A/N: AHH! (Dramatic music) Exams... I won't be updating for a while. I shouldn't be back till probably 4th of February - but if I neglect my studies (which I most likely will), then I'll be back sooner (31st/24th of January?)! Either way, extra long chapter for all of you till I write more.

For all you nice people who complimented the last chapter and tried to boost my esteem - I love you oh so much! - but I don't really believe you LOL. I still think my plot is stupid.Although, I can honestly say I like this one. It was fun to write, and I hope you'll have fun reading it!

Perfect Stranger: ha, yeh I'm trying but there's reason behind it - more than the fact that he's totally gorgeous. :)

O-Rikku-O: Inspired? Holy LOL. That's good to know! haha. And thanks, but for some reason, cut off your email address in the review...

Flametongue: LOL ERR. I wasn't planning to haha. I think considering the fic and what they've been through, a lemony scene wouldn't really fit...

There are times when a girl feels shy and nervous as if the whole world is watching her with their big eyes.

…Nope, this isn't the time.

There are times when a girl feels surprised and utterly shocked out of her brains like someone had just punched her in the eye when they were so aiming for her nose.

…Nope, not the time either.

There are times when a girl just feels awkward, like she doesn't belong in a place that never bothered to point out how different she is, and instead let her learn the cold hard truth herself.

…AH HA! You'd think the third time would be right, but nope, sorry.

There are times when a girl feels scared, as if she's standing in the middle of a balance beam, and which ever side she moves to, she'll slide down to her death.

… I wish I could say this was that time. Actually, to be honest, I really don't know what I'm feeling right now. Alright, so it's not really the forth time either.

It feels like fear, but that's stupid because I've known this guy all my life. Ibet Iknew him in my past lives too.

"Rikku," his voice called from behind the door.

I leaned against it anxiously.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I nodded, and then realized that he couldn't see me. "Y-Yeah, Gippal. I'll be out in a sec."

"Okay then."

I listened carefully until I heard his footsteps walk away.

My hands are trembling. I'm petrified out of my mind. Why? Why, Rikku, why? It makes no sense to suddenly be edgy at a time like this.

I reached for the door knob and then pulled back immediately. I'm frustrated. I'm so aggravated that I have absolutely no control here – at least, not when it comes to him.

Fear. I'm settling with fear. The kind of fear where you're caught red-handed and youclaim your hands are peach/brown/black/yellow/GREEN.

Why does he have such a way with me? He's able to silence me, calm me, or exasperate me, with the touch of a hand or the whisper of a word. I guess; that's what's making me feel the way that I feel. That his presence makes me weak, vulnerable. I'm tough, yeah. I'm strong, yeah. I'll beat him up, hell yeah, bring it on dude! But when it comes to softer matters, I'll melt like ice to water.

Yeeeck.

I would lose control of myself, and he'll have me wrapped around his little finger again; only to toss me out a window for some other girl.

I'm exaggerating the situation, I know. Years have passed, times have changed. Things have changed. People have changed.

But memories will always be left behind.

And when you're trapped in a little room with the one person who can recover the buried reminiscence, it makes you shaky – you know?

… Oh, you don't? (Sighs) You were supposed to say, 'yeah'.

… You're probably a bit confused, aren't you? Well, you've been asleep since the afternoon. You didn't miss much, except when we had finished loading the supplies from our last destination for the day.

I was helping the guys lift the heavy boxes into the cargo area of the airship, despite their warnings of its immensity, when my box slipped and landed on my foot.

How downright shocking.

Now I don't want to be the typical weak female, but those boxes were heavy, okay? I still wanted to prove my worth though, so I attempted to continue helping.

"Rikku, maybe you should sit down," Chuo told me.

He's telling me that just because I'm the only girl here. I can be just as strong and as stubborn as the men.

…Hey! I so can! RAawwrr.

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

"You sure? You screamed pretty loud," he added with a smirk.

"Because I was… afraid the equipment had broken."

He placed his box on the ship and then walked over to me. He held out both arms. "Let me help you back on. We should check your foot."

I moved away from his grasp.

"I'm fine. I can do this, okay? Don't worry about me."

He dropped his arms. "Can I at least help you?"

That's better, giving me at least some credit.

"Thank you," I told him with a smile, and ended our nearly bitter moment.

As Chuo assisted me in carrying the boxes, the sun was setting in the sky.

"The sky reminds me of you," he said suddenly.

I looked at him curiously. "How?"

"Sunsets; you love sunsets."

Close enough.

We loaded the box on and then he turned to me with a look of sympathy on his face. "There's only a few more, Rikku," he informed me. "I really think you should rest."

