Standard disclaimers apply.

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Author's notes; Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm pleasantly surprised with the amount of people who like this fic. Based on your reviews, Chapter Three, 'The Almost Gippal Seduction' will be a direct continuations from chapter two. It WILL NOT be a alternate ending like I was initially planning.

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For once it was enough. I didn't want or need more information. All I wanted - the only thing that I longed for - was to be left alone. I still hadn't figured out what was going to happen with Baralai. He had asked me out and I had refused, but still...

I wanted to go out with him. He had turned out not to be just another average piece of Yevonite trash. Well, I guess I'm still not sure if that was the right choice or not. I mean, it was easier to think of him as the prateor of New Yevon or even as a friend of Paine's. Thinking of him as a gallant young man with a nice smile was nowhere on my agenda.

"So, how did things go?" Yuna asked. "Did you get Baralai to ask you out?" She grinned at me playfully. Judging by her expression, she was trying to cheer me up because she thought that I had failed. "Well, you really shouldn't worry about that too much. Gippal's more your type anyway. You'll snag him no -"

"So, what happened?" Paine inquired, cutting off Yunie's 'feel better' speech. If that's what she was doing anyway. I looked at the silver haired warrior and felt more tired and even more awful.

"I..." my voice trailed off before I could properly explain myself. "It's like this," I began again. Both of them looked at me expectantly. I closed my eyes and put my hands behind my head. "I did it!" Woohoo! Forced cheer works again. I grinned brightly and spun around. "But it took all day and I gotta seduce Gippal tomorow -"

"You can't go with both of them," Paine objected. "That wouldn't be fair."

I winked playfully. "Who says I'm going to the dance with Baralai? He's just another Yevonite after all." I felt bad for saying it, but what was worse was the fact that I couldn't bring myself to explain why I was really avoiding going out with him.

Yuna leaned over and whispered something to Paine. "What'd you tell her?" I asked suspiciously, although I already had a pretty good idea of what type of information was being exchanged. Yunie was telling Paine that I had a crush on Gippal. They were both under the impression that I didn't want to go with Baralai because I liked Gippal. As if! I found the guy annoying! And..... the truth was, I wasn't going with Baralai because I like him. Going with Gippal wouldn't mean anything to me - besides the obvious good time we were going to have.

"Nothing," Yuna said secretively. She was baiting me and I was all too ready to bite.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" I shouted, clutching her arm and bouncing up and down. I looked really anxious - I suppose because she laughed and patted my arm reassuringly.

"Do you have any proof?" Paine asked. She held one hand out as if asking for the evidence to be placed in the palm of her hand. She left the other hand crossed over her stoamch. As usual, she presented the ultiment form of coolness and perfection.

It was an interresting question. "I didn't. But you can just take my word for it. That wouldn't hurt things any." I yawned and stepped away from her. I'm going to bed. I'll see you guys tommorow. I walked away from them, knowing that this wasn't exactely normal behavior for me. But then, sometimes a girl needs her space. And I really needed some space right now.

I slept soundly - a rare occurance if I do say so myself..... Then disembarked before Paine and Yunie woke up. I put the dreaded Cait Sith costume back on and then off I went to see the Machine Faction, and more importantly - their leader.

Gippal was about to be seduced... although I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off sucessfully.

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I stood outside Djose temple, eyeing the floating stones and debating the best course of action. Clearly the course of action that I wanted to take was unavailible, so I had to make due with plotting to snag Gippal; the best way to do that was to show him a good time. The blond leader had always been a sucker for fun. Strangely enough, I had often been the same way.

I don't really like Gippal. He reminds me of myself - immature and too playful - and to be honest, who really wants to date a version of yourself? Not me! In my case, opposites definetly attract - Baralai was all the proof that I needed.

"Hey! Is Gippal around here anywhere?" I shouted to the nearest Al Bhed. In return, I got the nastiest look of my life. I grinned under my mask and repeated my question slower and in very babish Al Bhed.

"If you're here for the dig -"

"Nope! I'm here to see Gippal," I answered. I ended up beside the blond man and thumped him on the back. "I hate sand!" I informed him all too truthfully. It was nasty stuff... always getting everywhere that you didn't want it, always making you itch at inopertune moments. And then their was the broiling heat to think about... what kind of desert would it be without heat?

