A/N: This story was written just as an attempt to do something slightly out of the norm from the traditional pairings and occurrences of most fan fiction. Don't misunderstand – most of my favorite stories are traditional pairings, but once in a while it's fun to change things around a bit. Enjoy this twist of fate and remember, Square-Enix owns the characters and the characters own you… for life, yo. Word.

Also, please note that I will be moving this story to the Final Fantasy X-2 section for chapter six (since it mostly deals with the characters from FFX-2), so look for it there.

Light

Chapter Five – Moon

After that night on the rooftop, Gippal was convinced. He didn't care anymore what a world who-knows-how-far away would think or if he had to prove himself against a memory. He didn't want that night to be the only time he would feel those thin, soft arms around him and he needed more than just the split second he had to completely breathe in her scent. After that moment, he wanted to be entirely lost in everything that was her. So Cid had been right. So what? By some miracle, he was usually right about most things. And sure, once they were a couple, Gippal would have to endure a week or two of I-told-you's and I-knew-it's and the like. He was more than willing to put up with it.

But there was still the whole problem of becoming a couple in the first place. Before, getting any girl he wanted was a simple matter. They came to him, he accepted, they were happy, he was happy. Easy. But now… How was he going to do it the old fashioned way?

And somewhere in the back of his mind, there was a little nagging feeling that reminded him that there was always the chance that she would refuse. And that made him slightly nervous. Not because he was afraid of being embarrassed, but because he had a strong feeling that having her in his life would be something really good for him.

And if life had taught him anything, it was that good things in life were very hard to come by. And unfortunately, bad things – like losing an eye in a freak machina accident or being dragged out of your world and into a foreign one – were much more commonplace.

He figured that the best way to go about it was to start slow. While living in Spira, he had been… well… a ladies man. Abso-posi-you-better-believe-it. And although upon entering Traverse Town, he had quickly abandoned all such ways in favor of his survival instincts, he was afraid his past behavior might be more memorable than his present. So that ruled out any big-time flirting or random dates with the first person he came across that day. That was easy enough, because he didn't have time for anything like that anyway with all the work that needed to be done with the new gummi ship. Especially when he and Cid were so close to finalizing the plans.

But what else? What was it that had Yuna searching for two years for her first love? He didn't really know a lot about Tidus other than he had been one of Spira's finest blitzers and had served as one of Yuna's guardians during her pilgrimage. Ah… perhaps that was it. While she was watching Spira's back, he was watching hers. Someone who worried about her well-being first while she worried about the world's. That would definitely take some time to prove. But one look into her mesmerizing eyes and he knew it would be time well spent.

One morning, just a few days before the two weeks of training for the tournament were to begin, Cid announced that it was "Stocking Day." He explained that in the next few days, people from all over the universe would be arriving at the Accessory Shop to purchase new ability chains for their weapons.

"It's complete chaos," he continued. "Most of these muscle-headed morons wait till the last minute to buy their accessories, so we're swamped all day and night. So on the downside, we won't get much sleep, but on the upside, we'll really rake in the dough! But, before we can rake in anything, we've got to have enough stuff to sell! So Gippal, Yuna, Rikku, you'll be heading to Merlin's place. He'll have about five thousand of each of the elemental accessories and three thousand of the protection accessories. Bring 'em back here and stack 'em over the fireplace. Heh, when we're through, we'll be lucky if we have room to walk!"

"Did you see the way his face lit up?" Rikku asked her two companions as they neared the gate leading to the Third District. "You'd think it was Christmas or something!"

"Just like your old man and new machina." Gippal added.

"I wish we had a machina to help us carry those accessories." Yuna mused.

"We won't even need to break a sweat," Gippal replied. "You'll see." He opened the large wooden doors that separated the two districts and led the way, nodding hello the entrance's guards in the process.

