Author's Note: And so the end has finally come.

"Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."- Rumi

"Until now, Madam Leonowens, I did not understand the supposition that a man could be satisfied with only one woman."- King Mongkut, Anna and the King

…

"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.

…

Brother paced back and forth inside the great hall. He had long finished off his cake and wine. And Kintah had been asked to dance by Buddy, which Brother found no qualms over letting him take her. So he was left to do what he hated the most. Worry. Think. Devise terrible outcomes of what his sister might have in store for him. And worry some more.

How could a simple birthday party turn into such a scandal?

"Brother…are you alright?"

His eyes rounded, and immediately he flailed his arms before him, and spun around to find Yuna looking at him with concerned eyes. He loved those eyes. At one point the had been convinced that he loved her for more than she was.

And then-

He glanced over her shoulder to see the shaggy-haired blond man she had spent nearly two years looking for. A man whom he had battled in an effort to rescue Yuna in Macalania. This man-

Dark blue eyes met with unusual Al Bhed green. A skip in time.

The dream-made-real then smiled, raising his wine glass to Brother, before pressing it against his lips and drinking.

A drink to him? A drink of camaraderie?

"Brother?"

He turned his focus back to Yuna. He gave her a once-over again before he relaxed in his tuxedo. That man…he truly was something special, wasn't he?

"I'm fine, Yuna."

"You look worried. Is it about Rikku?"

He would be a liar if he said he wasn't worried about Rikku. More or less. How she would feel after tonight? What they were talking about? Would she forgive him? Would she forgive her own brother for his lack of voice when she needed it most?

Brother smiled softly, "Ku-chan can take care of herself, yes?"

Yuna tilted her head and offered her own smile in return, "That's right."

She's beautiful. But she didn't mean anything to him. Not one thing. A good lay. A nice pair of legs to wrap around his hips. A nice neck to bruise and claim. A juicy set of lips to call out his name. Sex. Nothing more than sex.

That's what he wanted to believe.

From the moment he had broke into puberty he had been aware of her. Hell, he had been aware of her before then. But then he had been unsure. All he had known was that he had enjoyed her company. Her smile. He liked making her smile when they were children.

And once his sexual awareness had settled in, that didn't change. As it did for most teenage boys. Once they realized that women could be used for something for their own fun, then the use for companionship left.

His had only grown greater. More in depth. More demanding.

The faith he had in himself, however, had waived. The thoughts and dreams he had of his adoptive father's daughter left him feeling dirty and ungrateful. He should be protecting her from men like him. Men that wanted to hear her wriggle beneath them as they had their way with her.

Men that wanted to use that body to reach their own utopia. He…had fallen into the majority. After all they had been through, he had failed her. And so the wall was formed. A wall that spared her from him, and spared him from the pain of longing.

His innate desires were taken out upon various women, all of whom he felt horrible about afterwards, and the beast was silenced. Whenever he found himself in conversation with the princess of Bikanel, he was temporarily sated. But still…there was never a time when he didn't want some sort of reaction from the girl.

And that sick sense of pride continued to grow as they did.

But the more they went through life together, the more he realized what that smile did to him. Not only did his sexual prowess come to life under the wake of that smile…but something else. Something rare and frightening.

There was a point in his life where he was certain that he hated her smile. And thus went to every extreme that he could to pester and annoy her. Sometimes even hurt her.

It worked. The smile faded. Warm green eyes fizzled away to cold emerald stone whenever they spoke. And harsh language was the reward of it all. He had been called a bastard a so many times that he was sure it was a new record for Spira.

And still…whenever he caught sight of her smiling in someone else's company, or heard the mirthful sound of her childish laughter…he found himself slipping.

That was when Takeira became more than just a mere acquaintance.

Takeira became his loophole. And she fell for it. Hell, Bikanel's golden girl fell for it as well. The looks he received because of the company he kept was nothing short of brutal.

Then he left. He had needed to leave. Bikanel felt smaller and smaller with each passing day. The leader's daughter wouldn't leave his conscious alone. Or his subconscious. He needed to go and he needed to as soon as possible.

