Welcome to the final chapter of what is now my favorite fic that I have written. I highly enjoyed writing this fic...and it's really sad to have it completely posted already. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it...and I hope to have Remembering Rachel posted sometime within the next...year. (Just kidding, hopefully it'll be sooner) Thank you everyone for your kind reviews!!!

11. All You Need Is Love

Rikku couldn't wipe off the smile that she had on her face since she saw her new cousin. She was beautiful, and like Tidus said, she was going to grow up and look just like Yuna. Rikku inhaled as she placed her hands on her legs and tried to pay attention to the speech that Gippal, Baralai, and Nooj were giving in the middle of the stadium. Although she, Paine, Lulu, Wakka, Vidina, and Leblanc had first class seats, Rikku couldn't find it in her attention span to actually listen.

I think I was bitten by the love bug again…Rikku thought to herself as she continued to think of how happy Yuna and Tidus are together. They're always holding hands, sweetly kissing, or just smiling at each other. They have a connection…I never had that with Gippal, did I? We were always screaming at each other in Al Bhed and we never had time to enjoy the sentimental moments between us…

No, that's not true. We shared some amazing moments together! Like the time he surprised me by taking the day off work and driving me to an unknown location so we could have our own private picnic. That was so romantic, although a sandstorm almost blew us away. Or how 'bout the time he found a baby flan and how he let me play with it for a while! Awww, I forgot about Cudda Vicca! He was so cute! Well, he was cute until we found Lele Vicca!

She looked up at Gippal, who looked very cool and collected up on the podium. Heh, I don't know who he thinks he's fooling by saying that he's not good in front of people. He loves the limelight more than anyone I know! She had to let out a chuckle as Gippal flashed everyone in the audience his trademark cocky grin as a period at the end of his sentence.

Yeah, I miss him…A lot…She admitted to herself as she looked down at her shoes. This was the second night in a row where she had to 'get all pretty,' so that meant that she went back to that store and bought the red dress that she had been eyeing. The dress was made of a sparkly scarlet material, low bust line, spaghetti straps and a wavy bottom. Her shoes were also red, in the same sparkly material as her dress. Instead of trying to please Gippal tonight by wearing her hair long, she wore her hair up, but not in her usual thrown together style—she pinned it back and curled a few stray tendrils so they framed her face.

He was going to propose to me…She repeated to herself for the eightieth time within the last five minutes. She started to wring her program between her hands as she continued to think of what he said to her. Maybe I should've thought more about the situation before I broke up with him…I mean, he means the world to me! I can see us married in five years, but not now…Maybe I was more scared about being tied down forever than anything…Maybe that's the real reason why I broke up with him…

Rikku looked around and realized that the audience was applauding, so she started to clap her hands together. Yep, I have the attention span of a five year old who has been eating sugar cubes all day today…She mumbled in her head as everyone started to disperse the stadium. Oh wow, I didn't know that it was over! Thank Yunalesca!

"We're supposed to meet them in the café," Lulu stated as she picked up Vidina. "That's where the reception is being held."

"You know, if it wasn't for Lulu, we would never know what's going on or where to go," Rikku whispered to Paine, who let out a smile. "What? It's true!"

"I know it is, that's why there is humor in it," she replied as they started to exit the stadium.

"So what actually went on for that ceremony? I honestly think I slept during it or something," Rikku asked as she rubbed her eyes. She let out a whimper when she realized that she had on mascara and eye make up on. "Ahh! Did I ruin my make up?" She frantically asked Paine as she looked at her hand.

"No," Paine said as she held the door open for Rikku. "You have enough eye make up on to share with the rest of Spira. You are going to need some heavy-duty machinery to help you get it off. Hey, maybe your Rikkubot could help you!"

"Very funny," Rikku said as she rubbed the make up off her fingers with her other hand. "I'm pretty sure that Gippal still has that thing in his room. I don't know about you, but just having it around… Yikes! Wouldn't that creep you out?"

"The real you creeps me out enough," Paine said as Rikku pouted. "Hey, I'm kidding. Anyway, I think he still has it unplugged, so it's just lying there or something."