Here we go again.

"Chuo, I'm fine. It was just a little bruise."

"You're sure you're okay?"

Apparently, he missed my whole shoe description.

"Yes!" I almost shouted.

There's only so much kindness you can give someone until they start to become annoyed.

And that's when Gippal interrupted us. "If she says she's fine, then just believe her," he said in my defence.

Thank you.

"…Even though we all know she's lying," he added.

I can never thank him – just can't be done.

"Hey! Why do you all think I'm so weak for, huh?"

Chuo placed a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to calm me down. "We don't think you're weak, Rikku. We're just worried about you."

"Well, worry for yourself!" I yelled at him.

He blinked.

Oh my badness…

I closed my eyes briefly. I don't know what came over me.

Gippal broke the tense air. "Chill, Cid's Girl." He stood beside me. "We know you're fine. We know you're not weak. We know you can carry five hundred more boxes if you wanted."

"Yeah, that's right!" I said confidently.

Suddenly he dropped his box into my arms. "So do it."

I grunted and my knees bent instantly from the excess weight.

Oh the…

"Not too heavy for Cid's Girl, right?"

It felt like Gippal was sitting in that box himself.

"No," I shouted back at him and summoned all my energy to take a step.

If I believe in myself, I can do it!

I tripped.

…Hey… You didn't believe in me too (Frowns).

The contents of the box spilled all over the ground along with me.

Chuo instantly rushed to my side. "Rikku! Rikku, are you alright?"

The crewmen around me rushed up as well.

"Lady Rikku!"

"Miss Rikku!"

"Misstress Rikku!"

"Princess Rikku!"

And I found surprisingly to my disappointment, no 'Cid's Girl'.

Instead, he stood at the same place he was standing before and stared at me with an I-told-you-so look in his eyes.

"Let me help you up, Rikku," Chuo said.

"No, let me," one of the crewmen offered.

I slapped all their hands away. "I'm fine, really. I can get up by myself."

"Are you-"

"Let her," Gippal jumped in. He gestured his hand towards the remaining boxes. "You guys go get the rest of the stuff."

They left accordingly but Chuo was hesitant. "If you need me, just call, okay?"

I nodded, though I felt a bit guilty because I didn't really mean it. I mean, I appreciate his kindness and all, but he's been… kinda clinging on to me lately.

After he left, I placed both hands on the ground and tried to lift myself up.

Ow.

I glanced at Gippal, expecting him to offer assistance like the rest since now, I actually needed it.

But he wasn't even looking at me. He was picking up the things that had fallen out.

His ignorance pissed me off – he didn't care about my well-being at all. But part of me was appreciative that he let my ego work itself out.

He sensed my stare and turned his head up. "Yes?"

What do I say? Do I admit that my foot throbs like crazy? Do I admit the damage done and the toll that it has taken on oh mighty Rikku? Do I admit it to him?

"Help me up, jackass!"

Yeah, that seemed good.

His lips curled up into a lopsided grin and he scrunched his nose. "Naw, I don't want to."

Time to play his own words against him.

"I know you do," I said.

"I know I don't," he replied.

Damn. How come it always works for him?

I stared at him intensely. Was he seriously not helping me? Oh, the nerve! He wants me to admit my weakness! He wants me to crawl to his feet and beg for his assistance.

I turned behind me to see the crew and Chuo. For some reason, I felt awkward imagining one of them picking me up and carrying me in this state.

I turned back to Gippal. With this one, I felt humiliated to ask. Ohh… What do I do now?

… Are you sure?

… He'll hold this against me, I know it!

… I guess. I'm kinda used to it anyway; BUT I'm not letting him think he's the whole cool superdude and I'm the love-sick damsel in distress. No, that will make his head just explode from the size his ego would grow to.

And I don't want to kill Gippal, do I?

… Okay. I don't want to kill him now.

Alright, deep breath. Don't forget to breathe out – very important.

Now I must approach this calmly and be prepared to stand my ground inthe mostbrutal conversation of the century. I need to show him who's boss. Time to get out the big guns buster. Clear my throat and, "Gippal, you're ugly."

He looked up in amusement. "I know you love me."

"Gippal, you smell."

"I know I smell good."

"Gippal, you're a loser."

"I know I lose track of women."

"Gippal, you're an ass."

"I know you like it."

"Gippal, you're haughty."

"I know I'm a hottie."

"Gippal, you're stuck-up."

"Stuck up where?"

Let's just stick to the classics, shall we?

"Gippal, you're a meanie!"

Silence.

AH HA! Always trust the classics.

