A/N: Thanks so much for your lovely reviews, everyone! I'm glad that people liked the first chapter, so here's the second one. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: Summer Afternoon"So how old were you again?" Gippal asked after a while.
They had been walking out of the residential area and towards the desert. It was still scorching outside, but a light breeze offered just a bit of coolness.
Rikku turned to look at him. "Fifteen," she replied.
They were a good distance away from each other as they continued to walk on.
"Well, so am I," he laughed. "Guess that makes us okay, huh?"
She stopped walking, raising an eyebrow at him. "Okay for what?"
He turned around and waved a hand in the air, dismissing his own words. "Nothing, nothing," Gippal laughed.
"Ok..."
"So really though...where are we going?" he asked again after they had reached the outside of Home. There was nothing but the vast expanse of golden sands for miles out.
She thought for a moment, remembering that there was nothing much in the desert except...
"Oh, I know. How about I show you the oasis? There's a little area here that has a place to cool down. The water's nice and—"
"Will you be comin' in with me?" Gippal suddenly interrupted, taking a step towards her, a smile sliding on his face.
Rikku felt her heart speed up, and she tried to open her mouth again. "W-What...?! No way! We just met and...!"
"Hm, so that means that you do plan on joining me right...?" Gippal began again, putting an arm around her shoulders and leading them forward. "...once we get to know more about each other?" he added with a wink.
She brushed him off of her and noted how warm her face was. Turning away, she began walking back in the direction of Home, leaving Gippal behind.
He rushed after her, kicking up sand. "H-Hey...wait a sec Cid's Girl...you mad at me?"
Rikku spun around, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I have a name, you know!" she exclaimed, and continued towards the base.
Gippal grabbed a hold of her hand and began pulling, making her drag along the sand. "Now, now. Let's not forget what your dad said, remember? He told you to show me around! So...show me!" he laughed, continuing to pull her along.
She looked down at their joined hands in shock, in disbelief that this was a person whom she just met earlier that day.
Pops owes me big time for this!
"Argh! Alright, already!" Rikku sighed in defeat. She grabbed her hand away from his and headed back into the desert. "Let's get this over with."
Gippal smiled, jogging after her. "See, I knew you couldn't resist!"
Turning around, she stuck her tongue out at him.
They had been traveling for about ten minutes, neither saying anything to each other. Rikku would occasionally glance in his direction, wondering why he suddenly seemed so quiet.
I wonder what's wrong with him...?
"Hey, you ok?" she decided to voice her thoughts.
He turned to her. She noted how his eye seemed to be half-shut, and he seemed to wobble a bit on his feet.
"Yeah...I'm..." he began softly, taking a few shaky steps to where she was standing.
Rikku watched, stunned, as he suddenly fell on top of her and they both crashed to the sand. Her mind raced. Panicking, she tried to slip out from underneath his heavy body, noting with more alarm that his body was pressing down against her chest.
"Gippal…?! Gippal!! Hey, wake up!!!" she exclaimed, frantically trying to move his arms so she could slip away. Groaning, she finally rolled from under him and scrambled up, moving so that she could see his face.
His one eye was closed and bits of sand stuck to the side of his face.
Rikku looked down at him, hesitating on what to do. Slowly, she moved her hot hands to his forehead and felt his skin.
He doesn't seem to be burning up...so what could possibly be the pro...
His eyes snapped open.
Surprised, she fell back away from him.
"Gi-Gippal...?!!"
He stood up and brushed the sand away from his face, sitting up and leaning back on his hands.
"Gotcha," he winked.
Rikku sat where she was and felt her mouth drop. She could feel her anger rising up, beginning in her fists and making its way upward. She stood up.
Gippal's laughter stopped as he met her eyes. Seeing her beginning to advance on him, he scrambled up and began running, Rikku not too far behind.
"It was just a joke...!" he chuckled over her screams and curses.
Rikku ran faster, the sun hot against her face. But she didn't care. "Get back here! That was NOT funny!!!"