"Lord Gippal -"

"Lord Gippal?" I repeated. "You've got to be kidding me." I put seducing Gippal a notch down on my list of 'things to do'. Apparently my 'date' needed to be kicked down a few pegs first.

I headed down Djose road a little way and sphere changed to my lovely thief clothes. (Whee! No more Mascott!) I bounded back to Djose temple and looked around. Still not seeing Gippal, I charged on through the doors. "GIPPAL!" I hollered. He wasn't in the main room and all I recieved for my efforts to locate him was a couple of dirty looks.

That really wasn't fair. I'd helped to bust-up Sin and tackled Vegnagun with Yunie. I'd done more then enough to earn a little respect, hadn't I? That was one thing that bugged me.... NOT! Actually, I could care less what anyone thought about me, with the new and possible exception of Baralai....

The crashed into the left-hand room, spotting Gippal's back. I had a couple of thoughts in my. Number one and most importantly, I had to leave a lasting 'first' impression. If I just said, 'Hiya Gippal,' I would loose the element of surprise and I needed him to be on the defensive. As sad as it is, when dealing with him, that's usual where I was - backing up and defending myself.

"Morning!" I sang out and smashed him into the floor with all the weight in my body. I wrapped my forearm around his neck and rubbed my knuckles against his scalp. Heh heh, make him suffer!

"Ahh! Cut that out!" he exclaimed, his typical drawl lost to my torture (Mwha ha ha!) He tried to straighten and get a good look at me, but I didn't let him.

"What's this I hear about you calling yourself 'Lord Gippal'?" I demanded, rolling off him only when I was ready. (And no, it wasn't because he knew judo and could throw me around like a rag-doll. I let him move me... I need to keep some pride intact.)

He got to his feet, offering me a hand up. "Cid's little girl..." he drawled in surprise. He was rebuilding his composure and I didn't want that. "You here to ask me to the dance in Luca?"

"No!" I answered forcefully. And I wasn't either. Think about it, I had already pointed out that I was taking him down a few pegs first. That meant that until I had done that, I had no intention of asking him to the dance... and in all reality, he was going to ask me. Right after I seduced him.... remember?

He didn't wait for me to elaborate. "Is Paine here with you?" he inquired, glancing around for his old friend. Unlike usually, he had a serious look on his face. It made me wonder what he needed Paine for, and if someone other than me had a crush on someone.

"No, why?" I asked, my goal sob sidetracked waaaaay too easily. I excepted his still offered hand up and allowed myself to conceade that he had flipped me like a rag-doll. Then I waited to find out what he was thinking.

"I just figured I could use her help," Gippal answered. "Baralai's depressed. I figured that since they were so close, she could find out what I'm missing. He won't talk to me at all..."

"He's depressed?" I asked anxiously. "About what?" I tried to keep my voice casual this time and failed. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach why he would be bummed out and it was spelled R-I-K-K-U. And you know things are bad when I start spelling words, even favorable ones like my name.

Gippal, thankfully, didn't seem to notice my anxiety. I don't know what I would have done if he had... Probably told him that he was imagining things. "He wouldn't tell me," Gippal answered. "That's why I was hoping Paine was here."

"Why would he talk to Paine and not you?" I asked. I needed more information, although I had a good idea what was wrong with Baralai.

"He likes Paine, and Paine likes him. It makes things a bit simpler," Gippal answered. His voice held a deep note of regrett, as if he wished things were different. I toyed with the idea of Gippal liking Paine as more then a friend and found it plausible.

I couldn't stop myself. "You like Paine!" I declared with a devious grin. I slapped him on the back and allowed myself to laugh out loud. It was a little bit too much for me not to pick on him. As far as I knew, he was immune to being picked on.

I expected denials. After all, I do think that we're similar in a lot of ways, and I would have fought tooth, nail, sword, magic, claw, dagger.... (I think the pictures coming through...) not to admit to anything. Heck, if he accused me of liking Baralai, I would have stuffed him full of lead using the Gunner Dressphere, I think.

In any event, he didn't react like I expected. He nodded his head mutely and sat down on the bed, burying his face in his hands. He nooded his head, a barely noticable gesture, but apparent nontheless.

In short, he took the fun out of tormenting him.

