HELLO!!! sorry i haven't updated in FOREVER!!! i've been uber busy. but, i had a snow day today so i had LOTS of time to work on this chappie for you all. it kinda moves fast and is a little short, but i needed to develop this, uh, thing....*grins* read to find out more! R&R PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!! ~~~sa~~~
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Ch.12: Souls Alike
Later that night, Lorelei had Paine moved to the humans' quarters in her private cavern. Auron, Maea, and Gankee were to share one large cave near the Elder's teepee. Paine was moved there with a lot of warm fur blankets and fluffy feather pillows. Gankee, being the concerned, sweetheart that he was, stayed with the sleeping girl while his parents went to join in the feast in honor of them. The distant echo of drum beats and singing reached him and he smiled a little. He was sitting next to Paine's bed going through the stack of stone tablets the Kohlso used a history of sorts. He had just had the lovely experience of bathing in a secluded hot spring and was all warm and stuff. His hair, still wet, hung loosely around his shoulders free of its usual ponytail. Gankee had still been in the process of getting dressed when Auron barged in and dropped off the tablets before leaving with a smirk. And so, shirtless Gankee attempted to read as much of the history of the Kohlso as he could. The chamber was silent but for the crackle of the flames in the fire pit.
Paine gasped suddenly, sitting up and staring ahead of her raptly. Her eyes were glazed over, her breathing loud and raspy. Gankee dropped the tablets and went to her side, gripping her hand tightly. "Paine? What is it?" Paine gasped a heaving breath in, her eyes slowly moving to his face. Her usually uniquely styled hair was lying flat on her head giving her a bedraggled look. She looked like a scared little girl. Gankee gently gripped her hand, trying to get her to react to his presence. "Paine? Paine!" He cried, his voice louder than the distant echoes of drums and song. As if a trance had been broken, she shook her head, shoulders sagging a little. After taking a few deep breaths, she looked him straight in the mismatched eyes. Paine was vainly trying to retain an air of superiority over Gankee who had a concerned look on his chisled features.
"Gankee?" She choked, her throat dry and her voice hoarse. He leaned closer to hear her raspy voice a little better. Their faces were mere inches apart and Paine almost faint again. She had never really noticed how amazingly hot Gankee was until that moment. He didn't have a shirt on and his hair was wet and loose. Something about the concerned way he was staring at her made her want to melt. Mentally smacking herself, Paine snapped back into reality. Fixing a stony glare on her face, she addressed the willing-to-serve Gankee coldly. "Where the hell are we?" Gankee, catching the sharp edge of her words like an unsheathed blade, flinched. He had expected some word of thanks or even a nicer way to go about asking that. Sighing, he studied her face carefully, noticing a hint of a blush on her cheeks. She was staring at their clasped hands with a sort of shocked/disgusted look on her face. Gasping, he dropped her hand quickly. He stood up and walked to the fire pit, gathering the fixings for tea.
Paine watched him move around, waiting impatiently for an answer. The last thing she remembered was stepping to the edge of the Celsius and the glorious feeling of falling. The thought that everything was going to end made her feel euphoric, to say the least. Now, all she felt was sore and like someone had shoved seven pounds of salt into her mouth. Touching her bandaged arm tenderly, she flinched at the thought of one of the others finding out what she had been trying to do. She imagined what Yuna would say and how Rikku would faint. Smirking, Paine wished that Gankee hadn't rescued her just to make her friends flip out. They most likely thought she was safely scowling on the airship while they trundled through the snow and ice. How wrong they were. From what she could see, they were in some kind of cave deep within the earth, judging by the dampness of most of the rock. The distant echo of water dripping from a cave ceiling proved her theory right. They were underground.
