A/N: Happy new year, everyone! Thanks for the reviews once again. It always means a lot to hear comments and feedback from all my wonderful readers.
Enjoy this one.
Chapter 3: Morning GiftRikku awoke with a start, taking a quick note of her surroundings. She was in a dark room, and sleeping on a mattress...on the floor?
She shook her head firmly, remembering everything that had happened earlier that day. Looking down at her watch, it was almost midnight.
If it was one thing Rikku hated, it was not sleeping in her pajamas. It just didn't feel right without them. She stood from the floor shakily, making her way out towards her own bedroom at the end of the hall. She stopped short in her tracks.
Damn...I forgot that Gippal's in there. I just need a change of clothing, so if I'm quiet, it should be ok...
She turned the doorknob quietly, cringing each time it made a squeak. Slipping into the dark room, she made her way towards the dresser near the bed. Rikku could see Gippal's sleeping form under the moonlight, his breathing filling the room.
She kneeled down in front of the dresser and pulled out the clothes she needed, depending on her sense of touch alone to figure out what article of clothing was what. A soft groan near the bed stopped her movements, but was startled out of her skin when a warm hand came to rest on her shoulder.
Rikku froze, turning her head slowly around. In the dim room, she could see Gippal's arm extended out, his hand apparently had come to rest on her shoulder.
With a slow movement to the side, she managed to get his hanging limb away from her and close the cabinet drawer slowly. She let out a sigh.
She gathered up the clothes and stood up.
Oh, shi...!
Mind racing in horror, she fell forward and landed upon the bed, feeling the tangled piece of clothing around her ankle. She backed away in alarm, hearing Gippal mumbling and moving in the darkness.
Rikku scrambled to her feet once again, dashing out of the bedroom and heading quickly into the room next door. She threw the clothes on the mattress and mentally cursed herself for being so clumsy.
Geez, I hope he didn't see me.
The following morning, Gippal awakened with a yawn, sitting up and stretching his muscles. The night had seemed to end so quickly, and he looked out the window. Bright sunlight leaked through the blinds and he stifled another yawn.
"Huh...? What's...this...?" he spoke aloud, noticing a tiny pair of white underwater on top of his blankets. Looking down, he picked them up gingerly and smirked, heading out towards the hallway.
Rikku cracked her eyes open, feeling a tickling sensation on her face. She looked up, seeing a flash of white and gold. She sat up quickly.
"Gippal...?!" Rikku exclaimed, seeing him sitting on the floor next to her mattress. Her eyes trailed down to his right hand and she felt her eyes widen.
"Missing something?" he asked in a whisper, a smile tugging at his lips. He held the piece of underwear in front of her, studying her every expression.
Rikku felt her face begin to warm up.
"Wh-...Where did you find those?!" she hissed at him. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Maybe I should be asking why they were on top of me when I woke up this morning?" Gippal responded coolly, moving his face closer to her.
Agh...they must have dropped on the bed when I fell on him earlier...
"I uh...y'know, about that, I—"
"Rikku, time to get...up..." Brother's voice cut her off. They both looked up at Brother just as he entered the door. Rikku's eyes flew to the panties that Gippal was holding in his hand. He seemed to realize it just in time and quickly moved them behind his back.
But not fast enough.
Brother raised an eyebrow, entering the room.
"Huh? What's going on in here, Rikku?" he asked with a thick accent, crossing his arms. His gaze rested on Gippal for a few moments and he frowned in confusion.
"Haven't you heard of knocking, Brother?" Rikku asked, moving into a sitting position.
"What?!! Rikku, I come in here and there's a boy in your room...! Where's Dad for all this?! And more importantly, what the hell were you holding?" Brother added, moving into the room and looking behind Gippal.
They both froze as Brother picked up the underwear in shock, his gaze flying to Gippal.
"Fryd tu oui drehg oui'na tuehk fedr so cecdan, oui meddma banjand!!! (What do you think you're doing with my sister, you little pervert!)
Rikku jumped up, immediately moving in front of her brother.
"You idiot! Gippal didn't do anything. I'm the one that..." she immediately put a hand on her mouth and gasped.
Gippal looked up at her, his eye widening. He was still seated on the floor beside the mattress.
"What are you saying, Rikku?" Brother asked, looking down at his sister with hell written all over his face.
Rikku gulped. She looked over at Gippal and saw his gaze upon her. She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "Tysh ed! Why don't you get out of my room!!"
Brother looked at his sister, stunned at how she was speaking to him. He was about to open his mouth ready to rebuff her, but Cid suddenly appeared at the door.
"What in blazes is goin' on in here? All I hear is a bunch of hollerin!"
Rikku turned to her father and walked towards him. "Hey, Pops! Tell Brother to get the heck outta my room! I was tryin to get some sleep, sheesh!"