A few months after the arrival of more powerful heartless from Hollow Bastion, guards had begun to be posted at the entrance, middle, and exit of the Second and Third District. Each set of guards wore crimson-colored uniforms with the Traverse Town seal on the sleeve and they carried enormously powerful weapons. Since their employment, the heartless had learned to stay away while the guards were on duty. They were even afraid to attack during the five minute periods when the guards changed members and weren't even on the streets.

Gippal, Yuna, and Rikku made their way around a corner and found themselves face to face with a small wooden door with a gleaming fire symbol.

"This is it," Gippal explained. "Follow me."

The door opened automatically and the three walked into the dimly lit expanse. Ahead of them, they could see large stepping stones swaying back and forth in a shallow pool of water. Just beyond that stood a small, odd-looking cottage. The three hopped, skipped, and jumped across the stones and made their way up the steps that led to the run-down dwelling.

Yuna was just about to knock on the front door when Gippal signaled the two to follow him around the side. "This way." Soon they came upon a large green cloth that was covering a hole in the side of the building, and stepped inside.

"Ah, you're right on time." A tall old man dressed in periwinkle greeted them. He pulled his long beard in thought as he examined the room. "Let me see… Where did I put them… Aha!" He made his way over to a cupboard and opened the mahogany doors, revealing box after box of accessories. "Now, let's see… that incantation…uhmmm…"

"Incantation?" Yuna whispered.

"Yep, we're gonna fly these babies out of here." Gippal replied.

"Ah! Now I recall… Just say 'Higitus Figitus Movitus Thusitus' and they'll follow you anywhere you want them to." Merlin explained. Then he faced the boxes. "Attention! You will do exactly as they say and I don't want to hear about the slightest bit of funny business, is that clear?" To Yuna and Rikku's amazement, the boxes began to shudder… almost nervously. "Good, then off you go!" He waved his hands and the boxes began to glide from the cupboard and hover near the three. "Should you need any more in the next days, I shall leave a small, hidden supply just outside my door. Say the words 'Open Says Me' and the box shall appear. Oh, and tell Cid thank you for the new books. These are quite rare, indeed."

The three began to say the incantation over and over and to Yuna and Rikku's surprise, the boxes obeyed. Rikku was having so much fun, she began to skip and dance around as she guided the accessories, which in turn caused Yuna to follow suit, and Gippal to roll his eyes good-naturedly about the whole thing. Of course in all honesty, the first time he had done it, he had been just as excited. Soon they had the boxes stacking themselves neatly on top of the fireplace and the job was done.

"Aww… I wanna do that again!" Rikku said cheerily.

"Me too!" Yuna agreed.

"No time now," said Gippal. "We'll have customers in here in a few minutes. Just the normal crowd today. Tomorrow's when the real chaos starts."

For the hours that followed, while Yuna and Rikku were busy with their work, Gippal was upstairs working on the gummi ship plans feverishly. A particularly disturbing thought had crossed his mind when Yuna's first customers of the day arrived. Most of them were young men – young, admittedly somewhat good-looking men. All of them would be in Yuna's midst when the training season began and suppose one or two or more of them noticed how wonderful Yuna was? And… suppose that she thought them to be equally wonderful? She could feasibly forget about Gippal and then where would he be? He had to enter the tournament, too. And to do that, he had to finish the plans as soon as possible.

He worked on and on without even the tiniest break for lunch or a late afternoon snack and would have kept on working had he not been interrupted by a pair of twinkling green eyes.

"Hey, Gip, let's go grab some dinner!" Rikku chirped. She surprised the other Al Bhed so much he jumped.

"Geez, Rikku. What're you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?"

"Just hurry up. I'm starving!"

For the first time in a few hours, Gippal realized that he was, too. In fact, he would probably eat any restaurant out of house and home at this point. "Uhhh… nah, you go ahead." He reluctantly replied. "I can't afford to lose my place – erm… or all my calculations could wind up off."

"Oookay…" answered Rikku. "If you're sure… You do know it's Lasagna Night, right?"

Lasagna… mmmm… "Uhhh… That's okay, I'll catch it next time." Gippal said, waving his hand.