Gankee finished bustling around and left the kettle on the fire to boil. He came back to her bed and knelt beside it, staring into her blood red eyes meaningfully. 'What the hell? What is this guy trying to pull?' She thought, rippling indignantly. Paine wasn't one to take a cheeky guy like seriously. Raising an eyebrow, Paine used her hand to gesture him onward. "So, where are we again? I missed your answer before, genius." Gankee nodded as if he had expected that response from her. Closing his mismatched eyes, he missed the crude gesture Paine made at his superior tone of voice. "We're in the caves of the Kohlso people in Macalania. From my calculation's, I'd say we're about 2,000 miles from the temple and roughly 800 feet underground. The rest of the Kohlsos are celebrating my parents' reunion in the main cave. We are far enough away from there that we can talk in peace without their singing and such getting too loud." He smiled innocently like he wasn't thinking about anything else but an intelligent conversation.
Digesting each bit of information slowly, Paine's head filled with questions. 'Wait, you found your parents? Where were they? The others are out looking for right now! Why are we still here?" After shouting all of this as one thought, she attempted to get out of the bed. As soon as she put wait on her still healing legs, she fell forward. She expected to hit the cave floor with a thud, but instead, she felt Gankee's arms encircle her and pull her up. He had caught her just in time and was still holding onto her as if he was afraid she'd fall again. His arms were wrapped around her waist tightly, holding her up. Blushing furiously at the sudden flutter in her heart, Paine shoved away from him and fell back onto her back. Gankee gave her a hurt look, and knelt next to her again. That damn innocent expression was killing her! Like he didn't know what he was doing! He was trying to seduce her and it wasn't working. Or was it? Paine almost slapped herself at the mere thought of Gankee more naked than he already was. Shaking her head, she glared at him again.
"So? Are you going to answer my question or am I going to have to hurt you?" Her voice had regained its smooth, low sound. Gankee smiled a little, his eyes twinkling. "I doubt you could hurt me as you are currently, anyway, but I will answer your questions." Paine scoffed and wished her legs were strong enough to support her. All she wanted to do was stangle him at that point. He sat there waiting for her to stop shaking with rage, a concerned crease in his brow. She impatiently motioned him onwards. "A Kohlso hunter found your mangled body somewhere pretty far from the den. He carried you back here and my father and I healed you, much to the dismay of the Kohlso. I-" "WHAT?" Paine cried, misunderstanding his comment about the Kohlso. Gankee, suddenly flustered at her ignorance (AN: Eventhough he was ignorant until Auron explained it to him...), crossed his arms huffily. "They don't allow magic here and we used magic to heal you." Paine, growling under her breath, narrowed her eyes at him. He narrowed his eyes and a crackle of tension stretched between them.
"No need to be such a frickin' know-it-all, genius." She spat venomously, shifting her legs as if to get out of the bed again. "No need to be so stubborn and stupid, idiot!" Gankee spat back, reaching out and placing a restraining hand on her moving legs. Paine glared at his hand and grabbed it with both of hers. From the point of view of someone just getting into the cave, one would see Gankee leaning over Paine with his hand on her upper thigh and Paine's hands clasping his tightly. Quite the suggestive stance, out of context. That's just what Auron and Maea saw as they came in from the feast. Both froze, shocked and a little embarassed that they had walked in on their son and his apparant girlfriend. "No wonder he was so eager to stay here alone with her." Auron whispered to Maea who blushed furiously.
Both teens stopped glaring at each other long enough to glance at the adults, back at each other, and down where their hands met. Both snatched away their hands faster than lightining. "Father, mother, its not what you think." Gankee cried, hurrying over to talk to his parents. Paine, blinking in realization that Auron was his father, laid back on the pillows. Now she'd have to deal with more stubborn men, great. 'Well, at least his mother's an Al Bhed woman. We should get along well enough.' Paine closed her eyes and thought distantly of Rikku and Yuna. She wondered how they were doing, wandering out there in the icy coldness. She wanted to tell them they could stop looking, that she had found Gankee and Auron. Then she remembered that she had tried to kill herself and rolled onto her side thoughtfully. She wished that stupid Kohlso hadn't rescued her. It would've made everything a lot simpler. Just end it all. Escape. Freedom.
