A/N: I'm very pleased that people liked the last chapter! I know that I left it at such an evil "cliffhanger," but I thought it was a nice way to end it. Thanks again for your support, everyone! It's great to see some familiar names reading my stories once again!
Chapter 4: ButterfliesBurning daylight streamed in from the open window, shaking Rikku out from her dream. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the white ceiling, fragments of the dream still remaining in her mind.
She only remembered bits and pieces of it, but the one thing she knew was that it was a rather pleasant one. It was about her of course, but in it, she was with someone as they spent a sweet day together. Rikku turned herself over, trying to figure out who the boy in her dream was. She shut her eyes tightly, really wanting to know who it was.
Those types of dreams always seemed to happen to her. Whenever they were good, she would forget the important details of it, only for the memories to come rushing back to her minutes or even days afterwards. She paused, feeling her mind pulling at something from the dream.
A face suddenly appeared and she dropped her mouth in horror.
What the...?!! No way!!! NO WAY!!
Rikku lay on her bed, gripping the blanket over herself and feeling her face warm.
Why him? Why HIM?! Of all people...Gippal...?
The realization that she had just dreamt about the young man she had met days ago came crashing down upon her like a blow. Not only had she fantasized about Gippal by dreaming about him, the dream itself was one that made Rikku's blush darken even more. Because she was pretty damn sure that in it, she and Gippal had shared a kiss.
The memory made her eyes widen even more. She searched her mind, trying to find a reason...any reason at all, why on Spira she would dream about him.
"Uggh..."
Rikku almost bit her tongue at the sound, and she looked quickly behind her, realizing with silent alarm that Gippal had spent the night in the chair beside her. She just remembered. Her mind raced again as she saw him shifting in his chair, the pillow she had given him the night before falling to the floor.
Oh no. Please tell me that I didn't talk in my sleep last night. Oh please, please...!
Since she was a kid, Rikku knew that whenever she had a nice dream, she would talk while she slept, giggling or even squealing in delight. Her brother had informed her of it, and her old friends from machina school had told her whenever she slept at their house. Because of that, she was embarrassed to have any more sleepovers.
Of all nights and of all people...why!!
"You awake...?" a sleep-filled voice murmured from behind her.
She turned herself over, hoping that the original color had returned to her face by then.
"Y-yeah..."
He yawned, standing up slowly and stretching his back. The sound of popping joints filled the room and he looked over at her, seeing Rikku trying to suppress a giggle.
"Let's see you try sleeping there," Gippal chuckled softly, running a hand through his hair. He yawned again before looking in her direction.
"No thanks!" she whispered back at him, finally moving up into a sitting position. She reached up to smooth her hair.
"Sleep well?" Gippal asked again, changing the subject. He moved back to seat himself in the chair.
Rikku blinked, before nodding slowly. "Y-yeah, it was all right..." she trailed off, seeing him smile suddenly.
"You know...cause I heard you mumbling in the middle of the night and all..."
She swallowed. "O-oh yeah? What, was I talkin' in my sleep or something?" she laughed, scratching the back of her head nervously.
Please don't say yes. Please don't say yes...!
Gippal's smile widened and he raised an eyebrow. Moving towards her bed, he bent down and picked up her shoes. Rikku watched as he moved over to the window and opened it, holding the shoes out over the edge.
She gasped, scrambling out of bed. "Hey, what are you doing?!" Reaching up, she tried to grab his arm. He laughed.
"I'll tell you what you said and give you back your shoes, but only if you give me something in return," Gippal spoke up, using his free hand to toss back a few strands from his forehead.
Rikku narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She took a step back away from him and crossed her arms, tilting her head to the side. "What...do you want?" she asked, almost dreading what he was going to say.
Please don't let it be something bad or something!
He smiled. "Kiss me."
She backed away even more, her face flaming. "No way!" she shook her head firmly. "What are you trying to do?!"
Gippal chuckled, releasing three fingers on the shoes so that he was only holding it with two. "You really want to go all the way downstairs to get these?" he raised an eyebrow at her, smiling at her frustration.
Rikku groaned loudly, jumping up and grabbing at his extended arm again. "Ooh!! Just give them back!!"
He held his ground, not the least bothered by her grabs at him. "Stop that, Cid's Girl...y'know that's really starting to tickle," he laughed again.
She released his arm in embarrassment, looking up into his face. "If you don't give them back, I'll tell my Dad to kick you out!"
Gippal seemed to laugh louder, finally moving his arm back into the room. He took a step closer to her.
"You know you won't do that," he said quietly, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She froze. "After all, I know that you dreamt about me," Gippal whispered before quickly capturing her lips with his.
The contact was quick, and Rikku hadn't had the chance to even shove him away or curse herself that she really had been talking in her sleep.
"Y-you jerk...!!" she exclaimed after he stepped back. Her face was burning at that point, and she wiped her lips with the back of her hand quickly. His laugh seemed to quiet down when he saw her do that, realizing his mistake too late.
"Hey, uh...sor—"
"Nope! Don't even say it! I'm not talking to you...!" Rikku exclaimed, grabbing her shoes from him and shoving her feet angrily in. She grabbed her bag as well, leaving him standing alone in the bedroom as she exited.
That jerk! How dare he do that to me!! Omigosh...just like that damn dream too...! Argh! Why do I feel so mad?!
Gippal stood for a moment, hanging his head and sighing. He raised a hand to touch his lips before leaving the room after her.