"Okie dokie," Rikku replied with a shrug. She made her way downstairs and soon she and Yuna were out the door.

Gippal sighed. She better appreciate the fact that I'm missing lasagna for her…

About an hour later, a delicious aroma filled the air and Gippal could feel someone shaking his shoulder gently.

"Giiiiiippppppyyyyy…. We've got something for you…"

"Unnghh… wha…" He slowly opened his eyes to see Yuna and Rikku peering down at him, food in hand.

"Here," said Yuna as she handed him a carton of lasagna. "You must be starving by now."

Gippal sat straight up and started to inhale the delicious concoction as Rikku set a soda down next to him. "'Night, Gippal." She said, giggling, and she and Yuna headed for their room.

A few minutes later, Gippal had completely cleaned out the container and was staring once more at the plans as he sipped his soda. His vision was starting to get a little blurry, but he figured it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Some hours later, he couldn't keep his focus straight. The floorboards looked like they were swirling and the walls seemed to bow in and out. His eyelids were now terribly heavy and it wasn't long before he finally, though reluctantly, gave in to sleep.

A half an hour later, Yuna woke up. Being the type of person who was always concerned for her friends' wellbeing, the idea of Gippal working himself into exhaustion didn't set right with her at all. She had seen him work hard for long periods of time before, but nothing like this. She got up and crept outside only to find him on the floor, snoring in the midst of a heap of papers. He can't stay like that or he's going to be sore in the morning, Yuna thought. She glanced over at his nearby room. At least it's not that far…

She flipped the Al Bhed onto his back and slid her arms under his and around his chest. Then, carefully, she began to drag him into his room. After a few tries, she got half of his body onto the bed and ran around to the other side of the bed to continue to move him. Once that was done, she stepped back and admired her work. Whew!

But then there was another predicament. He couldn't sleep in his clothes. His clunky attire was convenient for carrying tools or protecting himself against metal, but definitely not for sleeping in. Yuna rubbed the back of her neck in thought. First she managed to unbuckle and remove his shoes without him so much as stirring and then she took off his gloves.

But then… there were his pants. Well… he is asleep…And… it's not like I'm trying to do anything but help him be more comfortable…Ugh… even that didn't sound quite right… She shook her head. This is silly. I'm a grown woman and he's a man in uncomfortable pants. She unbuckled his belt, but couldn't bring herself to slip off his pants. It just wasn't really "proper." So, she tugged and pulled at his bed sheet and managed to get it out from under him. She covered him up, and turned her head before pulling off his pants. That, at least, seemed a bit more proper. (Although, the fact that she had almost pulled off his boxers along with the pants had her cheeks a nice bright pink at the moment.)

Now all that was left was his shirt and that, in her mind, didn't require being proper about. She sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully unlatched the straps that went along his chest and unzipped his shirt. The brunette let out a muffled gasp when she saw what was underneath. …Holy fayth… Not even Tidus had had quite as defined of a stomach. Mentally scolding herself for acting so childish, she brought his arms up and slipped the sleeves off. After a little searching, she found a white tank top he used as a nightshirt and carefully slipped his head and arms in. She didn't, however, notice his arms coming down until they were halfway encircling her. She turned to move away from the bed, but it was too late. The Al Bhed's muscular, tan arms were gently locked around her waist, pulling her down onto the bed. She could feel him nuzzling into her neck. His warm breath sent shivers down her spine. Oh crap! If he wakes up I'm never going to hear the end of this – from him OR Rikku! Ooohh… this is the last time I try to help anyone ever again! She thought worriedly. She tried to carefully pry herself out of Gippal's grasp, but she couldn't move. Worse yet, the gentle pattern of his warm breath against her skin was beginning to make her sleepy. Eventually, it managed to overpower her frantic thoughts. I just need to calm down, Yuna thought. The warm body behind her felt so comfortable and his arms around her made her feel so safe. The thought of all this of course made her cheeks tint again, but it quickly faded as she gave in to temptation. Just a couple of minutes couldn't hurt. As if knowing, the arms drew her in a little closer and she closed her eyes. Just a few minutes…