While Paine daydreamed of a morbid death, Gankee argued with his parents in hushed voices. "What? You could your own room? And I have to stay in here with her all night?" Maea was silent and Auron slid his arm around his lover's waist lovingly. He gruffly answered his son. "Your mother and I haven't seen each other in over ten years. We have a lot of catching up to do, son." Gankee wanted to throw up everything he'd ever eaten. The least his father could've done was be a LITTLE less obvious about what they were going to go do in their private cave. Maea looked up at her son gently. "I'm sure the two of you will be just fine." Gankee shook his head, gesturing over his shoulder angrily. "She is stubborn, hot-tempered, and extremely ignorant! I can't bear another second with her!" Auron reached out with his free hand and ruffled his hair affectionately. "You'll be fine. You speant a lot of time with ignorant people growing up; I'm sure this one isn't so bad." Maea giggled a little and chimed into Auron's gentle teasing. "You two seemed to get along fine until we came in." Gankee's mismatched eyes widened and he opened his mouth to answer, but decided against it. He turned away. "Good night then," He spat, listening to his parents whipser and leave.
Growling he glared at the apparently sleeping figure in the bed. He was about to set his own sleeping area up all the way across the room when he noticed the oddness of the sleeping person in the bed. It was lumpy and irregular instead of curvy and graceful like Paine. Gankee suddenly realized what she had done and rushed to the bed. He ripped the covers off and almost went into a panic attack. Paine was gone and all that was there were her two pillows under the blankets. The oldest trick in the book and he had fallen for it. Rubbing his eyes to ward his massive headache away, he tried to think about the passages out of that one cave. Other than the one he and his parents had been talking near, the only other corridor led into the hotsprings. Nodding, Gankee grabbed his shirt, pulled it on, grabbed his glaive, and hurried down the passageway, praying she hadn't gotten too far. The fiends in those caves were vicious and she was far too weak to handle anything more than a teddy bear.
Paine pushed herself as far as possibly, desperate to find a way out of those caves, that place, her life. Anything would do, a hungry fiend or a conviently placed bottomless pit. Her legs screamed at her and some of her wounds were bleeding through the bandages. Paine couldn't have cared less as she rounded a sharp corner and stumbled into the hot springs area. Bubbling pools of clear, hot water populated the overwise empty cavern. The harsh smells of sulfur and steam dulled her senses as she dragged her suddenly dead feet across the cavern. Paine was almost to the opening at the other end of the cavern when she heard the snarl of a pack of fiends. They looked like Arctic Wolves, but bigger and meaner. Wondering why they looked so fierce, Paine stumbled back. She knew she was too weak to fight and cursed her stupid numb legs. Seeing this as a possible way to escape her downward spiralling life, Paine stumbled back towards the wolves. They snarled and one jumped up, ready to tear her to pieces. Closing her eyes, Paine spread her arms and welcomed the beasts to feast on her flesh.
Just as she heard the wolves leap at her, a whooshing noise filled her ears. Then she heard the harsh cries of the wolves dying. Then she heard their pyreflies escaping into the air. Opening her eyes, she spotted Gankee's glaive stuck in the dissolving carcass of the largest wolf. Sighing dejectedly, Paine let her bleeding arms fall back to her sides. Gankee's heavy footsteps echoed and his voice called out to her. She shook her head and fought the tears. All she wanted was to die, that was it. Why was that so hard to accomplish? "Paine! PAINE!" Gankee screamed as he neared her. She turned and faced him, blood leaking through all of her bandages now and her pale face even paler. Her eyes were vacant and glazed. "Paine...?" He breathed, slowing down to a walk when he was close enough to her that he could gently shake her shoulder. Not even blinking, she fell forward, into his waiting arms. At first, Gankee thought she had passed out, but then she started shaking with sobs.
