A/N: Before you read any further, there's something I'd like to mention first. Spoilers below.

In FFX-2, during one of the scenes where Rikku and Gippal talk to each other, Gippal says, "We made quite the couple" to Yuna, meaning that he and Rikku were "together." Now, there are many interpretations to this, but for the sake of the fic, we'll assume that they were indeed together at one point.

I mention this because if you notice in that same scene after Gippal says that, Rikku runs up to him and shoves him, turning away from him a bit with a troubled/annoyed look on her face and she says, "What are you saying?" in Al Bhed. Gippal laughs and says, "Rikku's always good for a laugh."

Ok, so in keeping that same mood, Rikku will seem like she's trying to run away/is bothered by something whenever it involves relationships, and it's because of how young she is in this story. Gippal will seem more collected at his young age here, and it'll be supported by how they both act towards each other when he's 18 in the game and Rikku is 17.

If this all sounds confusing now, it'll make sense as the story goes on. I promise.

Chapter 10: Almost There

For hours, she lay wide-awake on her mattress. Her mind kept on replaying what had happened earlier that night, and Rikku knew that her heart was beating just a bit faster than it normally would. She bit on her bottom lip and breathed in deeply.

Ok, ok. Let's think through this, Rikku. That was the second time he kissed you.

Her eyes widened in the darkness and she gasped to herself.

No, NO! But this time it was different. This time it was...different.

She heard him shift in his bed in the next room, and for a long time she just lay under her own covers, staring at the ceiling.

xxx

The next morning, she awakened feeling tired. She knew she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep last night. Her lips kept on reminding her about the kiss. She could still feel him. Gippal's fingers across her face, his lips on hers...

Argh! Stop it!

She fought off a blush and shook her head firmly. That moment would remain burned into her mind and she knew it. But she needed to keep her composure for that day. She froze.

Saturday. Alone in the house with Gippal. Her dad wouldn't be home until tomorrow.

Great. Now how do I act around him...? I mean, I can't just act as if nothing happened. And, and...I'm sure he expects me to say something about what happened last night...

For a good ten minutes Rikku paced back and forth across the room. She was still dressed in her pajama shorts and top, and her hair was a mess. She sighed and realized that eventually, Gippal would wonder where she was. She could hear him moving around downstairs already.

Deciding that it was time to get moving, she pulled her tanktop off and kicked her shorts away. She stood in her underwear and opened the closet to look through her clothes.

"Hey, Rikku, it's time to—" Gippal's voice spoke up as he suddenly walked into the room.

Her eyes flew to the door as she saw him and she squealed in shock. She immediately covered herself up and went red with utter embarrassment. "G-Gippal! Get out!" she stammered out in horror, trying desperately to keep herself covered up.

He stood for a few moments, his mouth hanging open slightly. His gaze trailed up to her face before accidentally drifting down her body. Her eyes widened. He caught himself and shut his mouth again. It took him a while to realize her screams at him, and he finally blinked, mumbling a quick apology and exiting the room with a bright red face.

Rikku quickly ran to the door and turned the lock, leaning heavily against it with a sigh. Mentally screaming at herself as well as at him for not knocking at all, she moved to her closet again and threw on some clothes.

xxx

His gaze flickered up to her as she appeared at the kitchen doorway ten minutes later dressed in her normal clothes. He saw that she wasn't looking at him so he turned his head, still embarrassed at what had happened earlier that morning.

She sat across from him at the table and poured herself a glass of milk. Raising the glass to her lips, she glanced at him and he was staring at her. She quickly averted her gaze and cleared her throat as she put the glass down. She could see his gaze on her from the corner of her eye.

"Are you...going to say anything?" Gippal asked quietly.

She looked up at him from across the table. "What...do you want me to say?" she replied, feeling a bit uneasy. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"You know, about last night. And uh...this morning." His face was red.

"About this morning...you shoulda knocked," Rikku replied with her arms crossed. She wasn't looking at him.

"Yeah, I know...sorry 'bout that..."

It was quiet for a while and she hesitantly raised her eyes to him again.

"...And about last night...I uh..." Gippal spoke up. He trailed off, chuckling nervously. "I gotta apologize to you for that too. It was wrong of me and uh—"

"...Wrong?" she interrupted quietly, surprised at his words. He stopped in mid-sentence.

"Y-Yeah. I mean...the way you reacted afterwards and all. Sorry, I shouldn't have..." Gippal said again, looking down at his glass on the table. He cleared his throat.

"Then why did you...?" Rikku asked softly. His gaze met hers and he immediately looked away.

