A/N: Here it is...the last chapter. –heavy sigh- God, I'm starting to tear up...I've had SO many good experiences with this story-it's shown me these two belong together, it's sharpened my writing skills, and I've gotten all those AWESOME reviews from everyone! I love you all for taking the time to read my story and review, because those sentences you write make my day considerably happier.

And even though it's ending...I MIGHT just add a later thing that MIGHT have a tie-in with this. In other words, I probably will because I love writing this story SO much and I'm going to miss spending endless hours on my computer wearing out my keyboard.

Thanks so much for everything guys, I appreciate all you've done, and I hope you've enjoyed my story as much as I have!

The Final Chapter

The side of the boat hit the beach gently, the swaying motion of the large ship had suddenly slowed. Rikku looked up from her thinking position, which had been in a dark corner with her head tucked into her knees. She squinted in the sunlight.

"Are we there already?" She asked a lady near her. She nodded.

"All right, here we are at the beach near Djose Highroad! Please leave in an orderly fashion, and thank you for your time!" The man at front called. Rikku was glad to get off the boat—she never liked being on water. It kind of scared her, ever since Sin had attacked her boat...and Al Bhed were made for sand anyway.

She quickly jumped off the side, glad the boat now made its way so close to the temple. She looked up to see the ruins of the giant gun used to fight Sin-it held deaths, and yet it also held happiness-her and Gippal's, as they sat there in the night, who knows how long ago.

"Get moving, you're holding up the line!" A grouchy old fat man cried from behind her. Rikku whirled around, her eyebrows scrunched together. She stuck her tongue out at him and skipped off the plank. Her stomach was in knots. Here it was...her final meeting with Gippal.

"Wouldn't that be funny if he wasn't there?" She murmured to herself, chuckling at the sheer irony of it. With a fond touch to the earpierce still stuck in her ear, Rikku just prayed he wanted to see her as badly as she him.

Rikku wanted to run, run as fast as she could. With her heart thumping, she forced her legs to move—but they wouldn't. They decided to make their way at a snail's pace. She sighed. "Fine. But you'll owe me later." She was kind of grateful for it—she was nervous about seeing Gippal, and going slow seemed perfectly fine to her.

She occasionally looked out at the sea to her right, trying to get that annoying squirmy feeling out of her gut. But it was useless...it was there to stay.

Soon the sound of crackling electricity dawned into her ears. She shivered. The temple was coming closer—no matter how much she wanted to see Gippal, it was going to be weird...what if he was gone for good or something? She didn't really know WHAT had happened to him since the Vegnagun incident.

Soon numbers of Al Bhed came running past her. They gave her two finger salute and then were off again. She grinned. That was enough praise for her—okay, it wasn't. Why was Yuna always the famous one?

She got attention all the time—no one ever noticed her little cronies in the back. This little fact bothered her for the rest of the trip, and she didn't even notice when she was practically on the doorstep of the temple.

"How come I never get noticed?!" Rikku suddenly cried, stamping her foot, breathing heavily. Man, that felt good.

"Get noticed? So I guess my attention isn't good enough?"

Rikku felt her blood chill, and her movements freeze. Her face still looking at the ground, she slowly lifted her EYES, not whole face, to see if it was really him.

It was. She could barely see him because of her cut-off vision, but she knew. Slowly she lifted her head to its full height.

She scanned him over quickly. He looked the same—except for a few less stress lines on his face. He held his hand on his hip, and wore a cocky grin that filled his whole face, WHICH was blushing profusely. Rikku could see, as much as he tried to hide it discreetly, he was happy to see her. She let a small smile take over her face.

"G-Gippal?" She finally asked.

He returned her question with a little nod. "What, you thought I was Buddy or something?"

Rikku giggled. She didn't run up to him or anything though. The two still stood at least 8 feet apart, him at the door and her near the front of the temple. She just didn't feel that comfortable yet.

Gippal took a hesitant step forward. "What took you so long?" He finally asked with a small, yet sincere smile.

Rikku rolled her eyes. "Yuna! Yevon, she wanted me to follow her around like some slave, I wanted to get away SO bad, and come see you, but she was being so stubborn, and Tidus coming back just made me want to come and see you even more—"

Gippal just chuckled. "You never stop talking, do you?"