A few hours later, Yuna woke up to a tickling sensation at the nape of her neck. Gippal's face was now buried in her hair, and the little spurts of his breath were threatening to make her giggle. Luckily, his arms were now simply draped around her, so that she carefully slipped her way out and off of his bed. Whew… that was close…Then something caught her eye. The material of her long, tied ponytail had imprinted the right side of Gippal's face. She inwardly gasped. Ahh! Okay… think, Yuna, think! Uhhh… She looked around the room frantically until her gaze fell on one of his gloves. The straps were made of a material similar to her ponytail covering. She placed it on the side of his pillow and prayed it would be convincing enough. Then she dashed back to her room and dived into bed. What a night…

Twenty minutes later, Gippal started to wake up. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept so well. As he wiped the sleep from his eyes, he felt the fading imprint at the side of his face. Huh… Then he noticed the nearby glove. Oh…Wait a second…He quickly noticed that he was out of his clothes and in his bed. When did I?... Weird…He decided he had just been so exhausted he simply didn't remember. Either that, or his dream had made him forget.

Ah… It was the most glorious dream in the history of dreams… to him, at least. He had loved every moment of it. Holding her so close, his lips being close enough to taste the creamy skin of her neck, but not following through. Just resting peacefully with her and being enveloped in her scent – like an early morning's breeze on Besaid – a faint trace of sun-kissed wildflowers mingled with the ocean mist. He sat up and stretched… and then he noticed… there was a faint imprint next to him…

…as if someone else had been sleeping there…

…and it was still a little warm…

Gippal's eyes went wide and then he shook his head. No, you jackass, it was just a dream… But... then again…

He had to know for sure. He got up and crept out of his room, eyes darting around to make sure no one else was up yet. Then he made his way as silently as possible up towards the very top room.

Meanwhile, Yuna had heard him walking around in his room and was now trying not to panic. Crap! What do I do now? Think! She glanced over at Rikku. How she envied her at the moment! Snoring away peacefully while… …snoring…THAT'S IT! Yuna pulled her covers up close to her neck and threw her pillow over her head. She lazily grasped it with one arm and let the other hang loosely over the edge of the bed, so that it looked like she was trying to drown out the noise of her cousin. Another close call, she thought, and it truly was, because just a second later, Gippal turned the knob of their door and tip-toed inside.

There she is…He started to creep closer to her when something else caught his attention – Rikku's snoring. He slowly made his way over to the blonde's bed and stared at her in amazement. How could so much noise be coming out of one person? He glanced back at Yuna's "sleeping" form. No wonder she had that pillow over her head. Then he began to wonder if she could breathe all right from under there and started to walk over towards her when suddenly…

CREEAAAK

…he decided to stand perfectly still and prayed the two girls wouldn't wake up. Rikku just continued to snore and Yuna barely moved a muscle. Gippal breathed a tiny sigh of relief and decided to leave before anything else tried to make his presence known. He closed the door softly behind him and made his way back to his room.

After a minute or two, Yuna cautiously sat up and breathed her own sigh of relief before flopping back against her pillow. It's too early for all this!

The following day, as predicted, was complete and utter chaos. Early on, a line had formed that led outside the shop and around the corner. Customers were let in five at a time to make their purchases and once they were let out, five more came in. Gippal, Yuna, and Rikku took the first shift, while Cid and George slept so they would be wide awake for their later shift.

Gippal eyed the line contemptuously. How hard is it to plan ahead? …Losers… Really, though, it wasn't the fact that they had waited until the last moment (because he was often in the habit of doing just that), but the fact that when they came in to make their purchases, they took one look at Rikku and Yuna and a soft dreaminess swept into their eyes. So, Gippal made it a point to rush everyone in and out as fast as possible.

"Geez, Gippal, you don't have to be so rude about it," Rikku whispered to him with annoyance.