Cid looked around at them quickly, immediately seeing his son clutching a pair of white underwear. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What's that you got there, son?"
Brother immediately dropped it and scratched his head, preparing to exit the bedroom. He didn't look up, but they could hear him grumbling under his breath.
Cid turned to Gippal. "And you? What were you doing in here?"
Gippal stood up, ready to reply but was immediately silenced by Rikku.
"He came to wake me up for today's dive," she heard herself saying.
What?! What the heck am I saying? Why am I covering his ass?!!
She looked away, avoiding everyone's eyes.
Cid looked back and forth between them for a moment before speaking again. "Oh, Rikku. About today..."
Rikku paused. "Yeah?"
"The dive's been cancelled. We got an emergency call to head out to the Thunder Plains," Cid explained, checking his watch.
"The Thunder Plains? But what's there to do there, sir?" Gippal asked, moving to stand beside Rikku. They all seemed to forget about the commotion from earlier.
Cid sighed, apparently surprised at the change of plans as well. "The towers don't seem to be working, and we need people to go and calibrate them. I've assigned Rikku to help out," Cid added, turning to his daughter.
"Oh...all right," Rikku responded hesitantly.
"Since I don't have any other missions for you here, Gippal, you're going to be assigned for the North section of the plains. Think you can handle that?" Cid asked him.
"It won't be a problem," Gippal replied confidently, leaning a bit on one leg.
Rikku turned to her father. "But Pops, when am I going to be using the new machina for the dive?"
Cid began heading out the door. "Maybe sometime next week, Rikku. It needs to be tested anyway, so don't worry about it yet," he replied. He stopped, turning to look at the two of them again. "Get dressed, we gotta get moving now."
They both nodded as Cid left the room.
Rikku stood awkwardly absorbed in the silence that filled the room. She heard Gippal clear his throat.
"Well, uh...I guess I should get dressed too," he spoke up.
She nodded. "Yeah, same here."
He seemed to linger around for an extra moment, just looking at her with a short smile.
Rikku suddenly felt very self-conscious and she glanced in his direction. "What...?"
Gippal shook his head, chuckling. "Just never expected things to be so exciting here in the mornings," he laughed. "Oh, and uh...what was that you were saying about things being your fault?" he added, causing Rikku to turn her attention more fully to him.
It was her turn to laugh this time, shrugging him off of her. "Ahaha. That was nothing. I just saved your ass back there, y'know," Rikku replied, crossing her arms underneath her chest.
He waved a hand through the air as he spoke. "Right. So...how should I repay you?" Gippal added, moving towards her. She found herself backing into the wall and was no less surprised when she felt herself leaning into it. Gippal moved his face closer. She stole a quick glance at the door to make sure no one was coming in, and realized that she couldn't slip away from him. "...and I know that the underwear didn't just show up on the bed. A little bird told me...or maybe I should say fell on top of me," he whispered.
Rikku's eyes flew to his and she almost swallowed her tongue. "W-What are you talking about?"
"You know what I mean," Gippal chuckled, leaning into her some more. He smiled in satisfaction. "I knew I recognized your smell."
Rikku immediately prevented herself from gasping aloud or even showing a sign that he was right. She looked up into his eye, her face completely neutral.
"So what else did this little bird tell you?"
Gippal smirked, surprised at how she decided to follow his game. "She said that I was right," he replied with a wink, and backed completely away from her.
Rikku responded by pushing him out the door. He went willingly, chuckling even as she slammed the door in his face. She sighed, looking around the room. The underwear was still on the floor.
Argh! All this because of that! she thought with annoyance and began pulling on her clothes for the day.
Ten minutes later Rikku emerged from the hall, making her way down the stairs. From the corner of her eye she saw Gippal exit his room (or rather, her room) and they both paused as their eyes met.
"Whoa...you goin' out in that?" Gippal asked after some time, looking her quickly up and down.
Rikku turned to face him fully, looking down at herself. "Huh? What's wrong with it?"
She was wearing a pair of short green shorts and an orange tanktop. Since the new mission required calibrating, the new pair of gloves she bought the other day was on her hands as well. Her item belt hung loosely around her waist.
Gippal shook his head as his gaze raised up to meet her's again. "Nothing...nevermind."
"You two ready now?" Cid's voice asked from below.
They both looked down over the railing. "Coming," Rikku replied.
The short trip to the Thunder Plains was an awkward one. Cid had arranged for Rikku to fly with Gippal, along with three other rookie workers. Besides herself and Gippal, the other Al Bhed on the hovercraft were in their early twenties, and they didn't seem to know each other or want to talk at all.
