Discy: look, it was on the past 5 chapters, just read them!

A/N: chapter5 was a tad mushy, but that's all I could think of ok? Jeez, what do you expect from a kid that's at secondary school?!

Chapter6:

"Uh, Paine...did you just...joke?" Rikku inquired with a stunned face.

"Yea, I guess I did!" replied Paine, a little surprised too.

"I think Byron has been a good influence on you!" said Yuna

"influence?!" growled Paine, her old self back (A/N: talk about two faced!)

"I speak too soon..." said Rikku.

"Yes! I've done it! Look!" Byron had stood up, waving a slightly battered looking comm-sphere. He turned to the door and caught sight of Paine, who had grown slightly shy as she caught his gaze.

Byron strode towards her, closely followed by Angra.

Rikku and Yuna retreated to give them space to talk.

"uh...Paine, we've got to err...go and...see...errr...come on Yuna, let's go birdwatching!" Rikku stammered

"Huh?" Rikku kicked Yuna's shin

"OH, birdwatching! Great idea, I'll bring the binoculars!"

"Not literally you dumb ass!" Rikku said out of the corner of her mouth

"Oh forget it, come on Yuna!"

Both ran out of the door and into the elevator. Paine could just about hear them arguing on the way down.

"Hi little lady" Paine turned to see Byron stood next to her, his hair catching the sun light giving his usually blue hair a silver tint.

She'd forgotten how fit he was.

"Oh, hi! She stuttered "I meant to say thankyou before I err, you know, fainted last night, I'm sorry".

"No need to be sorry! I think it brought us closer together."

"closer together?....oh" she suddenly remembered his kiss.

"From what I heard you and Angra did great with the Gemini!" Paine said " Angra's a great weapon, maybe I should get a trainer dress sphere like you"

"Weapon? Trainer dress sphere? My dear, Angra is a wild animal I have tamed, hard it was too!" Byron pulled up his trouser leg and showed a 3-inch scar across his leg.

"Wow! Angra did that?!"

Angra, lowered her head and licked Byron's hand

"She didn't mean it" Byron said looking down at the leopard lovingly "I also fought with a warrior dress sphere."

"That would explain that sword, So, Angra isn't just a piece of metal?"

"She's as alive as you or me"

Paine bent low and hugged Angra, she didn't know why, but she felt relieved she wasn't beginning to become attached to a sword.

Byron smiled, "she likes you y' know!"

He knelt down and lent closer to Paine, Paine looked up and met his gaze. She came closer to him, and slowly put her arms around him in a passionate embrace.

He returned the hug whilst Angra tried to get in too. Byron laughed and moved a little out so Angra could just about squeeze in.

Shinra, Brother and Buddy fell silent and watched in amazement, they hadn't expected this. No one was ever allowed to hug Paine and live to tell the tale.

Byron, Paine and a squashed Angra parted slowly.

"So why am I here exactly?" Byron asked.

"We're gonna find an Aeon".

"Oh..."said Byron smoothing Paine's hair.

"Damn, forgot about my hair, no wonder Rikku was giving my hair weird looks, it's so messy! Wait here while I.."

"Can I do it?"

"You, do my hair?!"

"Yes"

"Oh, well, if you really want to, I mean, it's not exactly a treat"

"I asked didn't I?"

"Ok ok, follow me to the cabin"

Paine led Byron and a rather reluctant Angra to the cabin.

"It's ok Angra, if you don't want to come, you don't have to."

Angra nodded and turned back towards the warmth of the bridge.

Byron and Paine passed barkeep and carried on up the stairs to the bedroom area, Paine pulled her box of toiletries out from under the bed and laid them on her side table, Byron pulled a chair up against the bed.

"Same as normal?"

"Yeah sure."

"You use gel?"

"Of course!"

Byron opened the bag and felt around for the gel, he found it, and took it out.

He squirted a large blob onto his hands and rubbed them together.

"You've done this before right?"

"Yes, I studied as a hairdresser when I left college, didn't suit me though" he said bending over Paine and running his hands through her hair gently, his own, blue ponytail falling over his shoulders as he worked.

"You studied as a hairdresser!"

"Yes"

"but you didn't like it?"

"nope"

"why?"

"because it was mostly based indoors, I prefer being outside. Besides, they didn't allow "pets" in the salon".

Paine smiled; she couldn't imagine Byron working as a hairdresser, but he ran his fingers through her hair with ease, sculpting it carefully into shape.

A long time passed, but Paine was thoroughly enjoying it.

"There" Byron said grinning "finished". He stepped back to admire his work.

"It's perfect! Couldn't have done it better myself!"

Byron bowed

"If it pleases my lady..."

"shut up!" Paine playfully hit him

Rikku came up the stairs, "You guys finished?"

"Yep"

"Well, we were wondering where we should go out for lunch"

"Why don't we have a picnic? I know the perfect spot."

"A picnic?"

"uh huh"

"Oh, yeah sure, good idea, I'll go pack the food"

Rikku rushed off stopping to ask barkeep for a basket.

"Where are we going?" asked Paine

"I know a perfect place by a lake, you'll love it! I'll go tell everyone to bring their swimming things."

Byron turned and ran to the elevator, Paine followed.

.:On the Bridge:.

"Ok, I'm packed, you guys got everything?"

"Yep" said Yuna waving her dark red bikini in the air, Brother couldn't believe his luck, Yuna was going to wear a bikini in front of him!

"Oh Yuna, I nearly forgot, how was your birdwatching?"

"birdwatching?"

"It was great!" cut in Rikku "we saw a...yellow...crested...moon...eeerr...bird!"

"A yellow crested moon bird? Uuuh huuuuh....."

Both Yuna and Rikku blushed, they had thought their plan was fool proof!