Looking down at the top of her head, Gankee wanted desperately to make her stop crying. Whatever it took, he wanted to see her happy and smiling. He knew what she was feeling, however different it was from his own heartache in life. She was lonely and he could tell. He was, too, even though he had found his family and should be happily on his way. Something was missing in his heart. A void where there should be something bright and glowing. Stroking her hair lovingly, Gankee sunk to his knees, taking Paine's sobbing form with him. Her bleeding arms were shaking as she leaned back to look him in the eyes. Tears steamed down her pale cheeks and she looked so cold and lost. They locked eyes and in an instant, knew that the other knew exactly what the other was feeling. It was an immediate connection and both felt the sort of bond stretch between them. Paine stopped sobbing, the last of her tears dripping onto her knees. Gankee smiled softly, reaching out to wipe the tears away. Paine would've scoffed any other time, but his hand felt so good on her cheek for some reason.
Sighing, she grabbing his hand with hers and held it onto her cheek, her eyes saying more than she could. Gankee pulled her closer, gently as to not hurt her anymore. Paine released his hand which slid to her waist. She leaned closer to him, inviting him to kiss her. She studied his face with a tenderness she rarely showed anyone. He was so kind and gentle and sensitive to everything. He was everything she wasn't and they balanced each other out. Eventhough they had only met less than a week prior, they both felt like they had known each other all their lives. Soul mates. Souls alike. Overcome by this realization that she was no longer alone, Paine's eyes refilled with tears. She smiled when she saw that Gankee was about to cry, too. Before either could start sobbing, Paine kissed him passionately. Smiling a little, Gankee pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Paine snaked her arms around his neck and one of the hot springs near them hissed with steam, hiding them from the harsh world they wanted to escape.
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AN: so??? what'd ya think? either one too OOC? i hope not cuz they are all very multi-faceted characters that need relationships. i hope the GankeeXPaine pairing doesn't make anyone gasp. i wanted to make their relationship sorta passionate and deep, a little spur of the moment. fun! *grins* review for another chappie!!! i mean it this time!!! thanks to my faithful reviewers, but KEEP THEM COMING PEOPLE!!! ~~~sa~~~
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Ch.12: Souls Alike
Later that night, Lorelei had Paine moved to the humans' quarters in her private cavern. Auron, Maea, and Gankee were to share one large cave near the Elder's teepee. Paine was moved there with a lot of warm fur blankets and fluffy feather pillows. Gankee, being the concerned, sweetheart that he was, stayed with the sleeping girl while his parents went to join in the feast in honor of them. The distant echo of drum beats and singing reached him and he smiled a little. He was sitting next to Paine's bed going through the stack of stone tablets the Kohlso used a history of sorts. He had just had the lovely experience of bathing in a secluded hot spring and was all warm and stuff. His hair, still wet, hung loosely around his shoulders free of its usual ponytail. Gankee had still been in the process of getting dressed when Auron barged in and dropped off the tablets before leaving with a smirk. And so, shirtless Gankee attempted to read as much of the history of the Kohlso as he could. The chamber was silent but for the crackle of the flames in the fire pit.
Paine gasped suddenly, sitting up and staring ahead of her raptly. Her eyes were glazed over, her breathing loud and raspy. Gankee dropped the tablets and went to her side, gripping her hand tightly. "Paine? What is it?" Paine gasped a heaving breath in, her eyes slowly moving to his face. Her usually uniquely styled hair was lying flat on her head giving her a bedraggled look. She looked like a scared little girl. Gankee gently gripped her hand, trying to get her to react to his presence. "Paine? Paine!" He cried, his voice louder than the distant echoes of drums and song. As if a trance had been broken, she shook her head, shoulders sagging a little. After taking a few deep breaths, she looked him straight in the mismatched eyes. Paine was vainly trying to retain an air of superiority over Gankee who had a concerned look on his chisled features.
