A/N: STILL don't own Final Fantasy, STILL wish I did. I'm back from holiday now, so you, my loving public, -snickers- can harrass me a lot more, so I can actually reply to stuff! It's so nice to come home to a mailbox saying you have a review! -stares pointedly-

Anyways, this is a longer chapter than the others, but I couldn't really find a decent cut-off point anywhere else, so consider yourselves especially lucky or something...

Chapter Three: Indecent Proposals

"You want me to manufacture GIPPAL SPAWN?" I shrieked loudly. My so called friends, who were supposed to be rallying in my defence, all burst out laughing. I turned on them, eyes burning with demonic fire. "ALL OF YOU, OUT!" I screamed. All of them took off running. "FATHER, YOU STAY PUT!" He stopped jarringly and turned to face me, sighing. "Do I have a choice in the matter?" I asked forlornly. I didn't want to marry a man who didn't love me and who I didn't love back. I hardly even KNEW Gippal anymore. We hadn't been that close back at Home, let alone now…

"Of course you do sweetie. I just want you to be happy. But you'd shame us all by going against the ancient, time honoured tradition and we'd be cast out of society, but anything for my little girl!" He said. I felt the colour drain from my face.

What choice!

What choice?-

"One condition, Father, you do right by me and I'll play my part in this sham marriage." I said gravely. Pops nodded so I began. "You shut down the tours for Yunie and I'll marry Gippal, do we have a deal?" I asked, more bravely than I felt.

Cid's face broke out into a grin and he hugged me. I was startled to find that I had actually missed him when he initiated this simple gesture. How one intimate act of kinship just took away all of the absent moments from my mind was beyond me. Well, not quite, I loved the old man really; I just didn't like admitting that I needed him.

"You've made your old man proud!" He crowed excitedly. I swallowed and smiled weakly.

"Well, let's hope Gippal agrees to his terms and conditions, eh?" I asked feebly. Cid's beaming countenance flickered towards me and he sobered at my forlorn expression.

"I'll go fetch the lad; you just sit tight, okay Rikku?" He asked gently. I nodded with a soft, sad smile as he left me to my thoughts.

Did I want to marry Gippal? No, I could honestly say I didn't. The limited amount of his personality that had been on display to me over the years wasn't earning him any favours. I wasn't twelve anymore, so I cared about character. I didn't know if he was secretly some homicidal maniac, I didn't know him full stop.

Marriage is meant to be based on implicit knowledge of a partner, so trust can be built on those foundations, so love could blossom. From trust spawns monogamy as well, and I doubted Gippal would shuck off his playboy demeanour just because I had to play the little woman at home, I doubted he'd do that for anyone.

However, I was going to try damn hard to make a sham marriage work, just because I must have inherited Yuna's sense of duty without realising. I was going to sacrifice my life for a cause, and I doubted Yuna would try to kidnap me.

Well, I guess I always did believe that I'd get married, have obnoxious hyperactive children and live happily ever after, but obviously fate has a sense of humour that only people like Gippal can appreciate.

"You with us, Cid's Girl?" Gippal's voice cut viciously into my reverie and my eyes snapped up to his face. I sighed softly, for once strong enough not to rise to the bait.

"I'm with you, Gippal. I just wanted to tell you something, about, the, engagement…" I said, drawing out each dreaded syllable as if to retract their meaning. Gippal eyed me curiously, obviously uninformed of my answer.

"I'm all ears." He said amiably.

"I'll do it." I whispered. He opened his mouth immediately to protest, but my answer registered with an almost audible click and he clamped his jaw shut in surprise. His gaze lingered for an eternity, before he breathed heavily.

"Rikku, trust me on this, I know for a fact that you'd rather jump off a cliff than spend an extended period of time with me, but you're saying that you would 'marry me, in sickness, health, for rich, for poor, for being an utter jackass, till death do us part'?" He asked in utter bemusement. I nodded, feeling small and fragile.

"It all depends on you, Gippal. I wouldn't, by choice, marry someone I consider to almost be a stranger, but, if you're willing to overcome these obstacles, with me, then I'll give this sham everything I have." I decided.

"What would these obstacles entail?" He asked seriously. I was shocked at his compliance. Gippal never gave an inch if he didn't have to, and I was in no position to make demands.

"Well, I hope nothing too demanding, I won't ask you to join a cult or anything…" I muttered, trying to buy time while I constructed conditions. Gippal smiled at me.

"Whoo!" He said as a sigh of relief, "you had me worried for a sec there!" I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm.

"However, if you're going to insist on playing it out like this, I'll put this in a way you'll understand. You're gonna have to 'woo' me Gippal." I said; quirking an eyebrow at his dumbfounded expression.

"I beg your pardon?" He asked, befuddled.

