A/N: Don't you all just love anticipation? Heh, I certainly do, and I know
you have been waiting for this chapter; some more patiently than others.
^.~ I'm glad everyone has reacted the way you have towards Serru. It's
exactly how I wanted you all to feel about him, and it really does help for
later on in the story. You'll all know it when it happens. ^^;
Anyway, I hope you all haven't been dying TOO much while waiting for this chapter, so here it is...finally. =)
***
{{ Chapter 7: And Serru Makes Three
***
An unexpected cold draft caused Rikku to shift slightly from her position underneath the blankets, shaking her out of her sleep. There must have been a slight chill in the tent. Her eyes opened slowly in the darkness, one hand instinctively going up to her hair to brush away the long bangs that had fallen in front of her eyes. A yawn escaped her mouth as she adjusted her pillow, preparing to fall asleep again.
As she moved her body to face the opposite way, her mouth opened slightly in alarm from a weight that she felt was presently around her abdomen. She tensed up in her surprise, but then remembered who it was.
Rikku turned around slowly, quietly, so that she was resting on her other side. Lifting up the blankets to look underneath, her eyes made out the characteristic form of one of Gippal's hands resting loosely around her waist, her body drawn dangerously close to his. Her mind raced as the she could feel his lower arm around her, warmth from his body radiating out toward her at the same time. Ready to move away from his grasp, her eyes suddenly moved up to look into his face that was mere centimeters away from her own.
His one eye was closed in deep slumber, hiding the bright orbs within. A few strands of spiky blonde hair fell over his forehead, giving his face a soft boyish look despite being asleep. Even in the dim light of the tent, Rikku could see his black eye patch and she wondered what had really happened to him. Shrugging off her curiosity, she remembered the warm weight that was wrapped around her, realizing that Gippal had reached out for her sometime in the night and this was where they were now.
She guessed that he wasn't very used to being in cold weather and had instinctively latched onto the nearest warm object. That warm object happened to be her. A blush crept over her cheeks again as she suddenly felt Gippal's hand move slightly around her waist, pulling her gently toward himself. Her green eyes flickered up to his face. He was still asleep.
Deciding that there was nothing she could do to get out of his warm grip, Rikku felt her eyelids growing heavy, a reminder that there were about three more hours left before morning. Letting her mind sink back into the soft comfort of sleep, the weight of Gippal's arm around her slowly became a fleeting memory as her mind entered a calming dream.
***
Serru awoke with a start, realizing that it was already dawn. He was always a light-sleeper, never really being affected by not getting enough sleep at nights. Pulling the blankets away from himself, he stood and unzipped his tent, squinting his green eyes in the early morning sunlight.
He frowned when he didn't spot Gippal's body in the campsite. The other Al Bhed was supposed to be keeping watch last night, right? Frowning again, his eyes moved over to the other tent across from his own. Unable to contain his curiosity at wondering where Gippal was, he made his way quietly to Rikku's tent. There was a tug at the edge of curiosity at wondering where Gippal was, but there was no way he could be in there...right?
The flaps were tightly sealed as Serru approached, yet he couldn't help making sure anyway. One hand quietly unzipping the front, his green eyes peaked into the tent and he felt his mouth drop open in shock.
His wide green eyes took in the form of Gippal and Rikku, their bodies questionably close together. Rikku slept with her back to Gippal, and Serru could see that Gippal had one arm around the girl's waist. They were sound asleep, one blanket around the both of them.
Serru felt his right fist clenching at the sight that lay before him. Suddenly, Rikku stirred, making a soft sound as she turned around and faced Gippal, her eyes still closed. Then, all was quiet again.
His eyes blazing, he left the tent in disgust.
***
A shadow began to take form as Yuna approached the entrance to the dome. Two more shaky steps and she could now see the form of Paine, bent down on the ground over...over two bodies?!
"Paine!!"
The warrior looked up, soot on her face. A tired expression was evident on her eyes as Yuna came running up to her.
"Tidus! Isaaru!" Yuna sobbed as she collapsed next to the two.
"They're still breathing, but..." Paine interrupted gently, watching Yuna's eyes fill with horror at her words.
"But what?!" Yuna friend demanded, tears threatening to fall as she stroked Tidus' hair. Paine's ruby eyes looked down as she fought to remain strong.