He knew what she was asking him but he didn't respond for a while.

"I mean, um... It's not like you...y'know..." Rikku trailed off, looking down. He looked up at her right then.

Of course he doesn't! There's no way he could possibly like me.

Gippal swallowed, knowing full well what she meant. "I uh...I'm not sure..." he said after a while, his voice quiet.

Rikku blinked, her gaze quickly flying across to him.

"Ah, I mean uh...you're cute and all, so I can't help myself sometimes and..." he trailed off, his face a shade of pink.

She sat in her chair, looking down to hide her own flaming face away from him.

"Gippal...that's um..." Rikku started. He looked up at her and she paused.

Wait...what am I trying to say? Why am I starting my sentence like this...?

"...That's what?" he quietly asked.

I know. You're asking me the same thing I'm asking myself. I...don't know what I'm trying to say either...

"I um...I-I...I'll be back later!" she exclaimed, standing from the chair in a rush. She headed for the front door.

Gippal immediately stood and followed after her. "R-Rikku...wait!" he called out.

"I'll be back in a bit! So just wait 'til then, ok?" she answered, already halfway out the door.

He watched as she closed the door behind her, leaving him standing alone in the living room. It was a feeling he was slowly getting used to when it came to Rikku.

Pacing a bit in front of where she left him, he suddenly felt a smile tugging on his lips.

xxx

Oooh, I can't believe it! I did it again! Man...why do I always walk out on him...? I always seem to leave whenever he says something like that...and I don't know why...

I'm...running away.

But why...?

Running away from him? Or running away from how he seems to make me feel?

Confused, she stopped walking and saw that she was alone in the middle of the plaza. She sat down on one of the benches and looked up at the clear cerulean sky, sighing to herself. The sun was hot against her bare shoulders.

Unconsciously, her fingers landed on her lips. She remembered Gippal's kiss from the night before.

I couldn't sleep last night because of that. All night, the only thing I could think about was him...

Each time she closed her eyes, his face would fill her mind completely so that when she opened them again, it seemed as if he was just beside her. Rikku sighed again, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning back against the bench.

I...

I...need to go back. I can't keep running away like this.

She stood up and found herself running back to the residential area.

xxx

"...Gippal...?"

Silence.

Rikku entered the house and looked around, seeing that his shoes were gone as well.

"You here?" she called out again.

When she got no reply, she realized that he must have gone somewhere too.

"Great. ...huh...?"

A sheet of paper taped on the wall across the door suddenly caught her eye. She walked closer to it and read the writing.

'Sometimes the quietest mouse isn't always that sneaky if the cat catches her eavesdropping on his conversation.'

Huh!

Rikku gasped, immediately understanding the note.

It was a clue.

From Gippal of course, and...and...!

No way. He knew! He knew I was there all along!

But how? I hid behind the car...and he never looked at me at all when that girl was talkin' to him! Argh!

She held the paper in her hand some more and blinked, realizing where to go next.

xxx

By time she had reached the alley again, the plaza was nearly deserted. Rikku moved quickly down the street, keeping an eye out for that same car she hid behind. Finally, she saw another white sheet of paper stuck between the car's tire and the ground.

What could he be planning?

She unfolded the paper.

'I've never seen someone eat that much before, but if still staying cute means that you can eat as much as you want, then I already know someone who can do just that.'

Rikku almost laughed aloud. She glanced across the plaza and walked in the direction of the pizza restaurant, anticipating the next note.

When she got there, she could already see the piece of paper folded and tucked just beside the front window. She took it, realizing that this note was folded differently and more elaborately. Her lips curled up.

So he can fold nicely. That's unexpected...

'I made you run around a bit, huh? I hope you're not too mad, but at least you're probably smiling now, right? Listen...there's some things I wanna talk to you about, so I'll be at the oasis. Come, ok?'

She read over the words again before finally folding it back up.

I won't run away this time.

xxx

He stood up from the rock he was leaning against right as he saw her enter the area. Her eyes darted around for a moment before she finally saw him, but she kept her gaze away from his.

"Uh, hey..." Gippal greeted as she stopped in front of him.

"Hi..." she replied, looking down at her shoes.

"I guess you found the notes," he chuckled quietly, reaching up to brush his hair back.

She smiled. "Yeah, I did..."

Gippal looked down at her, seeing her with her head down. He cleared his throat. "W-Well, uh...I guess since you're here, I should start..."

She looked up and met his gaze. "Ok."

They moved over to the edge of the water and he sat down upon one of the larger rocks, looking down at his reflection in the clear pool. She sat on top of the rock near his.