"Gankee?" She choked, her throat dry and her voice hoarse. He leaned closer to hear her raspy voice a little better. Their faces were mere inches apart and Paine almost faint again. She had never really noticed how amazingly hot Gankee was until that moment. He didn't have a shirt on and his hair was wet and loose. Something about the concerned way he was staring at her made her want to melt. Mentally smacking herself, Paine snapped back into reality. Fixing a stony glare on her face, she addressed the willing-to-serve Gankee coldly. "Where the hell are we?" Gankee, catching the sharp edge of her words like an unsheathed blade, flinched. He had expected some word of thanks or even a nicer way to go about asking that. Sighing, he studied her face carefully, noticing a hint of a blush on her cheeks. She was staring at their clasped hands with a sort of shocked/disgusted look on her face. Gasping, he dropped her hand quickly. He stood up and walked to the fire pit, gathering the fixings for tea.
Paine watched him move around, waiting impatiently for an answer. The last thing she remembered was stepping to the edge of the Celsius and the glorious feeling of falling. The thought that everything was going to end made her feel euphoric, to say the least. Now, all she felt was sore and like someone had shoved seven pounds of salt into her mouth. Touching her bandaged arm tenderly, she flinched at the thought of one of the others finding out what she had been trying to do. She imagined what Yuna would say and how Rikku would faint. Smirking, Paine wished that Gankee hadn't rescued her just to make her friends flip out. They most likely thought she was safely scowling on the airship while they trundled through the snow and ice. How wrong they were. From what she could see, they were in some kind of cave deep within the earth, judging by the dampness of most of the rock. The distant echo of water dripping from a cave ceiling proved her theory right. They were underground.
Gankee finished bustling around and left the kettle on the fire to boil. He came back to her bed and knelt beside it, staring into her blood red eyes meaningfully. 'What the hell? What is this guy trying to pull?' She thought, rippling indignantly. Paine wasn't one to take a cheeky guy like seriously. Raising an eyebrow, Paine used her hand to gesture him onward. "So, where are we again? I missed your answer before, genius." Gankee nodded as if he had expected that response from her. Closing his mismatched eyes, he missed the crude gesture Paine made at his superior tone of voice. "We're in the caves of the Kohlso people in Macalania. From my calculation's, I'd say we're about 2,000 miles from the temple and roughly 800 feet underground. The rest of the Kohlsos are celebrating my parents' reunion in the main cave. We are far enough away from there that we can talk in peace without their singing and such getting too loud." He smiled innocently like he wasn't thinking about anything else but an intelligent conversation.
Digesting each bit of information slowly, Paine's head filled with questions. 'Wait, you found your parents? Where were they? The others are out looking for right now! Why are we still here?" After shouting all of this as one thought, she attempted to get out of the bed. As soon as she put wait on her still healing legs, she fell forward. She expected to hit the cave floor with a thud, but instead, she felt Gankee's arms encircle her and pull her up. He had caught her just in time and was still holding onto her as if he was afraid she'd fall again. His arms were wrapped around her waist tightly, holding her up. Blushing furiously at the sudden flutter in her heart, Paine shoved away from him and fell back onto her back. Gankee gave her a hurt look, and knelt next to her again. That damn innocent expression was killing her! Like he didn't know what he was doing! He was trying to seduce her and it wasn't working. Or was it? Paine almost slapped herself at the mere thought of Gankee more naked than he already was. Shaking her head, she glared at him again.
"So? Are you going to answer my question or am I going to have to hurt you?" Her voice had regained its smooth, low sound. Gankee smiled a little, his eyes twinkling. "I doubt you could hurt me as you are currently, anyway, but I will answer your questions." Paine scoffed and wished her legs were strong enough to support her. All she wanted to do was stangle him at that point. He sat there waiting for her to stop shaking with rage, a concerned crease in his brow. She impatiently motioned him onwards. "A Kohlso hunter found your mangled body somewhere pretty far from the den. He carried you back here and my father and I healed you, much to the dismay of the Kohlso. I-" "WHAT?" Paine cried, misunderstanding his comment about the Kohlso. Gankee, suddenly flustered at her ignorance (AN: Eventhough he was ignorant until Auron explained it to him...), crossed his arms huffily. "They don't allow magic here and we used magic to heal you." Paine, growling under her breath, narrowed her eyes at him. He narrowed his eyes and a crackle of tension stretched between them.