Gippal suddenly stopped in his tracks, much to the surprise of them both. He turned to her with his arms held out, a grin tugging at his lips. "Ok, I'll stop. Now what will you do...Rikku?"
She paused at how he pronounced her name. He seemed to emphasize it, purposely refraining from calling her "Cid's Girl." She also couldn't help but swallow with some difficulty at his question.
"That wasn't funny, y'know!" Rikku exclaimed again, crossing her arms and leaning heavily to one side. "I really thought you had passed out or somethin'!"
Gippal scratched the back of his head and smiled at her casually. "Well now I know that you really aren't as cold as you try to be," he laughed again. "You were really worried about me back there, weren't you?"
Rikku said nothing and instead began to continue forward, marching without turning back to him.
"Just trying to lighten up our relationship a bit. Y'know...since I walked in on you this morning and all..." he added, seeing her stop in her steps.
Rikku spun on her heel, facing him with fire in her eyes. He stood his ground.
"And about that! Let's just try to forget about it, ok?" she sighed out, knowing full well that it wasn't something he would probably forget. Rikku mentally slapped herself for looking like a fool back in the bathroom. Dressed in nothing but a towel no less.
Oh, man. He's gonna use that against me all summer!
She studied him for a moment. Just from their initial encounter, he already gave an air of cockiness that seemed to permeate through him. It still baffled her how they had just met that morning. He seemed so...open and forward with her.
"Ok, I'll stop botherin' you about it," Gippal suddenly spoke up. She faced him.
"Good."
He laughed. "But don't think that I'll ever forget it...! I mean how could I...with you dripping wet there and-"
Her eyes widened. "We goin' or not?!" she stomped away again, feeling her face burning with embarrassment.
Damn him! He's embarrassed me enough today! And he's gonna be living with us?! What is Pops thinking?
She could still hear him chuckling every now and then as they continued towards the oasis. By then, the sun was directly overhead, and it was hotter than ever. She was glad that she had taken a shower, but it wasn't uncommon for a person to take showers two or even three times a day. It was just too humid.
"So...this is it, hm...?" Gippal stopped beside her, looking down into the clear water. She nodded absent-mindedly, still mad at him.
"Yeah, there's not much to see around here anyway, so I thought I'd take you to someplace where the water was cool," Rikku responded, her hands on her hips.
He said nothing, but instead began removing his boots. She turned to look at him just as he reached down and began un-tucking his shirt.
Tysh...what is he doing?!!
Rikku stood for a few awkward seconds, sweeping her mind for something to say. For a few more agonizing moments, she decided not to say anything at all.
Gippal looked up and noted her expression. He smirked. "Don't you mind me. I'm just going to cool off for a bit," he informed her.
She quickly found herself again and nodded, moving her gaze away. "Don't take too long. If we stay for a long time, the fiends will start to come," Rikku said, heading behind towards the rocks. "I'll be over here, so hurry up."
"Not a problem," Gippal laughed, tossing his shirt aside.
Rikku sunk down against the cool rock, hearing the soft splashes of the water from the other side. She reached up and wiped her damp forehead with the back of her hand. It was easily over 100 degrees that day, and she knew it would be like that for at least four more months. Not like it was ever cold at the desert. But she always liked the cooler months the most.
"You still there?" she heard Gippal call out.
As if there's anywhere else to go, tch.
"Yeah, I'm here," Rikku responded, shrugging away her angry thoughts. She couldn't quite place a finger on it, but Gippal had really annoyed the hell out of her! It was the first time she had ever met someone like him.
Leaning back, she wished she had worn something cooler. But she was already wearing shorts and a tank top. What more could she do?
Hm, but that water was really sounding nice right around now.
Standing up, she decided to call out to him again. "You ready yet?"
She was greeted with silence. Heading towards the opening, she slowly peeked into the oasis area, realizing that it suddenly was much quieter.
He wasn't there.
"Gippal?" she asked hesitantly, looking quickly around the area. "Stop messing around or else..."
"Or else what?"