"Look around us, Yuna. How are we going to get out of here with them?" Paine whispered shakily. A clang shook Yuna out of her reverie as she realized the warrior had dropped her sword in defeat.
"U-Ugh...Yuna...?" a voice spoke from below them. Yuna and Paine's eyes flew down to Tidus' body, realizing that he had regained his consciousness.
"Tidus!!!" Yuna exclaimed as she lifted his head up with one hand, supporting him as he struggled to speak. His normally clear blue eyes were misted and half-shut as he struggled to speak.
"We...I-Isaruu and me...tried to get out...get out before the fire...came—but..." Tidus continued in short gasps. His eyes shut for a moment as he tried to catch his breath.
"Don't try to talk now, Tidus. Please..." Yuna said with a sob. Her hands tried to stroke the soot from his face as the flames continued to burn behind them.
Paine studied Tidus quickly, looking over for any wounds. He didn't seem like he had any physical injuries, but it seemed as if he had inhaled too much of the smoke. Her eyes drifted over to Isaruu's body. She saw a movement and immediately dashed to his side.
"Are you awake, Isaruu?" Paine asked quickly as she bent down next to him. Yuna turned to them with tears threatening to fall.
"Is he all right, Paine?" Yuna asked in a pained voice. She was about to open her mouth to speak again when she saw Isaruu's face suddenly twitch, one of his eyes opening before coughing loudly. Paine's flew down to him.
"Damn, we've gotta find a way to get of here..." Yuna heard Paine whisper, a hint of defeat evident in her friend's normally stoic voice.
"B-But how...?" Tidus spoke up from his position on Yuna's lap. He was struggling to keep his eyes open and was obviously having trouble breathing.
"I don't know..." Paine spoke. She looked around them, the soot smeared across her face. The fire continued to blaze all around them, but seemed to remain steady without nearing the entrance where they were.
"Don't give...up too easily, Paine..." Isaruu's voice spoke up. Paine and Yuna turned their attention to him as he reached into his robes. After some struggling, they saw his hand pull out a blue sphere.
"A CommSphere?!" Yuna exclaimed as soon as she saw the object.
Isaruu tried to sit up, brushing away some soot from his face. He tried to offer a smile despite their current situation. "Yes, and it will reach my brothers. We'll be out of here soon..."
***
He could feel something warm that he was touching with his hand. Warm and smooth...warm and...it was moving? Gippal's eye flew open.
The first thing he saw was a pool of blonde hair spread out directly in front of him. From the blanket that was rumpled from where he lay, Gippal could make out the blonde head poking halfway from the top of the blankets, body completely covered by the warm covers. He tried to suppress his laughter when he remembered that it was Rikku. Presently, her entire form was bundled in the blanket they now shared.
Gippal's amusement faded quickly away as the warm feeling in his right hand drew back his attention. As he moved his lower arm, he realized that he had one hand around Rikku, his fingers touching the bare skin of her stomach. He froze at his position and carefully pulled his arm back to himself, feeling very embarrassed that he had cuddled up to her the night before. Did she know about what he had done? Damn.
Rikku suddenly stirred, causing his gaze to move back to her. Feeling like a small child who had just been caught being naughty, Gippal's instantly shut his eye and laid completely still, making it seem as if he was still sound asleep.
"Gippal...? Are you...awake?" he heard her whisper quietly. He could feel her eyes on him as he remained still. The blankets next to him moved as he heard Rikku shift her position.
A moment of silence passed and he no longer heard anything coming from her. Yet he could sense that her eyes were still on him. Trying to keep his lips from curving upward, Gippal took the moment to really think about why the hell he was doing this. Clearly, it seemed foolish. Why even pretend to be asleep? But he knew the answer. Because he was too embarrassed to face her, knowing that he had an arm around her the whole night.
So much for that mental note he made to keep their distance. Heh.
Lost in thought, his inner voices soon stopped immediately after he felt something graze his lips quickly, seeming to last for just a split second. He fought off the urge to snap his eye open to see what it was, but his heart was racing from what had just happened. The blankets around him began to move and he heard Rikku stand up, her limbs popping softly as she stretched.
"Ow..." Gippal heard her mumble quietly. A zip from the front of the tent, and all was quiet again. He opened his eye cautiously and saw that Rikku had indeed left the tent.