He sighed. "Alright, I wanna know what's up."

Rikku didn't look at him, but instead looked at his reflection in the water. "What's up with what?"

No, stop that. You know what he's talking about. So just answer him.

"You know..." Gippal trailed off. He sighed and fully faced her. "...Rikku, you know what I mean..."

She nodded and moved her legs under herself, finally looking into his face. It took a lot of courage on her part to keep her eyes on him and she fought to answer him under his intense stare.

"Yeah, Gippal. I...know what you're trying to say..."

"Then, let's talk about it," he said gently.

She looked away. "What's there to talk about?"

He sighed. "C'mon. You can't be sayin' that kind of stuff now. We can't be livin' together if things are like this between us..." he trailed off.

Her mouth fell open slightly and she felt her face grow hot. "What do you me-"

"Rikku, I mean that one of us likes the other and...and..." He couldn't seem to finish after that. Gippal turned to look at the water again. He could feel her eyes on him.

"...and you want to figure out who, right...?" Rikku finished his sentence quietly, surprised at his words. She had her eyes down, her heart thudding loudly in her chest.

He slowly looked over at her again, a small smile at his lips. "Well, y-yeah...I mean, you didn't push me away or anything when I kissed you last night and..."

"...and..." she spoke up.

He stood up from his rock and walked towards her. "...and I wanna know why." Rikku turned her face to him, seeing his gaze on her. She bit on her bottom lip, feeling her emotions building up and finally spilling.

"So what do you want me to say, Gippal? That I'm madly in love with you or somethin'? That after you kissed me, I was awake the whole night and couldn't sleep because you're all I thought about!" she stopped herself by putting a hand on her mouth, realizing that she had said too much.

He was looking back at her, his eye widened slightly. He seemed to be fighting off a smile. Turning her red face away, she sensed him move closer so that he sat beside her on the rock.

Omigosh...I'm so stupid. I can't believe I told him all that...!

His voice interrupted her thoughts.

"...You..." he started quietly. "...took the words right out of my mouth."

Rikku froze, slowly turning around to face him.

"S-Stop making fun of me like that..." she softly said, looking away.

He moved so that he could see her face. "I'm...not, Rikku. I mean it," he said. When she didn't respond, he continued on, feeling his heart beating faster. "I'm saying that..." he found his breath again before continuing on. "...I'm saying—"

Rikku looked at him and blinked, her heart pounding a million times a minute. "...that you...?" she asked in disbelief.

He smiled a bit and nodded. "...Yeah, I-I do..."

She turned away in embarrassment, suddenly feeling very shy.

"Oh..."

Gippal bumped her gently on the arm. "And?" he smiled playfully.

Rikku looked at him quickly, feeling her own mouth curving upwards. "And what?" she asked in a soft voice, turning away again.

He chuckled, moving himself so that he had one hand resting against the rock on the other side of where her legs were resting, trapping her in place. She swallowed and leaned away from him a bit.

"...And what about you? Aren't you going to say anything?" he laughed.

She crossed her arms, turning her face away so that he couldn't see her smile. "Haven't we already figured out who it was?" she said to him, raising an eyebrow.

Gippal blinked, scratching the back of his head and chuckling. "Aha...ah, y-yeah, I guess. But...it can't work if it's just one person y'know..." he smiled. She looked over at him, ready to say something, but she closed her mouth again.

"I-I um..." Rikku started shyly, playing with a loose thread on her shorts. He smiled at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Yeah?" he prompted.

She saw the way he was watching her and she finally sighed, smiling. "You don't know yet?" Rikku asked quietly, avoiding his face.

"Y-You're serious..." Gippal whispered, seeing her turn to him again. Apparently he was just as surprised as she was. She smiled and slipped out from under him.

Rikku stood on the ground, her hands clasped behind her back. "Yup."

He seemed to finally realize what was happening, and he shook his head with a smirk on his face. Getting off the rock, he moved over to her and reached for her hand, locking their fingers together. She blushed.

"So does that mean we get to share a bed tonight?" he winked.

Rikku felt her face grow even hotter and she hit him on the shoulder, causing him to laugh.

"G-Gippal...! Don't just say things like that!" she said in embarrassment, feeling the warmth from his grasp.

He looked at her annoyed face and smiled as they continued to walk back to Home, their joined hands gently swinging back and forth.

End of Chapter 10

A/N: Eh? EH! So how did you all like that? I hope I surprised you all by how I decided to handle the confession scene, hehe.

I won't talk much about Chapter 11, so I guess you'll all just have to wait and see for yourselves.

Thanks for reading.