"I know you love me."

Except for that one.

I give up.

He got up and walked over to my side. "Rikku, you're hot."

Ahh, he was challenging my wit now.

"Gippal, you're not."

OUU! That's right, O-Rikku-O! Whoop-whoop!

Goodness, a stroke of genius.

"I'm not?"

"No, you're a snot."

(Whooping dies)… Uhh. (Hides in shame) That's why they call it a stroke of genius.

Gippal laughed. "Pathetic, Cid's Girl. Pathetic."

I folded my arms across my chest in anger. "Screw you."

"I'd rather screw you."

"You know what?" I was getting frustrated by all this outsmarting. "Stop talking, you talk too much."

"You started it."

Yeah, I did.

I glanced up at him.

I had to do it. It was the only way.

"My foot hurts. Can you help me stand up?" (Winces) Hey, that didn't kill me to say.

He smiled and gave me his hand. I took it eagerly and pulled myself up, balancing my weight on my good leg.

"Need help to get back on the ship?" he asked.

"No!"

He turned away.

Okay, sorry. I've learned my lesson.

I latched my arms around him in a desperate embrace. "Yeah..."

He smirked and wrapped one arm around my waist carefully, and moved mine to rest on his shoulders. I limped back while leaning on to him.

He didn't say anything. He didn't rub it in my face and boast about how badly I needed him at the moment. He just allowed me to rest upon him and walked at my pace, like any normal good person.

I admit, I was suspicious.

But I let it go, because even though Gippal is a Given Ignorant Pimp who Plays All the Ladies, he still can be a Good Indulgent Person, Polite And Likable (to an extent of course).

We stepped on the ship and he instantly led me to a place to sit. "Does it seriously hurt?"

"No."

"Don't act all tough, Cid's Girl."

I frowned. "A bit."

He rustled my hair. "It's okay. We're done for today anyway."

"We're done?" Rleyd exclaimed.

The crewmen were getting on.

Gippal turned around. "You're still flying."

Rleyd groaned. "It's Cjole's turn, man. I need sleep."

Cjole shook his head. "No it isn't, stupid. It's Jhard's."

"Man, you're stupid! It's Vyne's."

Vyne placed his hands in the air. "Hey, I dunno how to fly."

Gippal smacked his forehead. "Fine, Cjole; you and me alternate."

"Why me?"

"'Cause I said so."

Cjole glared at him.

Gippal sighed. "And I'll hook you up with Ledia."

Vyne straightened. "Wait, I remember how to fly now."

I laughed. You're right, kingleby; males are so funny to watch.

They all turned at the sound of my laugher, unaware that I had been there the whole time.

Rleyd raised his eyebrow. "Hey, Cap. Um, where is Miss Rikkugonna to sleep tonight?"

… Oh wow. I hadn't thought of that.

…GR! Why didn't you tell me! You're on my side, remember?

Gippal froze. "Uh…" He scratched his head.

"Cap, we have a spare bed in our room," Rleyd said. "Well…" He glanced at me. "It's the only room with beds."

Vyne immediately placed a hand on Gippal's shoulder and shook his head disappointedly. "You know what? I just forgot how to fly again."

Gippal swiped his hand off and stared at them all pensively. "You guys left out my room," he said.

Silence, as a wave of realization dawned on each of them, quiet Chuo included.

Gippal looked at me, his eyes telling me that he was giving me the decision of where I'd feel most comfortable spending the night.

I looked down.

The crewmen where so nice – much nicer than Gippal. They were respected me so and always offered to assist me. They were sweet and kind; everything Gippal wasn't.

"Rikku?"

I lifted my head. "You guys don't have another room?" I asked.

"Just mine and the crew's cabin room," Gippal replied.

I met Chuo's gaze. He looked so worried. But I knew what I was going to say. The answer was so obvious. Four men I didn't know plus a Chuo, or the one man I wished I didn't know.

I glanced at him long enough for them to all understand that I chose The One.

Chuo was hurt, I knew it; so I didn't dare look at him.

"Alright, Cjole to the controls," Gippal ordered. "Rest of you guys, just go."

They left accordingly, knowing that his orders were law, but once again, Chuo hesitated. He walked up to me and I could feel my heart racing in panic. "Rikku," he said.

He was upset, I knew it. He was hurt, he was jealous; he was pissed at me for leaving him. "Yeah?" I responded weakly.

"Is your foot alright?"

I nodded and then turned to face him. He didn't sound upset. Was he up to something too?

"I hope you feel better in the morning," he told me with a smile. "Have a good sleep."

I was bewildered. "Uh… yeah."