"No need to be such a frickin' know-it-all, genius." She spat venomously, shifting her legs as if to get out of the bed again. "No need to be so stubborn and stupid, idiot!" Gankee spat back, reaching out and placing a restraining hand on her moving legs. Paine glared at his hand and grabbed it with both of hers. From the point of view of someone just getting into the cave, one would see Gankee leaning over Paine with his hand on her upper thigh and Paine's hands clasping his tightly. Quite the suggestive stance, out of context. That's just what Auron and Maea saw as they came in from the feast. Both froze, shocked and a little embarassed that they had walked in on their son and his apparant girlfriend. "No wonder he was so eager to stay here alone with her." Auron whispered to Maea who blushed furiously.
Both teens stopped glaring at each other long enough to glance at the adults, back at each other, and down where their hands met. Both snatched away their hands faster than lightining. "Father, mother, its not what you think." Gankee cried, hurrying over to talk to his parents. Paine, blinking in realization that Auron was his father, laid back on the pillows. Now she'd have to deal with more stubborn men, great. 'Well, at least his mother's an Al Bhed woman. We should get along well enough.' Paine closed her eyes and thought distantly of Rikku and Yuna. She wondered how they were doing, wandering out there in the icy coldness. She wanted to tell them they could stop looking, that she had found Gankee and Auron. Then she remembered that she had tried to kill herself and rolled onto her side thoughtfully. She wished that stupid Kohlso hadn't rescued her. It would've made everything a lot simpler. Just end it all. Escape. Freedom.
While Paine daydreamed of a morbid death, Gankee argued with his parents in hushed voices. "What? You could your own room? And I have to stay in here with her all night?" Maea was silent and Auron slid his arm around his lover's waist lovingly. He gruffly answered his son. "Your mother and I haven't seen each other in over ten years. We have a lot of catching up to do, son." Gankee wanted to throw up everything he'd ever eaten. The least his father could've done was be a LITTLE less obvious about what they were going to go do in their private cave. Maea looked up at her son gently. "I'm sure the two of you will be just fine." Gankee shook his head, gesturing over his shoulder angrily. "She is stubborn, hot-tempered, and extremely ignorant! I can't bear another second with her!" Auron reached out with his free hand and ruffled his hair affectionately. "You'll be fine. You speant a lot of time with ignorant people growing up; I'm sure this one isn't so bad." Maea giggled a little and chimed into Auron's gentle teasing. "You two seemed to get along fine until we came in." Gankee's mismatched eyes widened and he opened his mouth to answer, but decided against it. He turned away. "Good night then," He spat, listening to his parents whipser and leave.
Growling he glared at the apparently sleeping figure in the bed. He was about to set his own sleeping area up all the way across the room when he noticed the oddness of the sleeping person in the bed. It was lumpy and irregular instead of curvy and graceful like Paine. Gankee suddenly realized what she had done and rushed to the bed. He ripped the covers off and almost went into a panic attack. Paine was gone and all that was there were her two pillows under the blankets. The oldest trick in the book and he had fallen for it. Rubbing his eyes to ward his massive headache away, he tried to think about the passages out of that one cave. Other than the one he and his parents had been talking near, the only other corridor led into the hotsprings. Nodding, Gankee grabbed his shirt, pulled it on, grabbed his glaive, and hurried down the passageway, praying she hadn't gotten too far. The fiends in those caves were vicious and she was far too weak to handle anything more than a teddy bear.