Rikku blushed. "Do I really talk that much?"

He nodded. "But that's what my girl does, right? That's why I love you so much!" He added with a helpless shrug and a large grin.

That was her cue. With a big smile Rikku ran up to him, completely forgetting the temporary awkwardness between them. She jumped at him, wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She dug her face into his chest.

Gippal was a little surprised at first, but in a second he was hugging her back, his face dug into her shoulder.

"I missed you." She finally stated in a muffled voice.

Gippal grinned and hugged her tighter. He didn't ever want to let go of her—not ever again.

And Rikku felt the same, her fingers gripping onto the cloth of his shirt tightly. She lifted her head slowly, as Gippal did the same. They looked into each others eyes, tears of joy trickling from them both.

"I love you Rikku—and this nothing's going to get in our way. We'll stay happy together forever." Gippal suddenly murmured, taking a hand away from her waist and caressing her cheek. Rikku closed her eyes as she smiled.

"I love you too Gippal." She finally managed out. The two smiled at each other, an understanding finally reaching them both.

Even if they had their arguments and problems, fights and difficulties, their love for each other would prevail through it all. They meant so much to each other, that they felt if they ever let go they would be apart forever. And neither wanted that to happen again.

Suddenly Rikku jumped off of him. Gippal raised his eyebrow, and was about to make some snarky comment, when Rikku shushed him.

"Surprise me." She finally said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Gippal's mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out.

"What?"

"Surprise me!" She finally cried. "I need a surprise from you!"

He grinned cheekily. "Oh...a surprise, eh?" His eye glanced over at the cliff, and Rikku's eyes widened, a horrified expression taking over her face.

"Oh no, Gippal, not that-no-please-GIPP!" She shrieked the last word as he lifted her up and ran to the cliff.

"NO! GIPPAL! I'm ORDERING you to PUT. ME. DOWN!"

"You wanted a surprise!" He yelled, grinning madly.

"Well, yea, but not thiiIIIS!" She cried loudly as Gippal suddenly held her above the open space as if he had just dipped her in a dance. Her hands clawed at Gippal for something to hold onto, but he was too faraway. Her arms flopped down in defeat, her head upside down. Her eyes were shut tight, and she was muttering some kind of prayer in Al Bhed.

"Gippal, when I get back on the ground, I swear I'm gonna murder you—"

"Really?" Gippal asked as he slowly brought her up. She was breathing heavily, her eyes squeezed so tight it looked like they were going to disintegrate. But they opened slowly at his question.

"Even after I do this?" He asked, bringing her face closer. She could feel his hot breath on her, and her blood shot up through her veins.

This was it. The welcome back kiss that would lead to who-knows-what back in the Temple.

"Do what?" She asked breathlessly, her gaze lost in his.

"This." He said huskily, and with that, he lifted her back to solid ground—and started to tickle her stomach mercilessly. She shrieked, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"GIPPAL! Stop it!" She cried, fighting at him, kicking her legs and flailing her arms. Gippal just laughed and continued to tickle her until she fell to the ground, too exhausted to fight back. She fought back tears of pain from the tickling, glad that Gippal had finally stopped.

He knelt down on one knee, and lifted her chin up. In a split second he grasped her in a deep kiss. He bit her bottom lip playfully and pulled away.

"Well, well...I see THAT'S what you were looking for." He stated with a cocky grin. Rikku was staring off into space, missing the kiss already, until she heard Gippal say that.

"What? Hey! Get back here, you chicken cheater!" She called after the body of Gippal, who was running away laughing.

"I'll get you!" She cried, standing up and smiling.

"And this time, there's nothing to get in my way."

THE END

A/N: Aww...sweet. Okay, their ending wasn't exactly picture perfect, but I suck at making endings. And yes, I didn't know where to stop it so I did there. FYI, they DO stay together—in my fantasy world.

Thanks again to all of you for using your precious time reading this thing. I didn't even expect it to become a story, really—I thought no one would be interested. And look at that. Probably the longest story I've ever written. Yep, yep.

So-yea. Sorry if it wasn't everything you wanted...but it's still one of my favorite pieces of writing. –hugs it- Thanks again to everyone, and I hope you enjoyed my 23 chapter story of the life and times of Rikku and Gippal!