Then he left with the other guys.

You know, Rikku, you're not so good with making guys jealous…

Gippal, who was listening to our whole mini conversation, then emerged and helped me walk to his room. The whole time my body was trembling. My heart was aching. My head was spinning.

Me. Gippal. Alone. Night. AIYAH!

It's happened before, but… that was before.

The thought repeated over and over in my mind like a trance, recalling memories, until he finally unlocked the door and revealed his renowned room.

It was dark, big, and messy.

(Yawns) I wasn't surprised. It suited his personality perfectly.

He walked through the mess, kicking machine parts here and there. He reached the corner of his room and picked up my bag in his hands – and how did it get there in the first place? He threw it at me.

"The bathroom's behind you." He pointed. "I'm gonna find a sleeping bag."

And then he left me to wash up for the night.

And now I'm here, with you, these 3 walls closing in on me and my hands refusing to open the door to him.

I got to admit though; I was probably shakier when I had first opened my bag, knowing very well that he was the one that packed it back at half-built Home.

I mean, hello! What was I going to find in there? Mini skirts, bikinis, thongs, and a bunch of lacey crap that I had forgotten to burn after my change of attire? All of this – wait, no – JUST these tiny items for my two day trip with him and a bunch of other men!

I was furious, until I saw what was actually inside: T-shirts, shorts, even a sweater. The only things that were worth being a bit angry over him touching were the bras and the underwear; but I needed those anyway.

Confused yet again. He's managed to prove that he's not purely evil.

But still. I was shaky.

I know it is weird of me to suddenly be all worried and tense like this; but I'm a girl, and we girls have our moments.

…No, I'm not talking about those monthly reminders from Mother Nature.

"RaEEKuu!" he stretched. "You've been in there for half an hour."

I groaned inwardly.

"Is it number twooo?"

Oh, great.

Now I had to open the door to negate the question. Reluctantly, I pulled it open and grudgingly stepped out. "No," I answered bitterly.

"Hey, finally."

I looked around quickly. The unzipped sleeping bag was on the ground, a ring of cleared machine parts and whatnots surrounding it. Gippal got up form his position on the bed and approached me.

"I'll take the floor," he said.

Oh…! I know; he's trying to kill me; he's killing my sanity first with all this gentlemanly behaviour. "Are you serious?" I asked.

He grinned. "Yeah; can't let a woman lie on the ground."

Woman. He called me a woman. Not a girl or a little.

I can't believe he actually said what gentlemen are supposed to say.

Yep; his brain is broken. Tsk, poor guy.

"I want you to have a good sleep. You won't get it on the ground."

Listen to him. His words sound so believable.

Maybe I doubt him too much, you know? I mean, there's a reason I fell for this guy – I mean I totally forgot why now, but maybe… it was because… of this. That behind that I-rule-the-world exterior, there's a sweet, caring, sensitive… Chuo-replica.

Wouldn't that be a great guy? A Gippuo.

Why am I all worried? Hmm? Hmm? So what if I fall for him again? This is Gippal. He can be sweet. He can be caring. He can be a nice-ie.

Give him a chance, Rikku. I know I want to.

"No." I shook my head and lightly touched his arm. "It's not right. This is your room. I-I'll take the floor." I smiled. That feltgood to say.

He shrugged. "Okay then."

…

He wasn't supposed to say that.

I watched him in disbelief as he merrily walked back to his bed and collapsed on it with a thud. He threw an extra pillow down. "It might get uncomfortable down there," he said.

I stared at him in bafflement. He was actually going to make me lie on the ground. "Are you serious!"

He lied down and pulled the covers over him. "You suggested it."

I was fuming.

"Oh, and turn off the lights, will ya? It's right beside you."

I slapped them off.

"Oh, and I might step on you when I go alternate with Cjole; so be careful."

ME? ME, be careful?

"G'night."

I – I can't – He just…

"Stupid jackass of a fricken frick frick," I mumbled as I kneeled and laid down on the bag.

I couldn't sleep for hours. The hard floor did not soften for me. And my mind was screaming, screaming in rage of how stupid I was to try and be polite to someone like him. To think that for some odd reason I could actually picture myself with him. You'd think he's changed. You'd think he's a gentleman.

But once an ass, always a Gippal.

I snatched the extra pillow he threw down and hugged it tightly. My lips were trembling, my eyes were watering.

I wanted to cry.

I think I did. Yeah, I remember a salty taste in my mouth before my eyelids gave up.

I awoke the next morning feeling the soft support of the bed under my skin while a snoring Gippal was resting peacefully on the sleeping bag.

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