He sat up, running a hand through his hair. What the hell was that? One hand came up to touch his lips instinctively, and then he felt immediately silly for doing so.
"It was probably nothing..." he trailed off before realizing that there was no way to ignore that nagging voice in the back of his mind. Yes, there was no mistaking it.
It had felt like a kiss.
***
Rikku sat on the edge of the Moonflow banks, gazing out into the bright lake. Pyreflies danced between the flowers, illuminating the clear waters. It reminded her of an aurora, the colors fading and glowing softly on the water's reflection.
As much as she tried to pretend it didn't happen, it really did.
"But it didn't really...right?" Rikku asked herself aloud. Her arms wrapped around her knees as she drew them up against her chest.
Trying to trace back exactly what happened, Rikku realized that remembering the events made her feel extremely awful and guilty. She didn't know what had compelled her to even dream of it.
Rikku had been watching him curiously after she had the feeling that he was awake and was just pretending to be asleep. As she leaned in to study his face closer, she suddenly felt very mischievous as her green eyes landed on Gippal's lips.
She began to feel herself leaning closer. She could feel Gippal's warm breathing on her face and her eyes darted up to his eye to make sure he was still asleep. Her lips were mere millimeters from his when her mind snapped back into reality. Realizing what position she was in, Rikku began to pull away—but not carefully enough.
As she moved away, she had made the fatal error of leaning slightly back down, just enough that her lips had brushed Gippal's. It had only lasted a second, but as soon as she realized what had happened, Rikku had stood and left the tent.
She shut her eyes from the memory, her guilt and frustration eating away at her consciousness.
"I really am a dummy..." Rikku spoke to herself again. She groaned at her antics. "Why'd I do that? Argh."
"Something the matter, Rikku?" a voice called from behind her. She turned around in the direction of the person. Deep green eyes met her own.
Serru.
"It's early for you to be awake, isn't it?" he asked again, a small smile on his face. She saw him look at her for an extra moment before sitting down beside her.
"U-um, yeah. But I couldn't sleep anyway," Rikku responded, trying to sound as if his presence didn't bother her. She offered a weak smile, her thoughts still on what had happened in the tent earlier.
"Ah, so there is something wrong," Serru replied, the morning sunrise making his sandy hair glow. He turned to face her, his eyes darkening as if he knew something had happened.
"No, nothing's wrong," she said again, hoping that he would accept her response. When he didn't seem to believe her, she decided to change the subject. "So um, how about you? It's early for you to be up too, isn't it?"
He smiled. "No, not me. I never could sleep well," Serru said simply. His finger traced outlines on the sand next to him.
Rikku frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Ever since I was a child. When my father..." he paused and looked up at her before shaking his head slightly, smiling as he did so. "Nevermind. It's not important."
She studied his expression some more before deciding that it was time to change the subject again. This topic was clearly a bad memory for Serru.
As she was about to speak, he interrupted her suddenly. "I didn't seem to find Gippal this morning. Perhaps you may know where he went?"
Rikku froze, realizing that there was no way to lie to him. Raising a hand to brush the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, she decided that the truth was the only way out.
"Hehe, well you see...um—"
"So here you are," a voice cut her off. Rikku turned and saw Gippal walking up the path towards them, his eye clear and bright. She watched his face as he approached. He seemed to watch the two of them with suspicious eyes. Or maybe that was just Rikku's imagination...
"Good morning, sir," Serru greeted as Gippal came to stop near them.
"Morning, Serru," he responded hesitantly, his gaze moving from Serru to Rikku and stopping on her for a moment. She could see him looking at her from the corner of her eye but chose not to meet his gaze.
"I didn't seem to find you this morning, sir," Serru continued on. His green eyes glanced at the girl. He managed to catch her gaze on him for a second before she averted her eyes away from his. Trying to suppress a smile, he tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible. "So where did you go? I was getting a bit worried about you, sir," Serru asked casually.
Rikku froze at the other Al Bhed's words. She could feel her cheeks beginning to warm from what she was waiting for Gippal to say, but there was no way he would ever think of saying it and—
"Well it's funny how it turned out last night, but uh..." Gippal began slowly. He looked at Rikku. She was staring back at him, hesitation evident in her eyes.