"Guys, you ready? Follow me!" Byron said waving his hand in the air and gesturing to the door.

They walked towards the forest in Kilikka and carried on for quite some time, until they saw a magnificent lake, hidden from view on all sides by the trees, with a tiny island in the middle of it and palm trees that leaned into the water from it.

"oh"

"my"

"god"

the female gullwings remarked as they gazed at the crystal clear water.

.:The lake:.

"So where can we get changed?" asked Rikku, waving her own yellow bikini.

"right here" said Byron

"huh?"

"right where you're standing, you can't go into the forest, there are fiends."

"oh...yeah...right..."

"I'll hold your towel whilst you get changed Yuna..." said Brother.

"Oh....um...thanks."

Yuna passed brother her towel and untied her top, brother went round to the back of her and held the towel, he had thought she would have said no.

"Byron..."

"Yes, yes I will"

"thanks"

Paine passed Byron her own towel and got changed into her black bikini.

Eventually, all of the Gullwings were changed and ready to get in the water.

"Last one in..."

"Is a rotten chocobo egg!"

they dived in and swam out of their depth.

"Byron, this was a brilliant idea!" said Paine, swimming close to him.

"I'm glad you like it!" he replied. " I found it as a kid, came here ever since"

There was a massive splash, and Angra swam to meet them, halfway to the island.

"You know" said Rikku "Angra sure reminds me of a Couerl" she shuddered, "I'm just gonna put my clothes in my bag...".

Yuna laughed "come on, let's get to that island!" she swam away, her ankles just showing above the shimmering water surface.

Brother eagerly followed, not so gracefully as Yuna, but just as fast.

Paine and Byron swam side by side and Angra brought up the rear, her wild-cat tale swishing in the water like a pewter coloured fish.

Paine and Byron finally reached the island, and sat on its banks with their feet in the water.

Paine suddenly remembered,

"Byron, do you remember when we first met? Well, you were so...so,posh. Is that what you're really like?"

"Hell no! that's just a charade to get past the door guard! Wouldn't let me in otherwise. What you see isn't always what you get!"

Byron replied winking at Paine, in his usual way, making her blush, she turned her head away and glanced over to Rikku who had just reached the shore and was frantically pushing all of her clothes into her rainbow coloured beach bag.

Paine felt a soft hand touch her shoulder and an arm rest around her neck, she turned back to Byron and in one swift movement, kissed him.

Byron ran his hands through her hair and up her bare back. Their feet inter-twined together.

Paine wrapped an arm around Byron's neck and twirled his silken ponytail, which had now been bleached silver by the sun, around her finger.

Yuna, hadn't noticed, as she was busy playing with Angra with a long palm tree leaf. Angra swiped at it, but missed every time.

She growled with delight and pleasure, her fur shimmering in the midday sun.

Yuna was laughing, feinting and lunging this way and that, with the battered leaf.

Paine and Byron parted, breathing in the fresh, lake air and lent against a palm tree in each other's arms.

Yuna and Angra sat next to them, and waited for the others to arrive.

The crowd of Gullwings sat around the palm tree to discuss what to do next, without much luck...

"So, what has happened with the whole aeon picture?" asked Byron quizzically to the huddled group.

"Yuna found out about the Aeon from some stranger she met in Besaid, but she thought it was Tidus, he said that the aeon was last seen in Bevelle, so we went there but-"Rikku was interrupted.

"It was in ruins" said Paine "up in smoke"

"Yeah! But then we were ambushed by fiends" continued Rikku "so we killed 'em all, but then decided we needed a rest so we went to that Luca bar and found you Byron!" Rikku concluded

"That's it huh? Ok, so where should we go now, to find this aeon then?"

"That's what we don't know"

"Why don't you just look for spheres, that might give us clues as to where we should go." Said Byron.

"Oh yeah! We can pinpoint where spheres are, but not where aeons are". Shouted Rikku, slapping herself at her own stupidity.

"So now we're back to being sphere hunters then?" said Yuna

"It seems that way, unless anyone else has any ideas" replied Brother

There was a pause...

"I think it's been decided then, the Gullwings are back to being just regular, normal sphere hunters". Commented Buddy

"Can we still be the Friendly-Neighbourhood-Gullwings? Please?" asked Rikku

"Why not?" replied Yuna.

A rumbling sound filled the air.

"Rikku!" complained Yuna

"What?! I'm just hungry! I haven't eaten since...breakfast!" Rikku responded patting her stomach.

"Well I am pretty hungry myself" grumbled Paine

"Let's race back!" shouted Rikku

"3-2-1 (splash)" the group hurled themselves into the lake and swam away to the shore.

They appeared breathlessly at the other side.

"What d'you mean Angra won?!"

"she arrived a full 10 seconds before we did" answered Shinra

"bah!" said Rikku, glaring over at the sodden leopard.

They piled themselves around the picnic basket and spread out the patchwork blanket.

They all helped themselves to a ham sandwich, except Angra, who was given a large meat bone to chew.

There was silence as they ate, Angra bit into the bone and broke off part of it, crunching it happily and placing a massive paw on it to keep it still.

Paine's black bikini began to dry under the beating sun, as did Byron's dark shorts and Brother's Yellow and red ones.

Once the Gullwings had finished, they placed everything except the blanket back into the basket and lay down to sunbathe, Paine lay next to Byron with her hand on his tanned, muscular, chest. Byron put his own hand on Paine's and stroked her fingers.

Suddenly, the bushes started to rustle and groan angrily, and six well-armed figures leapt out of them and pointed their guns at the group of sunbathers.

A/N: Read and Review it! Sorry about the delay, my computer crashed (winks at Yunie-star-Tidus-cutie). :D