"What do you think he's gonna do with it?" Rikku asked as they walked out onto the Luca streets. "I know it was an experiment and stuff, but now it's just plain disturbing."

"Talk to him about it." Paine suggested as Rikku nodded. Rikku and Gippal hardly talked since the night before, but it wasn't like she was avoiding him. She woke up late due to going to bed late because they were at the hospital until almost five thirty am and he went to practice the signing speech a short time before she woke up. I wish Ariana wouldn't have had an early alarm clock setting or something! Did really she need to come out at 4am?

"Yeah, I plan to," she said as she looked down at her hands.

"Plan to what?" She felt someone sweep her up into a big hug and didn't have to look at who it was to see that it was Gippal.

"Ask when you were going to destroy the Rikkubot," she answered as he kept his arm around her shoulders as he put her down. "Just looking at it kinda scares me. Which makes me think, do people feel scared when they look at me? I try not to be scary."

"Ha, you're not scary," he said as he pulled her over to the side, leaving Paine with the hint that he wanted to talk in private with Rikku. She smirked at him as she left to find Baralai. "Hey, I've got an interesting proposition to make."

"Kay," Rikku said as she was all ears. She was slightly afraid of what he was going to ask, but she couldn't run now.

"How about we go see Yuna and Tidus for a little while," he said with a gentle smile. Not the normal 'Gippal' smile, but the smile he usually gives me…Rikku thought as her heart slightly melted. "We can see how Yuna's doing and you can hold the baby because I know that is what you've been dying to do since you found out Yuna was pregnant."

"What about the reception thingie for the signing?" Rikku asked as he shrugged. "Isn't that really important to you?"

"Yeah, it is, but I know you really want to see the new baby, and I want to take you." Rikku was touched that he would take her to see Ari, because she didn't want to go by herself.

"You'd do that?" She questioned as he nodded and rubbed her back.

"Of course I would," he said as he started to lead her toward the hospital. "Besides, it'll be a while before anything interesting happens at the reception anyway. I mean, there are some speeches planned and whatnot, but I'm sure Baralai and Nooj will wait until after dinner to reiterate everything that we said in the stadium. 'We believe that Spira needs to be whole and in order to do that, we needed to band together,' blah blah blah."

"It was a good speech though," Rikku said as he let out a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You can't fool me, Cid's girl." She looked up at him in curiosity of what he meant and he gently kissed her on the top of the head. Rikku couldn't help but feel a little weak at the knees with his arm around her, and now he just kissed me…

"Fool you with what?"

"Oh, you're coy," he said as she batted her eyes at him. "You didn't pay attention to a damn word that was said for the entire two hour speech, I know you. You were too busy thinking about the new baby, or plotting ways to destroy the you machina, or—"

"I'm thinking that machina are weak against lightning and I have my black mage dressphere fully mastered and all ready to go in my suitcase," she interrupted as he started to laugh. "Hey, I enjoyed playing with my dresspheres last night. I forgot how fun it was. It's a rush."

"You can put that thief outfit on anytime you want to, 'cause let me tell you, it's so hot." Rikku couldn't help but blush slightly at the compliment. "I was quite jealous of those bellboys last night. I wanted to be seduced too."

"Gippal, come on," Rikku said, hoping he would stop the guilt trip. "You know I love you."

"I already took care of her, you know," he said, making Rikku go through a gear change in her mind.

"W-what?" She asked as he continued to rub her shoulder with his fingers.

"I love you too, Rikku."

"Okay, you just changed topics too quickly," she said as she rubbed her temples with her fingers. "You're going to give me a migraine if you keep doing that!"

"I destroyed the Rikku machina," he continued as they stopped walking again. "Nehl's gonna be pissed off at me, but I think he'll understand in the long run."

"But it was his project," she said as he nodded.

"Yeah, I know, but it was my fault for wanting to make the experiment into you," he admitted as he leaned against the stone railing. "At first I thought it would be a great way to make me feel better. I mean, I wouldn't have to miss you because you would always be right there. Then, you always were right there. That damn thing never left me alone for five minutes, and that made me miss you even more."

"Why's that?" She asked as he sighed.