"Hey, there's a ton of people waiting out there, so I've gotta' make sure the line keeps moving." He replied evenly. That's right, keep movin', bozos…

By the end of their shift, they were thoroughly worn out. Their muscles ached from reaching for items and their legs were becoming jellified from running around all day. Once Cid and George were ready, the three made their way out the door.

When they came back from dinner, their jaws nearly dropped. The line was at least three times as long as it had been before. Once inside, they found that Cid and George were up busily at work filling orders.

"Should we help them?" Rikku asked her companions.

"We need to get some rest," Gippal replied. "Tomorrow's crowd will be much, much worse."

Gippal was completely right. Before the shop had opened its doors, the line to get in was already winding around the shop twice. Yuna and Rikku peered out of their window and groaned.

"At least it's just one more day… right?" Yuna said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Yeah… right…" Rikku agreed solemnly.

Yuna, Gippal, and Rikku's shift was like a blur. They mechanically moved through the familiar actions of the prior day, pleading with their muscles to keep going for a few minutes more and then a few minutes more still.

When they came back from dinner, the line was unfathomably long and the three knew there was no way that Cid and George could take care of the crowd all by themselves.

"Good thing we loaded up on coffee…" Rikku mused.

It was nearly midnight and although the shop was supposed to be closed, the crowd would not rest without their accessories. The line had begun to dwindle down, but the five workers inside were still busier than ever. The five people at a time rule had been abolished by a unanimous crowd decision, so the inside of the shop was extremely noisy and warm from the heat of the bodies packed into one space.

Yuna barely heard George even though he was right next to her. "Yuna! We need that extra box! Can you go to Third District and get it?" He tried to yell above the crowd.

"Okay!" Yuna yelled back. She was more than willing to get outside for a breath of fresh air.

Meanwhile, the guards inside the Third District were changing members.

"I've come to take your place." A blonde told the set of entrance guards. Most of her hair was slicked down and only two bangs fell slightly angled at the top of her head. She smiled at the confused mass before her.

"Just you? Where are the others?" One of the guards asked.

"Not to worry, I can handle it on my own. I'm fully armed. Besides, it's a quiet night." The woman replied.

"Well… I guess it's all right." The guard replied. He and the others gathered their weapons and left.

As soon as they were completely out of sight, a dark-cloaked figure appeared next to the woman. "Excellent work, Larxene."

She shrugged indifferently. "Child's play." A wicked grin graced her lips. "She is the heart of her world. Already, her people are in a panic over her disappearance." She placed a hand on her hip. "She won't have the chance to return and reunite her people again. With her out of the way, we can easily take over Spira. Those fools' memories should be particularly easy to control."

"Carry on then." The figure replied and disappeared a moment later. Larxene took one last glance around at the peaceful surroundings and made her way to the top of a nearby building's roof.

At the same time, Yuna had finally managed to squeeze her way through the crowd and was now at the large, wooden doors that led to the Third District. Upon entering, she noticed that the guards were missing, but shrugged it off. They'll be back in a few minutes. She could see the fire emblem door up ahead. "Open Says Me"… I got it. But a strange noise stopped her short.

FWOOM!

She turned around just in time to see a large, maroon-colored, dragon-like creature dart past her. A heartless? "Guards!" She called out, darting out of the way again. She quickly glanced around. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the entire district. I could really use my Twin Bees right about now. No weapons, no dresspheres, not even a rod or ring to help her. She knew all she could do at this point was cast very basic elemental and white magic. Even those wouldn't be of much use because without a rod, it was hard to aim elemental magic properly. But that wasn't going to stop her.

As the creature came spinning down towards her, she cast fire and moved to the side. The blaze barely scorched the heartless. It came back at her again, this time attempting to scratch her with its claws. She cast thunder and darted the other way. This seemed to have a slightly greater effect, but not by much. She continued to cast thunder as she ran back towards the wooden doors. By this time, however, the heartless had figured she couldn't do anything more damaging and decided a few stings of electricity were worth a heart. The creature zoomed in front of her, blocking her path. It head-butted her, sending her flying back a short distance. She quickly cast a few cures on herself as she scrambled to her feet.