Serru looked back and forth between them. "Oh? What about last night?" he asked, already knowing what his boss was going to say.
"Rikku offered me a place to sleep in her tent, so uh, that's where I was and—"
"I see," Serru suddenly cut off. Gippal raised an eyebrow at his sudden rudeness.
A moment of uneasy silence passed between all three of them. Rikku hadn't noticed that her eyes had been down the whole time, and that she had been staring at her boots. She realized that they hadn't been cleaned in a while. Dirt stains and black soot coated the soles of the rubber, causing Rikku to frown in distaste.
"I have actually planned to travel closer to Guadosalam this morning," Serru began again. His mood seemed to lift considerably, his green eyes bright.
"What for?" Gippal asked, crossing his arms.
"According to what one of the young rookies told me about the barrier, it can somehow be destroyed from outside."
"But how's that possible?" Gippal asked incredulously.
"That is why I'm interested in learning why, sir," Serru explained. He had already started walking back to the clearing, the sand crunching underneath his boots. "I'll head back now. See you there."
Rikku watched Serru's back as he left the area. As she saw his disappearing form turn into the clearing, a flash of dark red caught her eye, reminding her that Gippal was indeed still in the area. She felt her face begin to warm again from the memory of the previous night.
"Hey."
She looked up at the sound of his voice. Turning herself around to face him fully, she saw that his eye looked clearer somehow, the light from the Moonflow waters reflecting on his face.
"Hm?" she asked simply. He stared back at her for a few seconds and the sensation of his warm arm around her from last night suddenly came rushing back. She turned her eyes away suddenly.
Gippal paused upon seeing her avert her gaze from his. It seemed as if something was troubling her. And then it hit him. 'Damn, what if she was awake when I—'
Rikku studied his face again. He seemed to be in deep thought with something, and she immediately began to feel nervous. 'Oh no. What if he felt what I did...'
He was about to open his mouth to speak when Serru suddenly came running towards them, one hand clutching his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Sir!! I have received word from the Celsius!! It concerns friends of yours...and—"
Gippal's expression turned serious. "What happened?"
Serru looked up before dropping his gaze in defeat. "They're in trouble."
Rikku felt her heart stop.
***
A/N: Yay. Chapter 8 coming soon. =)
Thanks once again for the wonderful reviews. ^^
Anyway, I hope you all haven't been dying TOO much while waiting for this chapter, so here it is...finally. =)
***
{{ Chapter 7: And Serru Makes Three
***
An unexpected cold draft caused Rikku to shift slightly from her position underneath the blankets, shaking her out of her sleep. There must have been a slight chill in the tent. Her eyes opened slowly in the darkness, one hand instinctively going up to her hair to brush away the long bangs that had fallen in front of her eyes. A yawn escaped her mouth as she adjusted her pillow, preparing to fall asleep again.
As she moved her body to face the opposite way, her mouth opened slightly in alarm from a weight that she felt was presently around her abdomen. She tensed up in her surprise, but then remembered who it was.
Rikku turned around slowly, quietly, so that she was resting on her other side. Lifting up the blankets to look underneath, her eyes made out the characteristic form of one of Gippal's hands resting loosely around her waist, her body drawn dangerously close to his. Her mind raced as the she could feel his lower arm around her, warmth from his body radiating out toward her at the same time. Ready to move away from his grasp, her eyes suddenly moved up to look into his face that was mere centimeters away from her own.
His one eye was closed in deep slumber, hiding the bright orbs within. A few strands of spiky blonde hair fell over his forehead, giving his face a soft boyish look despite being asleep. Even in the dim light of the tent, Rikku could see his black eye patch and she wondered what had really happened to him. Shrugging off her curiosity, she remembered the warm weight that was wrapped around her, realizing that Gippal had reached out for her sometime in the night and this was where they were now.
She guessed that he wasn't very used to being in cold weather and had instinctively latched onto the nearest warm object. That warm object happened to be her. A blush crept over her cheeks again as she suddenly felt Gippal's hand move slightly around her waist, pulling her gently toward himself. Her green eyes flickered up to his face. He was still asleep.
Deciding that there was nothing she could do to get out of his warm grip, Rikku felt her eyelids growing heavy, a reminder that there were about three more hours left before morning. Letting her mind sink back into the soft comfort of sleep, the weight of Gippal's arm around her slowly became a fleeting memory as her mind entered a calming dream.