And he had.

The Crimson Squad helped to turn him into the man that he had longed to be. Efficient. Courageous. Curious. Multi-talented. Ambidextrous. Determined. Medically aware. And independent. That Gippal had been the epitome of what he had wanted to be.

Unfortunately, things changed. And they changed quickly.

He was sent to Djose after leaving the Crimson Squad. Spira was free of Sin. He and his comrades were split. And thus he went to Djose as another branch of Bikanel's machina business. The Machine Faction was formed. A faction free of praetor's and war. Free of religion and unnecessary death. The Machine Faction was the neutral power in a world bent on tearing everything apart by recognizing with a certain side. Unbound by any oppression. The members were liberated to follow what they chose, or whomever they chose. The former temple was a safe-haven: emancipated of thoughts, feelings, distractions, and pain.

Or so he had thought.

"We want to dig. We were told you are the person we needed to speak with."

There were three of them. One he had been separated from in the Crimson Squad; the recorder: Paine. The other was none other than the former High Summoner herself: Yuna. And then, sticking to the shadows as much as possible was: her.

That day threw everything into turmoil. He was dragged into a war. He had to give a speech. How he hated speeches, regardless of how charismatic people claimed him to be.

And suddenly, it was over. Everything returned to the Eternal Calm and all was right with Spira. But…things had become different ever since that day he had laid eyes on her in the temple. He couldn't help but fall back into old habits of pestering her as soon as he had seen her. Always keeping her at a distance. It had worked thus far. But machina! What time had done for her. The last time he had seen her she had still been short and squared. No curves. Her hair had been short. Her choice of attire less than flattering.

But that day…that day he seen what he had always suspected her to be. A lioness. An alluring temptress; for certain. An elongated torso. Hair that fell to her mid-back. Exposing clothes. And a sense of maturity that he never thought she would possess. At first he hadn't been certain it was her.

Until he caught it…the reaction to a remark he had made to her about the two of them having been 'quite the couple'. She had shoved at him, but then bowed her head and smiled shyly. That smile.

Her smile.

He had been done for on that day; he now realized.

"I'm certain you have no qualms about her coming to Djose to work, right? She's a hard worker, my Rikku. She'll do the Machine Faction proud. Whaddya say?"

'No' would have been a better choice of words. But of course not. He blurted out 'yes' faster than some wedding-crazed girlfriend to a marriage proposal.

Thus she had come to Djose. Everything was sent into a whirlwind of distortion almost immediately.

At first he had done well in keeping his distance with her. Even taking her time away for a personal holiday to invite Takeira to work for him. His shield from the storm.

However, even the thickest of shields fail. Takeira had failed him.

The more time he spent with his past lover, the more he found himself drifting back to Cid's girl. The more he went of his way to make sure he said something to her. No matter her reaction.

Curious wasn't even the beginning of what was needed to describe her. Every time he thought he had discouraged her, she came back from another angle. An angle that made him realize, all the more, how weak she made him.

This woman, regardless of how delicious she appeared; and how much she genuinely made him smile, was off limits. A woman destined to be a leader was not someone he was allowed to touch. His dirty Al Bhed blood shouldn't even be a factor. An adoptive 'sibling' as Cid had referred to him. He shouldn't even consider her in the way he had been.

But those moments when she was trapped beneath him, or when the alcohol was dancing inside his veins, made him realize that he didn't want to say 'no'. That being a good guy was terribly overrated. These overpowering feelings often made themselves known whenever that half Al Bhed mechanic had his grubby paws on her. Where did he get that sense of entitlement? If anyone was allowed to touch her, it should be him! He had been with her since they were in their early childhood. That dork mechanic didn't have the right. No, not one bit. She wasn't some sort of play thing that was to be shared. She belonged to-

-Not him. Not Gippal.

There wasn't a single day…a single hour; no, a single minute that he didn't have to constantly remind himself of that. She did not belong to him.

But…did he want her to be his?

No…he was a ladies man. Having such feelings towards one woman in particular was preposterous. Feelings that would never be justified. No matter how they were dissected. She was destined for great things. He would always be a leader of the Machine Faction. A business manager. She would lead their people.