"What makes you think Baralai likes Paine?" I inquired softly. I didn't ask about Paine. I'm pretty sure that I already know who she likes. I had watched her private sphere all the way through after all.

"Huh?" Gippal asked, jerked out of his... dilema by my question. He rubbed his face wearily. "I asked him." He waited so long before answering that I was getting ready to demand an answer from him again. "I said, 'Do you love Paine?' He said, 'With all my heart.' Talk about a straight answer."

Suddenly I felt really sick. I crossed my hands across my stomach and tried to stiffle a sob unsuccesfully. Gippal looked up, startled by my reaction, I think. I forced myself back from him, pointing a finger and laughing with a reckless abandon that I didn't feel in the slightest.

He got to his feet angilily. I didn't wait to see what he was going to do. I kept going with the course of action that I had remaining. There would be no 'Gippal Seduction' and since I didn't have proof about seducing Baralai, that meant no more respect points, but that didn't matter right now. All I had to do was speak. "I know who Paine likes," I said with a playful smile on my face. "And his name doesn't start with a 'B'. Wanna know who it is?"

Gippal crossed the room and grabbed my wrist, holding it in a vice like grip. "Stop it Rikku!" he shouted at me.

I felt confused. "Stop what?" I asked. His hand around my wrist was starting to hurt, but I couldn't bring myself to break the grip or tell him to let go. Heck, I couldn't bring myself to tell him that it hurt.

Let's review Gippal for a moment. He's always laid back, and really hard to get all worked up. Seeing him angry is pretty much a joke because that doesn't happen to him. And here he was - mad, no furious at me.

Next point, he's infamous for not ever calling me by my first name. It was always 'He~y, it's Cid's little girl.' Never once in the eleven plus years that I knew him had he ever called me by my name. Except today. Today he broke the rules I used to govern him - both rules. "Stop what?" I repeated, my voice soft and confused.

"Stop being such a - a little brat!" he shouted.

Heat washed up my face, coupling with extreme anger. "I'm not a brat!" I shouted indignantly.

"Yes, you are," Gippal answered with conviction. "You don't take anything seriously - not Sin, not Vegnangun, and certainly not the intricacy of a person's realtionships -"

I didnt answer. I was stunned. How could he say that? I treat everything seriously. It may not seem like it, but I do. "Gippal, I was only trying to help -"

"And how did you find out who Paine likes?" Gippal challenged before I had even finished. "I know one thing, she didn't tell you. Did she? You pryed the information out of someone else, didn't you?"

What could I say in defense? Paine hadn't told me who she liked. I had watched her sphere without permission.

"If you cared about anyone then things would be different. But all you care about is yourself -"

"That's not true!" I screamed at him. I had started crying. "Let go of me!" I cared a lot more then he thought I did. He didn't understand me at all. I jerked my wrist away from him and charged out the door.

"Stop!" I heard him shout behind me. I ran across the main chamber and out of doors, ignoring him. It was as if an emtional dam had broken somewhere deep inside me. I was highly guilt-ridden about taking off on Baralai, and feelings on all the times I had been accused to not being serious enough raced through me, busting past the barriors I had carefully constucted. Just because I didn't walk around super stern and pensive didn't mean that I didn't have the same feelings as everyone else.

Outside it was raining. I raced across the bridges and onto Djose road. I didn't have an accurate idea of where I was going. Mostly I just wanted to get away... far, far away from Gippal and his accusations.

I ran blind, sobbing through the storm, falling and getting up only to fall again. Gippal gave pursuit, although I don't know for how long since I didn't look or listen for him. At some point, I collapsed tearfully on the muddy ground and cried myself into unconciousness.

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Author's notes; I'm under the impression that underneath everything, a lot of people are really insecure. Rikku and Gippal are both having a hard time with their feelings here and may seem a bit OOC; however, it's mostly them as I precieve them to be. Rikku puts up a cheerful act, and as a result, she gets skimed over as irresponsible a lot of the time. Gippal acts all relaxed and cool; however, I think under a little emotional stress (such as worrying about a girl he likes) would crack that exterior.

Anyway, by now someone (probably you) have realized that this story is going to have a NEXT chapter. I opted to make this just one story, although I'm not announcing any pairings until the end and then it'll be obvious. So this is one story and will probably drag on a couple more chapters...

Thanks for reading and reviewing,

Kissa-chan