***
Serru awoke with a start, realizing that it was already dawn. He was always a light-sleeper, never really being affected by not getting enough sleep at nights. Pulling the blankets away from himself, he stood and unzipped his tent, squinting his green eyes in the early morning sunlight.
He frowned when he didn't spot Gippal's body in the campsite. The other Al Bhed was supposed to be keeping watch last night, right? Frowning again, his eyes moved over to the other tent across from his own. Unable to contain his curiosity at wondering where Gippal was, he made his way quietly to Rikku's tent. There was a tug at the edge of curiosity at wondering where Gippal was, but there was no way he could be in there...right?
The flaps were tightly sealed as Serru approached, yet he couldn't help making sure anyway. One hand quietly unzipping the front, his green eyes peaked into the tent and he felt his mouth drop open in shock.
His wide green eyes took in the form of Gippal and Rikku, their bodies questionably close together. Rikku slept with her back to Gippal, and Serru could see that Gippal had one arm around the girl's waist. They were sound asleep, one blanket around the both of them.
Serru felt his right fist clenching at the sight that lay before him. Suddenly, Rikku stirred, making a soft sound as she turned around and faced Gippal, her eyes still closed. Then, all was quiet again.
His eyes blazing, he left the tent in disgust.
***
A shadow began to take form as Yuna approached the entrance to the dome. Two more shaky steps and she could now see the form of Paine, bent down on the ground over...over two bodies?!
"Paine!!"
The warrior looked up, soot on her face. A tired expression was evident on her eyes as Yuna came running up to her.
"Tidus! Isaaru!" Yuna sobbed as she collapsed next to the two.
"They're still breathing, but..." Paine interrupted gently, watching Yuna's eyes fill with horror at her words.
"But what?!" Yuna friend demanded, tears threatening to fall as she stroked Tidus' hair. Paine's ruby eyes looked down as she fought to remain strong.
"Look around us, Yuna. How are we going to get out of here with them?" Paine whispered shakily. A clang shook Yuna out of her reverie as she realized the warrior had dropped her sword in defeat.
"U-Ugh...Yuna...?" a voice spoke from below them. Yuna and Paine's eyes flew down to Tidus' body, realizing that he had regained his consciousness.
"Tidus!!!" Yuna exclaimed as she lifted his head up with one hand, supporting him as he struggled to speak. His normally clear blue eyes were misted and half-shut as he struggled to speak.
"We...I-Isaruu and me...tried to get out...get out before the fire...came—but..." Tidus continued in short gasps. His eyes shut for a moment as he tried to catch his breath.
"Don't try to talk now, Tidus. Please..." Yuna said with a sob. Her hands tried to stroke the soot from his face as the flames continued to burn behind them.
Paine studied Tidus quickly, looking over for any wounds. He didn't seem like he had any physical injuries, but it seemed as if he had inhaled too much of the smoke. Her eyes drifted over to Isaruu's body. She saw a movement and immediately dashed to his side.
"Are you awake, Isaruu?" Paine asked quickly as she bent down next to him. Yuna turned to them with tears threatening to fall.
"Is he all right, Paine?" Yuna asked in a pained voice. She was about to open her mouth to speak again when she saw Isaruu's face suddenly twitch, one of his eyes opening before coughing loudly. Paine's flew down to him.
"Damn, we've gotta find a way to get of here..." Yuna heard Paine whisper, a hint of defeat evident in her friend's normally stoic voice.
"B-But how...?" Tidus spoke up from his position on Yuna's lap. He was struggling to keep his eyes open and was obviously having trouble breathing.
"I don't know..." Paine spoke. She looked around them, the soot smeared across her face. The fire continued to blaze all around them, but seemed to remain steady without nearing the entrance where they were.
"Don't give...up too easily, Paine..." Isaruu's voice spoke up. Paine and Yuna turned their attention to him as he reached into his robes. After some struggling, they saw his hand pull out a blue sphere.
"A CommSphere?!" Yuna exclaimed as soon as she saw the object.
Isaruu tried to sit up, brushing away some soot from his face. He tried to offer a smile despite their current situation. "Yes, and it will reach my brothers. We'll be out of here soon..."