She didn't belong to him.

He set her free after a night of monstrous mistakes had taken place. And then the true suffering came. Suffering that was self-inflicted. Suffering that was necessary.

Her absence made him strangely aware of just how big the Djose shore was. And just how lonely he truly felt. Even the joys he had taken with machina prior to her stay was an inconvenience to him. The robotic pieces of advancement were nothing more than shells of what Spira wished to replace for human work. The mere idea, no matter how glorious, sickened him.

No one person could be replaced or forgotten. No matter how hard the world tried. No matter how hard he tried.

Food held no interest for him. Sex was nonexistent. Drinking became more than just a relaxing end to his day. Humor became senseless.

The only thing that mattered in the end was his business. And their production. That was it.

Until he received the com transmission from the leader of Home himself: Cid.

And now…he found himself here. Eyes (he still wanted to believe he had two) locked with hers. Hands growing cold. The cool desert wind making a mess of his perfectly attentive spikes. Time standing completely and utterly still.

After all they had been through…

His eye fell down to her toes and studied them. They were wriggling the sand between themselves. When she had been eight years old, she had been jumping from bed to bed and missed once. The next thing he knew, she was screaming at the top of her small lungs.

She had missed and landed on her toes. The bruises were immediate. The embarrassment was as well.

"Go ahead and poke fun, Gippal. I know you want to."

Instead he had gone to the kitchen and returned with ice wrapped in a cloth and pressed it against her toes.

But where else had those toes been? What other adventures had they been on?

Up her long legs, past her luscious hips, to her flat stomach.

They had gone swimming when they she was thirteen once. She had been sunbathing. He had been swimming. After he had been more than satisfied with the amount of water exposure he had subjected himself to, he joined her on the land. The towel she was sprawled out upon housed the both of them. She didn't say anything to him when he sat down. So he held his hand over her taunt stomach and let the cool water fall down onto its surface. He watched as it glistened and soaked into the tanned skin.

"Mmm, that feels good."

Up past her breasts and shoulders to her neck. Always tilted to the side whenever she was looking at him. Like she couldn't quite figure him out. He decided, then and there, that he always wanted that. Because the way it made her hair fall and her mouth part. It was worth her being at her wit's end.

Past her chin to her parted lips. Those lips held such passion for any and everything they said. They held such passion in everything they experienced. From jokes to demands; orders to requests; questions to answers; peace to ecstasy. And those lips could say his name in such a way that he had been considering the prospect of her being a siren; bewitching him every time she spoke.

Up to her nose. Cute and wrinkled with fun most of the time.

To her eyes. Bright green eyes that were innocent and all-knowing rolled into one beautiful package. Always sparkling with excitement. True to the core.

But…what all had these eyes seen? Would he ever really know? Had he ever truly known those eyes? Ever?

And finally, her hair. Long and elegant. Her hair is what blonde should look like: spun gold.

"Gippal?"

This woman, so familiar and yet so unfamiliar to him. There had been a time when he knew her like the back of his hand. And now…even after all they had been through, he realized that he didn't know hardly anything about her.

"What's your favorite color, Cid's girl?"

"Eh?" She blinked stupidly, brows slowly furrowing together as she realized he answered her oh-so-important question with a rather senseless one of his own. Typical Gippal.

He turned his gaze away from her so he could look at the stars again, "That's a pretty simple question. Surely it has an answer."

"It does have an answer," She said quickly, "but you can't answer my question with your own question! That's not fair!"

"Questions don't have rules."

"They should! We'll be here all night if you have your way!" Rikku groaned, kicking sand at his pant leg.

"Tell me."

"I don't know…blue, I guess."

"What are you afraid of?"

Her mouth made an O-shape as she stared at him. Was he seriously going to ask her questions until she didn't want an answer any more?

"Gippal, this is-"

"Do you want to see Spira again? What's your favorite memory? Are you worried about whether or not you'll make a good leader? What's your biggest secret? Who did you want to marry when you were little? Who's your best friend? What's your favorite weapon? Would you journey for two years to find the person you love? What's your favorite drink? Do you have nightmares a lot? How often do you cry? When is something too much? How-"

"Gippal!"