Paine pushed herself as far as possibly, desperate to find a way out of those caves, that place, her life. Anything would do, a hungry fiend or a conviently placed bottomless pit. Her legs screamed at her and some of her wounds were bleeding through the bandages. Paine couldn't have cared less as she rounded a sharp corner and stumbled into the hot springs area. Bubbling pools of clear, hot water populated the overwise empty cavern. The harsh smells of sulfur and steam dulled her senses as she dragged her suddenly dead feet across the cavern. Paine was almost to the opening at the other end of the cavern when she heard the snarl of a pack of fiends. They looked like Arctic Wolves, but bigger and meaner. Wondering why they looked so fierce, Paine stumbled back. She knew she was too weak to fight and cursed her stupid numb legs. Seeing this as a possible way to escape her downward spiralling life, Paine stumbled back towards the wolves. They snarled and one jumped up, ready to tear her to pieces. Closing her eyes, Paine spread her arms and welcomed the beasts to feast on her flesh.
Just as she heard the wolves leap at her, a whooshing noise filled her ears. Then she heard the harsh cries of the wolves dying. Then she heard their pyreflies escaping into the air. Opening her eyes, she spotted Gankee's glaive stuck in the dissolving carcass of the largest wolf. Sighing dejectedly, Paine let her bleeding arms fall back to her sides. Gankee's heavy footsteps echoed and his voice called out to her. She shook her head and fought the tears. All she wanted was to die, that was it. Why was that so hard to accomplish? "Paine! PAINE!" Gankee screamed as he neared her. She turned and faced him, blood leaking through all of her bandages now and her pale face even paler. Her eyes were vacant and glazed. "Paine...?" He breathed, slowing down to a walk when he was close enough to her that he could gently shake her shoulder. Not even blinking, she fell forward, into his waiting arms. At first, Gankee thought she had passed out, but then she started shaking with sobs.
Looking down at the top of her head, Gankee wanted desperately to make her stop crying. Whatever it took, he wanted to see her happy and smiling. He knew what she was feeling, however different it was from his own heartache in life. She was lonely and he could tell. He was, too, even though he had found his family and should be happily on his way. Something was missing in his heart. A void where there should be something bright and glowing. Stroking her hair lovingly, Gankee sunk to his knees, taking Paine's sobbing form with him. Her bleeding arms were shaking as she leaned back to look him in the eyes. Tears steamed down her pale cheeks and she looked so cold and lost. They locked eyes and in an instant, knew that the other knew exactly what the other was feeling. It was an immediate connection and both felt the sort of bond stretch between them. Paine stopped sobbing, the last of her tears dripping onto her knees. Gankee smiled softly, reaching out to wipe the tears away. Paine would've scoffed any other time, but his hand felt so good on her cheek for some reason.
Sighing, she grabbing his hand with hers and held it onto her cheek, her eyes saying more than she could. Gankee pulled her closer, gently as to not hurt her anymore. Paine released his hand which slid to her waist. She leaned closer to him, inviting him to kiss her. She studied his face with a tenderness she rarely showed anyone. He was so kind and gentle and sensitive to everything. He was everything she wasn't and they balanced each other out. Eventhough they had only met less than a week prior, they both felt like they had known each other all their lives. Soul mates. Souls alike. Overcome by this realization that she was no longer alone, Paine's eyes refilled with tears. She smiled when she saw that Gankee was about to cry, too. Before either could start sobbing, Paine kissed him passionately. Smiling a little, Gankee pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Paine snaked her arms around his neck and one of the hot springs near them hissed with steam, hiding them from the harsh world they wanted to escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~
AN: so??? what'd ya think? either one too OOC? i hope not cuz they are all very multi-faceted characters that need relationships. i hope the GankeeXPaine pairing doesn't make anyone gasp. i wanted to make their relationship sorta passionate and deep, a little spur of the moment. fun! *grins* review for another chappie!!! i mean it this time!!! thanks to my faithful reviewers, but KEEP THEM COMING PEOPLE!!! ~~~sa~~~