Every now and then Rikku would look up at everyone's faces, and each and every time her eyes landed on Gippal, she would find his gaze on her. He was sitting directly across from her, his arms resting on the chair.
The third time she looked in his direction, he winked.
Rikku immediately stuck her tongue out at him and didn't once look back at him for the rest of the flight.
"Alright kids, go to your stations and get working. The thunder is pretty bad out here, so be careful," the pilot instructed, opening the hatch after they had landed.
Rikku stood up and adjusted her gloves, seeing the other Al Bhed begin to exit by the ladder. Gippal was following closely after them.
"Hold on a second, let me go ahead of you, Gippal," Rikku said to him, pulling him by his arm. He didn't move.
"Huh? Why?"
"Just because," she replied, moving ahead to cut him.
Gippal looked at her for a moment before realization finally dawned on him. He smiled sideways. "Oh, I get it. Worried that I'd see something you wouldn't want me to if I were below, hm?"
Rikku fought off a blush and saw that it was her turn to climb down the ladder. She quickly moved into position and stole one last glance at Gippal as she descended. "Yeah, because you're perverted enough to look up," she replied, and made her way down.
Gippal looked down as she finished, before heading down himself. He shook his head, laughing.
They had been working for some time, and Rikku shivered slightly to herself, looking up at the dark sky just as drops of rain came down upon her face. She looked up and saw that she was the only one left in her area. The North section was no doubt complete, since the towers seemed to be working fine again from where she stood.
She just couldn't seem to concentrate on calibrating quickly enough. The loud rumbling and flashes of thunder seemed to be so close to her each time, and she couldn't help but jump whenever the sky lit up. She looked around again. The rain was coming down in torrents, the thunder louder than ever.
Rikku stood up, the last tower finally complete. Looking out towards the inn, it was a long run back. The towers were spread out so far from each other, and she felt herself shivering.
But, I can't stay out here forever...
With a quick sprint she reached the second tower, realizing that the whole thing was ridiculous.
Argh...when did I become so scared of thunder?
Rikku leaned back against the metal, and remained underneath the shelter of the tower. She could feel her teeth chattering from the cold winds, and the rain's steady beating against the metal ceiling was almost hypnotic. Her eyelids drifted steadily closed.
xxxx
She groaned, turning herself over. With a start, her eyes flew open and she sat up.
"Whoa...you okay now...?"
Rikku looked up and found Gippal's face. He scratched the back of his head and moved closer to her. "You didn't come back for a long time, so I went out and found you under the tower." He paused and suddenly turned around from her. "I thought something had happened to you, y'know."
"I uh..." she paused, collapsing back onto the pillow with a sigh. She shut her eyes. "I don't know what happened to me out there. I just couldn't get back to the inn like that."
Damn, what's wrong with me? I've suddenly become so weak.
"Cid wants us to come back to the base tomorrow morning," Gippal suddenly informed her, moving to sit in the chair from across the bed.
Rikku turned so that she was facing him. "Does he know what happened to me?" she asked quietly.
Gippal shook his head. "Nah, I didn't tell him 'bout it. Figured that was up to you to tell him...or not."
She sighed in relief.
"Ah well...you're also probably wondering why I'm here."
She raised her eyes to him again.
Huh? Why else wouldn't he be here? Unless he really wasn't worried about me and...
"The others have taken the other three rooms, so I don't have a place to stay for the night," Gippal began in embarrassment, leaning back in the chair.
Rikku sat up and brushed her damp hair behind her ear.
"So ah...since you're the only one I know, would it be all right if I slept here? But...not in your bed, of course...!" he added as an afterthought, chuckling.
Rikku looked at him for a moment and nodded. "Sure, but...um. I know I couldn't sleep in that chair like that," she giggled softly, reaching around from behind her.
Gippal tilted his head to the side. "What are you saying...?"
She suddenly tossed one of her pillows to him, giggling.
He smiled, catching it. "Oh, so that's what you meant."
"Huh? What did you think I was saying? That I'd let you sleep next to me or something?" Rikku asked, feeling herself blush at the words.
Gippal laughed. "Well...yeah."
They sat silent for a moment.
"Just kiddin. I know we haven't gotten to know each other enough to go that far," Gippal said again smirking at her from where he sat.
Her face was red and she knew it. Rikku reached up and turned the light off, still seeing Gippal's silhouette in the darkness. She pulled the blanket over herself once more and turned her back to him, feeling her face cooling down.
Gippal smiled to himself, looking at her form for a moment before shutting his own eye and leaning into the pillow. It smelled faintly of her.
"Hey, Gippal...?"
He cracked his eye open. "Yeah?"
Rikku turned to look behind at him, smiling. "Thanks for today. For um...bringing me back."
"Anytime," he smiled.
End of Chapter 3
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! See you in Chapter 4!