The ride back to Home was even more awkward than the first one. Gippal had tried stopping Rikku several times to try and apologize to her, but she always turned her face away from him. Presently, she was sitting in the far corner of the airship. She hadn't once looked at him, and he could sense her anger. He had his gaze on her for the entire flight, hoping to meet her eyes somehow.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence on the airship, Gippal watched as Rikku stood and exited after they had landed. He saw her eyes finally rest on him, but once she saw him looking at her as well, she turned her nose defiantly up at him.
He sighed again.
"Riiiiikkkuuu...wait," he called out to her in defeat.
She stopped on the ladder for a moment and looked at him, the wind tossing up her hair. "You're not forgiven." And with that, she continued climbing down.
Gippal hurried after her, climbing the ladder and jumping the last remaining steps. He reached out to grab her arm gently. "C'mon, Rikku.…let me-"
She spun out of his grasp and continued the walk back to the residential area.
"Let go!"
He chased after her, moving to walk in her way so she didn't have a choice but to look at him.
"Will you at least look at me...c'mon..." he asked again, sounding desperate.
Rikku looked up at him, her frown softening slightly at the tone of his voice.
Hm, he seems to have given up. But he stole that kiss! I can't let him get away with that!!!
She finally stopped walking, much to his surprise. Walking up in front of him, she looked him in the eye.
"Why'd you do it?"
He looked at her, knowing that she meant the kiss. He tried preparing an answer, but realized that he didn't quite know himself.
"I uh..." he began, scratching the back of his head.
Rikku stood, waiting for his reason.
"Yeah?" she prompted, moving to peer up into his face.
Gippal met her eyes hesitantly. "I guess 'cause I just did..." he replied after some time.
"What?! What kind of answer is that?" she demanded, waving a hand in the air. She was still angry, but a part of her admitted that she wasn't as angry as she made it seem.
He shrugged, knowing that the kiss had been just a playful thing...right? Swamped in his own confusion at why he did it, he wasn't prepared to answer her. He searched his mind again before sighing.
"I guess I just wanted to annoy you...cause you know..." he trailed off, causing Rikku to turn her attention back to him. "...cause I like seeing you mad like that. I dunno...itt's kinda...cute."
The last word seemed to trail from his mouth slowly, and Rikku couldn't help but hang onto it. But she shrugged it off, beginning to walk the rest of the way towards Home.
"W-What are you talking about..." she grumbled to herself, hearing him right behind her.
Argh...he's making me feel all weird inside! Why does he have to say things like that, anyway? He should just keep his big mouth shut so that I wouldn't have to feel so...
Gippal watched her retreating back as she walked away. He wasn't going to give up that easily.
"Ok, fine! What do you want me to do to make it up to you?" he called out to her. The one thing Gippal couldn't stand was when a girl was mad at him. It made him feel inferior somehow, as if he should have been trying to win her attention instead. Her footsteps slowed down before stopping completely. She whirled around, kicking up sand.
"What?!" Rikku shouted back at him, her hands on her hips.
He smiled, walking towards her. "You heard me."
She paused at that, knowing full well that a part of her wanted to see Gippal at her mercy. He continued towards her. And it was tempting indeed.
But what? What can I do?
He stopped directly in front of her, causing her to snap back to reality. She smiled suddenly at her idea, standing on her tippy toes so that her face was near his. His eye widened.
"Okay, here's what I want you to do," Rikku began, amused at how easily he seemed to react.
"Name it," he replied confidently and with a grin.
"Hm, all right. You won't speak to me, touch me, or make me mad for two days."
Gippal backed away from her, his mouth slightly open. "Wh-What...?! But that's cheating!" he exclaimed, waving a hand through the air.
Rikku mentally gave herself a high five, satisfied with his reaction. "How's it cheating?" she asked innocently, her head slightly tilted to the side.
"'Cause it means you haven't forgiven me at all," he replied with a grin.
"Don't do it then. Then I'll really stay mad at you forever!" Rikku laughed, waving a finger at him.
Gippal stood for a moment, looking at her. His lip seemed to twitch as a smile finally appeared.
"All right then. I'll do it."
He wasn't going to let her win over him. No way in hell.
Hm, he seems so sure of himself. We'll see about that.
"Tomorrow then. Your first day starts," Rikku informed him, turning around to head back.
"Whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute," Gippal spoke up. She stopped and looked at him.
"What? Trying to back out?" Rikku laughed.
He shook his head, licking his lips thoughtfully. "And what do I get if I win after the 2 days are up? It shouldn't be too hard for me to win y'know," Gippal added cockily.
We'll see about that. Heh.
"I guess we'll see then," Rikku replied just as confidently.
"How 'bout this..." he began, pacing in front of her. "If I win, you'll agree to be my servant for the rest of the summer."
Rikku froze, her smile fading.
Oh no...that means I really need to make sure he loses this. No way am I going to be his slave!! NO WAY! But then again. It'll be great to see him lose and apologize to me.
"Deal," she declared, holding out her gloved hand to him.
Gippal looked down at it, grinning. He took her's in his own gloved hand.
"It's a bet then."
They shook each other's hand. Rikku let her hand drop beside her and began walking the remaining distance back to their house, leaving Gippal not too far behind her. She suddenly felt his arm around her shoulders.
"What are you doing?" she asked him calmly. They had just passed the shop district.
He grinned sideways. "The bet doesn't start tomorrow, so I can bother you as much I want today," he answered easily, causing her to groan.
End of Chapter 4
A/N: As some of you might have already expected, I had fun writing this chapter. I can't wait to start Chapters 5 though!
Thanks again for reading, and please review.