Meanwhile, the blonde woman watching her from a distance was beginning to get impatient. "This is ridiculous," she muttered. She extended a hand towards the brunette and used osmose to instantly deplete Yuna's remaining magical power.

Yuna immediately felt herself being drained and looked frantically around her. Then she spotted Larxene up on the roof. The blonde was smirking down at her. Then suddenly, she vanished into thin air.

WHAM!

The heartless plowed right against Yuna's side. Yuna feebly dodged another blow, her heartbeat and mind racing now. And then she heard that awful noise again.

FWOOM… FWOOM… FWOOM… FWOOM…

Suddenly, more flying heartless were peering down at her. What's going on? Where were the guards when she really needed them? Just a few days earlier, she had stood in the same spot and her surroundings seemed so peaceful. Now, her mind was racing for a way out of there. Her eyes darted around and then she remembered. There was a small house that had been abandoned nearby. It would keep her safe for a little while. She took a deep breath and ran with all her might towards it. She rammed it open with her shoulder and quickly shut the door and locked it behind her. On the other side she could hear the creatures scratching at the door.

She moved a nearby chest of drawers in front of the door with some effort and then sat back on the bed in the corner and rubbed her sore shoulder. Her eyes scanned the room for anything that might serve as a weapon, but the closest things were old crates, and she knew they wouldn't be nearly enough against the group of creatures. She winced as the heartless rammed against the door. It seemed sturdy enough, but who knew for how long.

"We need more Protect Chains!" Cid yelled past Gippal to George.

"I sent Yuna to get the extras awhile ago!" George replied.

"What? Why didn't you just go? She's still new to this place!" Cid yelled.

George was at a loss of words, but Gippal quickly cut in.

"I'll find her!" The Al Bhed leapt over the counter and sprinted up the ladder to the second floor. He grabbed his Mortar (or rather a new and improved Mortar since his old one was still somewhere in Spira) and slid back down with lightning speed. He shoved his way mercilessly through the crowd and sprinted for the Third District.

When he got inside, his eyes grew wide with panic. The skies were lined with Wyverns. "Shit… YUNA! Where are you?" The heartless spotted the blonde and started to careen towards him. As they did, he fired rapidly at them, sending their dark hearts scattering into thin air. Then he turned and saw the mass scratching at the abandoned house's door. He raced towards them and opened fire. They attempted to dodge the blasts, but the anger swelling in the Al Bhed's heart had made his aim deadlier than ever. In less than a minute, the skies were clear and the surroundings had resumed their quiet appearance.

"YUNA? Are you in there?" Gippal cried as he pounded on the door.

"I'm here!" Yuna answered. She jumped off the bed and slowly forced the chest of drawers out of her way before opening the door.

Gippal flung his Mortar to the side and embraced the brunette tightly. "Thank god…" He mumbled, his cheek pressed against hers. He could feel her heart beating as rapidly as his.

"I don't know what happened," Yuna tried to explain. "Everyone was gone and I thought they would be right back, but then…"

"Shhh…" Gippal commanded softly. He started to rub her back gently in small circles and absentmindedly began to sway with her from side to side. Yuna put her arms around him and soon began to relax. After a few minutes, Gippal broke the silence. "Let's get you back." He released her and strapped the Mortar to his back. Then he scooped her up into his arms.

"B-but, I can walk, Gippal! You'll hurt your back!" Yuna tried to protest.

Gippal shook his head. "Just relax."

"But!"

"Shhh…" He whispered close to her ear.

She lowered her head against his shoulder and the two made their way back to the First District.

To be continued…

Ohohohoho… you better believe that Gippal is royally pissed. Just wait till he gets back to the shop! This isn't the last of the Organization's attempts either. And what about the tournament? Find out in the next chapter – which will be located in the Final Fantasy X-2 section (since the pairings are based more on that game's characters). Until then (it might be awhile since spring break is pretty much over for me now), thanks for reading and please review!