He stopped, bowing his head.

The racing of her heart nearly overpowered her ability to think as she tried to make sense of everything he was asking her, "What is all of this?"

"Those kinds of questions are important, Cid's girl. It's what you need to ask to know a person. Ask me an important question. Any question. I'll give you an answer."

She raised her head in determination and walked to stand in front of him. She flicked him in the forehead and caused him to look at her, "What the hell?"

"Are you in love with me?"

Gippal stared at her in disbelief, "But…you don't know anything about-"

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter. If you can answer that one question, all the others will fall into place."

"You're serious?"

Rikku nodded, "Because if you do, then I have all the time in the world to figure that stuff out. If you don't, then the answers don't really matter, now do they?"

It made sense. But such a vague question. There could be so many answers. All of which could be wrong. Or right. What answer was she looking for? A simple one? Or one that was extravagant. A blunt answer or a vague one?

"Well? Answer me!" She demanded, bright green eyes searching his wildly.

He knew his answer.

"I-"

"Ku-chan! Gip! Get your asses in here! There's going to be a sandstorm soon. You don't wanna be caught up in it, now do ya? I think not! Besides, we're about to have a dance competition. Come watch your old man break his hip!" Cid exclaimed, waving at them to come inside.

Rikku's heart fell. She was never going to get her answer was she?

Gippal moved past her, his fingertips brushing over hers as he went towards the building.

No! After all this time…she had waited so long and she still didn't have an answer. She was never going to get one was she?

"Gippal-" Rikku breathed as he walked ahead of her, the smell of his cologne filling her senses and rendering her completely useless as she tried to think of something to say. Something to take them back to that moment.

"Did ya hear me? Now you two!" Cid demanded, crossing his arms impatiently.

Gippal stopped, keeping his back to her, "Ya wanna know somethin'?"

Another damn question! Once she was the leader of Home, she was going to do away with them. Seriously, they were annoying!

She remained quiet. Indulging him in these questions would only prompt more and until she got her answer, she had no interest in knowing any of the other answers.

He smiled to himself as glanced over his shoulder, "My favorite color is red."

What. The. Hell?

The look of pure confusion and bewilderment that met him made him smile on the inside as well. It was then and there that he realized that he could be happy with only one woman the rest of this life.

"O-ok," She murmured.

"What?"

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for?"

"Isn't it though?"

She glanced down to find a hand extended towards her behind him. What?

"My favorite color is red. My favorite number is twenty-two-"

"Gippal?"

"Didn't you just say: 'if you do, then I have all the time in the world to figure that stuff out. If you don't, then the answers don't really matter'?"

Her eyes widened at what he was hinting at, "I-I did."

"So do you have your answer?"

Rikku slowly reached out and let her fingertips graze against his palm before sliding her fingers into place with his. Without warning, he pulled her forward and spun her to stand in front of him, "W-what-"

She was silenced by the light pressure of his mouth upon hers.

Happiness. Pure happiness.

He pulled away far quicker than she wished, his nose brushing against hers playfully, "So like I said-" He drawled, pulling her with him as they headed towards the inside.

Cid couldn't help but smile the goofiest of grins at the sight he had just witnessed. About time, he thought as he closed the doors behind them.

"-my favorite color is red."

She nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder. Red.

Red suited him.

AND THAT'S IT! What do you think? I don't really see Gippal saying that outloud. Or saying it all. Possibly at some point but I think he'd be more of a guy who shows her, ya know? Or tells her in a vague way. Hence his allusion to his favorite color. She wouldn't need to know that if he didn't, in fact, love her, yes? =) I'm considering an epilogue for this fic but I'm not completely sure on it yet. So don't like be looking for it…but at the same time, don't dismiss it. I hope you all enjoyed it like I have. I am sincerely grateful for all the readers and reviewers through these past months. And for your patience and support. I hope life treats all of you well and hopefully I'll see you all again soon! =)

Much love,

~Nikki~