"She was…too perfect. Although Nehl wanted it to just be an experiment, I made it go too far because I programmed her. She was exactly what I wanted. But after a while, nothing was surprising anymore. It was all too predictable. That's one of the things that I loved most about you; your unpredictable demeanor." He looked at Rikku and tapped her on the nose. "I just got bored with her."

"Um," Rikku started nervously as she made a face, afraid of what the answer was going to be to her question. "I don't mean to stick my nose in where it doesn't belong, but—"

"She wasn't a sexbot, Rikku," he answered as she let out a sigh of relief. "I'm not that deranged."

"Okay, good," she said as she exhaled.

"She was just supposed to be a replacement, ya know, some way to make the mending process go smoother." He scratched the back of his head in thought. "But, like I said, it stopped being entertaining after twenty minutes. She was practically attached to my hip."

"It's because she loved her Gippaly-Wippaly!" Rikku said as she grabbed Gippal's face, making his lips pucker. He gave her a look of annoyance and she couldn't help but giggle at him.

"The hair threat still applies, you know." Her eyes went wide as she let go of his face and grabbed her hair. "Ha, works like a charm every time."

"Ha ha," she said as she leaned against the railing, to his surprise, extremely close to him. "I'm really sorry for hurting you, Gippal."

"It's okay," he said as he looked out toward the horizon. "It didn't kill me, so I guess that cliché proves that it'll made me stronger. I can't dwell on the memories."

"'Memories are nice—"

"But that's all they are," Gippal finished for her as he looked at her. "I know the phrase."

"I love that phrase." She tilted her head so she could look at him, then quickly looked away. "It helps me through tough times, like when I think of my mom or Auron or…" She watched the waves crash against each other as she quietly added, "or you."

"Yeah." He couldn't think of anything else to say, so he cleared his throat. There was an awkward silence between them for a moment as they gazed out at the scenery, scrambling to find the right words to say. Rikku rested her head against his arm, causing him to move it and wrap it around her.

"I miss you," she said as Gippal blinked repeatedly for a few seconds. "I really do. Seeing you over the last few days made me realize that I miss being with you. I love being your girl. It's like, we're made for each other."

"What happened to you wanting to be the independent woman that I was holding you back from?" He knew his tone was slightly harsh, but he wasn't ready to give in to her just yet.

"Uh, bitterness, party of one? Your table is now available," she retorted as moved her head off of his chest and glared at him. "I knew you would misunderstand me when I said that."

"How else am I supposed to take it besides, 'Gippal, you're smothering me.'" He had to smile as he tried to imitate Rikku's voice. He looked at Rikku for some kind of verbal reaction, but she only sighed as she placed her head back on his chest.

"My defense to that would have to be that I was afraid of getting too close." She watched a ship enter the harbor and move closer to the dock. She could hear the sailors yelling at each other even though they were a good distance away. "I guess I thought that since I was already falling too hard, I was afraid that you would just leave me by myself."

"I thought that you would've known that I would never ever leave you," he said as he trailed his finger under her jawbone and stopped at her chin, causing her to look at his face. "How did you not know that?"

"I don't know," she confessed as she moved her head and smiled as she looked down at her feet. "Being with you feels so right, but I'm just scared. I don't know what's going to happen."

"Rikku, I can't describe what you mean to me." He started as Rikku interrupted.

"You made me into a Rikkubot," she said merrily as she slightly giggled. "That means something."

"Yeah, can we forget about the machina thing?" She nodded and he kissed her on the top of the head. "Okay good, because that's really embarrassing."

"But on a serious note, I was, well, serious." She said as Gippal stopped rubbing her arm.

"What are you saying, Rikku?" He asked her as she innocently looked up at him. "I'm really confused."

"Well, I just think that every Rikku in this world should have her very own Gippal." Gippal slightly blushed as Rikku genuinely smiled at him. "You're an amazing guy, Gippal. I don't know who I would be if you weren't in my life."

"Really?" He asked, completely flattered. "Well, thank you, Cid's girl. That's very sweet."

"So, did you really want to marry me?" She knew that she ruined the sentimental moment slightly, but couldn't help but ask. It had been running through her head all day and the curiosity was simply killing her. Plus, I'm not sure if he was just using that defense to make me feel worse about the situation…he wouldn't do that, would he? He inhaled then blew out the air in small puffs.