***
He could feel something warm that he was touching with his hand. Warm and smooth...warm and...it was moving? Gippal's eye flew open.
The first thing he saw was a pool of blonde hair spread out directly in front of him. From the blanket that was rumpled from where he lay, Gippal could make out the blonde head poking halfway from the top of the blankets, body completely covered by the warm covers. He tried to suppress his laughter when he remembered that it was Rikku. Presently, her entire form was bundled in the blanket they now shared.
Gippal's amusement faded quickly away as the warm feeling in his right hand drew back his attention. As he moved his lower arm, he realized that he had one hand around Rikku, his fingers touching the bare skin of her stomach. He froze at his position and carefully pulled his arm back to himself, feeling very embarrassed that he had cuddled up to her the night before. Did she know about what he had done? Damn.
Rikku suddenly stirred, causing his gaze to move back to her. Feeling like a small child who had just been caught being naughty, Gippal's instantly shut his eye and laid completely still, making it seem as if he was still sound asleep.
"Gippal...? Are you...awake?" he heard her whisper quietly. He could feel her eyes on him as he remained still. The blankets next to him moved as he heard Rikku shift her position.
A moment of silence passed and he no longer heard anything coming from her. Yet he could sense that her eyes were still on him. Trying to keep his lips from curving upward, Gippal took the moment to really think about why the hell he was doing this. Clearly, it seemed foolish. Why even pretend to be asleep? But he knew the answer. Because he was too embarrassed to face her, knowing that he had an arm around her the whole night.
So much for that mental note he made to keep their distance. Heh.
Lost in thought, his inner voices soon stopped immediately after he felt something graze his lips quickly, seeming to last for just a split second. He fought off the urge to snap his eye open to see what it was, but his heart was racing from what had just happened. The blankets around him began to move and he heard Rikku stand up, her limbs popping softly as she stretched.
"Ow..." Gippal heard her mumble quietly. A zip from the front of the tent, and all was quiet again. He opened his eye cautiously and saw that Rikku had indeed left the tent.
He sat up, running a hand through his hair. What the hell was that? One hand came up to touch his lips instinctively, and then he felt immediately silly for doing so.
"It was probably nothing..." he trailed off before realizing that there was no way to ignore that nagging voice in the back of his mind. Yes, there was no mistaking it.
It had felt like a kiss.
***
Rikku sat on the edge of the Moonflow banks, gazing out into the bright lake. Pyreflies danced between the flowers, illuminating the clear waters. It reminded her of an aurora, the colors fading and glowing softly on the water's reflection.
As much as she tried to pretend it didn't happen, it really did.
"But it didn't really...right?" Rikku asked herself aloud. Her arms wrapped around her knees as she drew them up against her chest.
Trying to trace back exactly what happened, Rikku realized that remembering the events made her feel extremely awful and guilty. She didn't know what had compelled her to even dream of it.
Rikku had been watching him curiously after she had the feeling that he was awake and was just pretending to be asleep. As she leaned in to study his face closer, she suddenly felt very mischievous as her green eyes landed on Gippal's lips.
She began to feel herself leaning closer. She could feel Gippal's warm breathing on her face and her eyes darted up to his eye to make sure he was still asleep. Her lips were mere millimeters from his when her mind snapped back into reality. Realizing what position she was in, Rikku began to pull away—but not carefully enough.
As she moved away, she had made the fatal error of leaning slightly back down, just enough that her lips had brushed Gippal's. It had only lasted a second, but as soon as she realized what had happened, Rikku had stood and left the tent.
She shut her eyes from the memory, her guilt and frustration eating away at her consciousness.
"I really am a dummy..." Rikku spoke to herself again. She groaned at her antics. "Why'd I do that? Argh."
"Something the matter, Rikku?" a voice called from behind her. She turned around in the direction of the person. Deep green eyes met her own.
Serru.
"It's early for you to be awake, isn't it?" he asked again, a small smile on his face. She saw him look at her for an extra moment before sitting down beside her.
"U-um, yeah. But I couldn't sleep anyway," Rikku responded, trying to sound as if his presence didn't bother her. She offered a weak smile, her thoughts still on what had happened in the tent earlier.
"Ah, so there is something wrong," Serru replied, the morning sunrise making his sandy hair glow. He turned to face her, his eyes darkening as if he knew something had happened.
