have a family. He'll be sad. You don't want him to be sad, d'ya? Brother said he doesn't mind.'"

"'You'll love him more,'" Child Rikku whispered, averting her gaze from her father's.

The patriarch simply chuckled lightly, "'I'll love him;yes. But there's no one quite like you, Rikku. You're daddy's little girl. You always will be.'"

Four words that seemed to hold the world in their value. Instantly her face brightened and the sparks in her machina glove cast a light blue glow about her face as she nodded with determination, "'I'll teach him how to be a real Al Bhed, Pops.'"

Cid pressed a kiss to the top of her head and returned to his full height, "'Why don't you take him out to the machina station and let him get a feel for the equipment. I have a feeling that this one has some major potential there.'"

"Gippal, don't look at me like that."

Tick.

"Like what?"

"You know what you're doing," She murmured, sounding a tad on the breathless side, "We're wasting valuable time. You asked me here for a reason. Now's your chance to talk. I suggest you don't waste it."

Always the leader. And always a woman who knew what she wanted. He wanted to smirk. But seeing as she was already on the distressed side, he refrained.

"Do you remember what I told you in there? When I apologized?"

"I heard you."

"I'm glad. And I don't expect an answer. Nor do I really deserve one. I realize this. That's not what I came here for-"

"You came for Vydran's party."

Gippal cocked an eyebrow. He appeared insulted, "-If you really think that's why I came here, then I have no reason to speak with you."

Tick.

Rikku lifted her eyes so that she could look at him. She had known why he had come here. But if her long history with the former squad member had taught her anything, it was to never assume when it came to his intentions. He was unpredictable. Like a storm. Unforgiving and tyrannical, and sometimes lasting for days. Sometimes subsiding just as quickly as it had appeared. Dark and beautiful at the same time. Gippal was an everlasting tempest that could not be tamed. And she didn't want to tame him. To break him.

…

Her eyes widened as she reached out and snatched at his forearm, jerking his hand free of his pants' pocket, "Gippal…how would you describe me?"

"Eh?" He questioned, looking a tad on the skittish side at her sudden boldness.

"Describe me."

"I don't see how this-"

"Just do it!" She snapped, her face urgent.

Swallowing, he took in a deep breath and stepped towards her, "Wild. Free. Infuriating. Loyal. Quirky. Very quirky. Intelligent, at times."

"Gippal!"

"Kidding! Ok um…brave. Unspoiled. Adventurous. Natural. Unbound."

Rikku couldn't help but smile, her lower lip trembling with an onslaught of emotions, "Gippal…can I ask you something?"

Tick.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one talking? Valuable time, remember?"

"I know…this doesn't count towards your time limit."

"Alright."

"In Djose-"

"Cid's girl, I really don't want to-"

"You came to apologize didn't you?"

"I did."

"Alright so stop your belly-aching. This is important. Did you…when you slept with me…what did you feel afterwards?"

He wanted to face palm himself. This wasn't exactly how he wanted his apology to go. References to sexual situations with her only made him aware of how much his body was…out of practice.

"Do we have to do this?"

"If you want me to even consider forgiving you have to tell me what you felt afterwards."

Sighing in agitation, he tilted his head to the side, "I don't know, Cid's girl. It was strange."

Strange. Inwardly, her heart leapt with excitement.

"Gippal…strange isn't the word."

"I don't know how else to describe it. Strange. Unusual."

"Unusual is better. How was it unusual?"

The elder of the two Al Bhed scratched at the back of his head, immediately wishing that he could stop the flushing of his face and the rapid increase of his heart rate. He had been more than aware of how beautiful she looked tonight…but this quiet setting and all this talk of sex made him…anxious.

"I…I was sated."

"No you weren't sated. Er, well, I mean you were…but you…Gippal," She whispered, walking towards him and placing her hand on his chest. She could almost feel his heart leap under her touch and it made hers swell at the mere thought, "You…Gippal, you were happy. You…sent me away because you were scared, didn't you?"

He modified his stance distressingly, "That's not the point-"

"It is! You described me as unbounded. Gippal…were you afraid that you would change me?"

"I'm not sure I like the direction of this-"

"No, Gip…better question. Were you afraid of how you felt about me? Were you afraid that it would drown me?"

"I'm going inside, Cid's girl."

"No, not before you answer me. I've waited all this time and I deserve some honest answers, dammit!" She snarled, squeezing his hand with a ferocity that made him flinch.

After a few calming breaths and sporadic beats of their hearts, she continued, "Gippal…"

Tick.

"…Yes?"

Tock.

…

Tick.

"…are you in love with me?"

Tock.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Like I said, next chapter is the last! =( Hope you all have loved it like I have.

Much love,

~Nikki~