Rikku jumped slightly at the voice and turned around, seeing that he was already dressed again. The sun caught the small droplets of water that clung to his spikes. He smiled.
"A bit jumpy, are we?" Gippal laughed. He looked out towards the water again. "You sure you don't wanna take a quick dip?"
She shook her head firmly, motioning to him. "Let's just go. I've had a long day, and you've worn me out!" Rikku exclaimed, wanting nothing more than to take a nap.
He scratched the back of his head, following after her. "Alright then. Let's head back," he agreed quietly.
Strange...he seems to have mellowed down. Maybe I've finally hit a weak spot...?
She turned around hesitantly, seeing that he was following a few steps behind her. He was looking down at the ground.
Huh?! Is he sad...?
Rikku continued to walk on towards Home, confused and frustrated at the same time.
"So where'd you two go?" Cid asked as they entered the front door. Rikku bent down, removing her boots and tossing them to the side.
"Nowhere much. Just showed him the oasis," she replied, heading up the stairs towards her bedroom.
"Oh, Rikku," Cid spoke up, stopping Rikku in her steps.
"Yeah?"
Her father scratched the back of his head nervously. "I uh...hope this is ok with you, but Gippal will be sleeping in your bed."
Rikku felt her eyes widen and had her mouth open ready to respond in shock, but she quickly shut it, seeing Cid's apologetic look.
Gippal looked back and forth between them and stepped in. "It's alright, Cid. I'll just sleep out here on the couch and..." he paused, seeing the metal furniture all around them. "Uh..."
"Yeah, exactly," Cid said, seeing Gippal's expression. He turned to his daughter. "Sorry, Rikku. But he's company, and besides...there's always the extra mattress you can pull down to use."
Rikku sighed, knowing that it was the Al Bhed way to treat company well. That, and it would be no use arguing with Cid anyway.
Dang...this sucks.
"Yeah, sure thing, Pops. I'll get things ready," Rikku replied simply, motioning for Gippal to follow her.
"Uh, thanks, Rikku..." Gippal replied in embarrassment, moving up the stairs after her.
Rikku led them further down the hall, stopping to open the door at the end. Gippal was close behind her.
I can't believe he's actually going to be sleeping in my bed! It seems so...so...wrong...!
"So I guess you'll be sleeping in my bed for the summer," Rikku told Gippal as he entered her bedroom, eyeing the machina drawings on her wall.
He whistled. "Never expected you to have a bedroom like this..." he trailed off, moving over to look at a small machina model that was assembled on her desk.
"Yeah, well I'm not like other girls," Rikku decided to say, knowing full well that most girls her age were into the colorful bedrooms and girly flowers. It just wasn't her style.
"I guess not..." Gippal agreed quietly, turning around to face her.
She cleared her throat as their gazes met. She moved towards the door.
"So uh...I'll get a new set of sheets for you."
"Thanks...Rikku."
Her step faltered at the sound of her name spoken. She continued out to the hall nonetheless, reaching into the closet to get extra sheets for him as well as herself.
When she returned to the room, he was standing near the bed and looked up when she entered. Handing him the sheets, she found herself hanging around for a bit before his gaze met with her's again.
Did he just catch me staring at him?! .
"You all right? Need some help getting your mattress or something?" Gippal asked, seeing her eyes on him.
"Aha...no. No, that's okay. I got it," Rikku replied, gripping the doorknob and preparing to leave.
He laughed, putting his hand up to wave. "Ok, then. Have a nice nap."
Rikku nodded and quickly exited. She dragged the mattress from the closet and moved it to the empty room next door. Throwing the sheets over it haphazardly, she found herself collapsing in exhaustion on the soft cushion. It was a relief for her tired muscles and she was soon fast asleep.
Gippal sat in the next room, lying on the newly made bed. A sweet smell drifted by his nose, and he noted that it was familiar...feminine somehow.
He closed his eye, his tired mind finally getting the best of him.
Rikku, huh? Hm...
End of Chapter 2
A/N: Thanks for reading! See you in the next one!