"No, nothing's wrong," she said again, hoping that he would accept her response. When he didn't seem to believe her, she decided to change the subject. "So um, how about you? It's early for you to be up too, isn't it?"
He smiled. "No, not me. I never could sleep well," Serru said simply. His finger traced outlines on the sand next to him.
Rikku frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Ever since I was a child. When my father..." he paused and looked up at her before shaking his head slightly, smiling as he did so. "Nevermind. It's not important."
She studied his expression some more before deciding that it was time to change the subject again. This topic was clearly a bad memory for Serru.
As she was about to speak, he interrupted her suddenly. "I didn't seem to find Gippal this morning. Perhaps you may know where he went?"
Rikku froze, realizing that there was no way to lie to him. Raising a hand to brush the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, she decided that the truth was the only way out.
"Hehe, well you see...um—"
"So here you are," a voice cut her off. Rikku turned and saw Gippal walking up the path towards them, his eye clear and bright. She watched his face as he approached. He seemed to watch the two of them with suspicious eyes. Or maybe that was just Rikku's imagination...
"Good morning, sir," Serru greeted as Gippal came to stop near them.
"Morning, Serru," he responded hesitantly, his gaze moving from Serru to Rikku and stopping on her for a moment. She could see him looking at her from the corner of her eye but chose not to meet his gaze.
"I didn't seem to find you this morning, sir," Serru continued on. His green eyes glanced at the girl. He managed to catch her gaze on him for a second before she averted her eyes away from his. Trying to suppress a smile, he tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible. "So where did you go? I was getting a bit worried about you, sir," Serru asked casually.
Rikku froze at the other Al Bhed's words. She could feel her cheeks beginning to warm from what she was waiting for Gippal to say, but there was no way he would ever think of saying it and—
"Well it's funny how it turned out last night, but uh..." Gippal began slowly. He looked at Rikku. She was staring back at him, hesitation evident in her eyes.
Serru looked back and forth between them. "Oh? What about last night?" he asked, already knowing what his boss was going to say.
"Rikku offered me a place to sleep in her tent, so uh, that's where I was and—"
"I see," Serru suddenly cut off. Gippal raised an eyebrow at his sudden rudeness.
A moment of uneasy silence passed between all three of them. Rikku hadn't noticed that her eyes had been down the whole time, and that she had been staring at her boots. She realized that they hadn't been cleaned in a while. Dirt stains and black soot coated the soles of the rubber, causing Rikku to frown in distaste.
"I have actually planned to travel closer to Guadosalam this morning," Serru began again. His mood seemed to lift considerably, his green eyes bright.
"What for?" Gippal asked, crossing his arms.
"According to what one of the young rookies told me about the barrier, it can somehow be destroyed from outside."
"But how's that possible?" Gippal asked incredulously.
"That is why I'm interested in learning why, sir," Serru explained. He had already started walking back to the clearing, the sand crunching underneath his boots. "I'll head back now. See you there."
Rikku watched Serru's back as he left the area. As she saw his disappearing form turn into the clearing, a flash of dark red caught her eye, reminding her that Gippal was indeed still in the area. She felt her face begin to warm again from the memory of the previous night.
"Hey."
She looked up at the sound of his voice. Turning herself around to face him fully, she saw that his eye looked clearer somehow, the light from the Moonflow waters reflecting on his face.
"Hm?" she asked simply. He stared back at her for a few seconds and the sensation of his warm arm around her from last night suddenly came rushing back. She turned her eyes away suddenly.
Gippal paused upon seeing her avert her gaze from his. It seemed as if something was troubling her. And then it hit him. 'Damn, what if she was awake when I—'
Rikku studied his face again. He seemed to be in deep thought with something, and she immediately began to feel nervous. 'Oh no. What if he felt what I did...'
He was about to open his mouth to speak when Serru suddenly came running towards them, one hand clutching his chest as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Sir!! I have received word from the Celsius!! It concerns friends of yours...and—"
Gippal's expression turned serious. "What happened?"
Serru looked up before dropping his gaze in defeat. "They're in trouble."
Rikku felt her heart stop.
***
A/N: Yay. Chapter 8 coming soon. =)
Thanks once again for the wonderful reviews. ^^