"Yeah, I, um, I really did," he replied, keeping her past tense in his own sentence. "Heh, I never thought you would've broken up with me on the same day though. You just love to keep me guessing."

"Oh," she said simply. Silence…She thought as she tapped her fingers against the cool stone railing. "I'm not ready to marry you yet. I know that sounds forward, but it's true."

"I see." Looking out at the sea was the only thing he could find to do at the time being. He wanted to just walk away from her because this intervention wasn't helping him at all. It was only opening the wounds that she gave him the previous week when she broke up with him. Wait a tick…He thought when he ran her previous sentence through his head again. "What do you mean, 'yet?'"

"Huh?" she said as perked her head up. "'Yet' what?"

"You said, 'I'm not ready to marry you yet.'" She blinked blankly at him and he bit his lip in thought.

"I did?" She asked as she tried to remember what she said.

"Yes, you did," he replied as he looked down at her. "So, what did you mean by it?"

"Well, I already made it clear to you that I still love you and I really regret breaking your heart," she started as she turned so her back was against the short stone wall. "But, I'm too young to be married. I know that Yunie and Tidus were only 19 when they got married, but I think they were 'prepared' to get married. I don't think we have the mental capability to get married. Now that I really do think about it, I think we would kill each other."

"I beg to differ, but okay," he said, unsure how to take her ramblings. She's known to ramble on for a while and not realize what she's saying…If she doesn't forget where she's going with this sentence, she might get to a point eventually…

"I love being with you. I love being in your arms, I love when you give me that smile that just makes me go crazy, I love the way you make me feel inside when I think of you or if you're right there. In my brain, I envision us getting married and settling down, but not yet. Maybe in like five or so years, but not right away." He let her ramble on some more, but she stopped for a second and played with the end of one of the tendrils of hair that were loose. "Uh oh, I forgot where I was going with this sentence."

"Proof that I know you too well." Gippal couldn't help but let out a laugh as he walked in front of her and rested his hands against the railing, trapping her between his arms. "So you still love me?"

"Of course," she said quietly as she lifted her head up so she could look him right into his good eye. "I'm really sorry for the millionth and a half time."

"That's all that matters because I can wait," he said as he lowered his head so his lips met Rikku's. She blinked in surprise, but the shock stage only lasted a second for she knew it was right. She brought her arms around his neck and he put his hands on her back as the kiss deepened.

"Well, it looks like the whole gang is back together." Rikku and Gippal separated to see that their compassionate moment was in front of an audience composed of Baralai and Paine. Rikku and Gippal both slightly blushed. Uh oh, busted! Rikku thought as she smiled and chewed on her lip.

"Sorry for intruding," Baralai said as they walked closer to each other, "but we were going to go see how Yuna, Tidus, and the new baby were doing and we wanted to know if you crazy kids wanted to come with us."

"What, are all of you guys going to skip out on the reception?" Rikku asked, suspiciously eyeing Gippal and Baralai.

"Eh, Nooj can handle it," Baralai said with a wave of his hand. "He knew we were sneaking off anyway, I told him."

"It's not technically 'sneaking off' if he knows about it though, right?" Baralai chuckled at Rikku and nodded at her.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Well, I'm up for seeing Ariana," Rikku said, trying to bounce on her toes. It didn't work so well because she was in heels, so she pouted and stopped. "Owie."

"Come on," Gippal said with a laugh as he put his arm around her waist and kissed her on top of the head. She looked up at him and again had to smile in happiness. Yay! I'm his girl again! Don't mess it up this time, Rikku! She yelled at herself as they walked toward the hospital.

"Hey, Gippal?" She asked, feeling a giggle fit coming up.

"Yeah?"

"You're not going to make another Rikkubot if you get mad at me in any point in time, right?" She giggled throughout the entire sentence and he rolled his eye at her.

"Rikku!" He groaned in annoyance at her and looked up at the sky.

"Sorry!" She said as he held open the door to the hospital for her. The giggles consumed her as she continued to think of it, Paine and Baralai joining in, and lastly, Gippal letting out a chuckle as well.