"Gippal, if I'm going to have to live with you I think it would be nice if I could last five minutes without bludgeoning you to death. So, because I'm willing to overlook all of your numerous faults, you're going to have to sweep me off my feet. Yep, you're going to play the knight in shining armour and you're going to try your damnedest to make me fall in love with you.

I will not restrict your freedom, but I do expect some basic courtesies. You will not go out whoring while attempting to court me. If in the end we do get married and you feel the need to satisfy yourself, I will be the one who gives you satisfaction. If I am to 'manufacture Gippal spawn' then I will not bring children into a broken home. Day or night, rain or shine, I will attend to what you want or need. However, do not take advantage of my kindness, or I will resent you more than any other cheating bastard I have come across.

I am making you this offer because if there's even a snowball's chance in hell of you and me working, I'll take that chance. You do not have to be at my beck and call, and I expect you to return the favour. We will still be individuals; I will not give up my life just because you expect me to be domesticated.

Finally, Gippal, you will have to work for this, because nothing ventured means nothing gained, I am not like the cheap women you are accustomed to, I will not ask 'how high' if you tell me to jump. I will tell you to sod off and do it yourself. I would not expect the same of you, if the situation were reversed. I have proposed an equal partnership which I wish to base on at least trust, if not something much more precious.

However, time will tell, or we'll call this sham off before it starts." I dictated, punctuating my points animatedly, yet my tone remained grave and solemn. Gippal seemed to linger far too long on the point made about satisfaction, but I didn't expect him not to.

"So, you're saying that I'm free to do what I wish, apart from shamelessly flirt?" He asked slowly.

"You'll have to do more than that if you want me to be much of a fun life partner, but essentially, yes." I stated.

"You want me to make you fall in love with me?" He asked, his tone sounding amusingly suspicious.

"Yes, I want to be besotted with you. I want to eagerly hang upon your lips, as the quote goes, I want to want you home and in my arms and satiated until we're both too exhausted to continue. I want my happy ending dammit, and you will NOT spoil it for me." I concluded vehemently.

"Then you've got a deal, Rikku." He answered with a genuine smile, warmth in his eye and a small amount of colour in his highly accentuated cheeks. I smiled back and extended my hand, which he clasped gently, bringing it up to press against his lips. My eyes widened in pleasant surprise and he grinned at me. The smile almost split his face, though his eye twinkled with mirth there was none of the usual malice behind it. "Chivalry ain't quite dead yet, not if I have anything to say about it!" He drawled as I tried to quell my rising blush. I was quite irritated that I actually found myself attracted to this side of Gippal, even if it was an act. If he was playing games, they were still solely for me, and the notion didn't bother me half as much as it would have in the past.

"That's good to hear, even if I'm far too cynical to believe you." I said through a slight chuckle.

"Well, I'll have to convince you, but you'll forgive me if I don't break out the romancing around your little buddies?" He asked.

"Of course not, I couldn't expect you to allow such a blow to your ego; you have a reputation to uphold, after all." I quipped.

"Exactly, plus, you're a fantastic verbal sparring partner." He grinned and ran a hand through his hair. "You're also a fantastic physical sparring partner, but my ego's not quite ready to have my ass so thoroughly kicked so shortly after the first beating I suffered at your dainty little hands." He said with no bitterness, just a tinge of embarrassment.

"No problem, I'm sure my pride would take more of a beating from Paine if she found out anyways." I stated. "Well, husband to be, I think I'll call the others, then we'll head to Bikanel." I chirped, before leaving my stunned fiancé in the bridge. I returned seconds later with an amused expression. "Er, Gippal? This is where you get off, remember?" I asked patiently.

"Oh!" He exclaimed as he was snapped out of his contemplation. "I forgot to ask, is it okay if I beg a ride to Bikanel off you? Nhadala's been on my case for practically forever and is of the opinion that I should've collected her data on the first quarter hours ago. Real stickler for efficiency is Nhadala; she actually scares me quite a bit…" He confessed easily.

"Sure thing! I'll have to hide you from Brother so he doesn't come after you with a rusty pitchfork or something though…" I muttered, mentally entertaining the thought of an enraged Brother leading an angry mob with flaming torches and farmyard implements after poor Gippal. I chuckled wickedly to myself, before slapping an innocent expression on my face as I looked through my lashes at Gippal, blatantly suggesting that of course I hadn't been fantasising about him suffering.

"When we're married I'm gonna have to sleep with a knife under my pillow, aren't I?" He asked, unsure whether nervousness or humour should dominate his line of questioning.

"Of course, seeing as sleeping with one eye open would be kinda twisted and masochistic…" I giggled, dispelling his anxiety.

"Those are big words coming from such a little thing." He said with as much condescension and arrogance as he could muster.

"I think we'll broach the topic of chat-up lines again at a later date, after you've spent a while practicing how not to offend my intelligence, height and flat chest." I snarked.

"Cid's Girl, if I'd have commented on your rack I'd have the scars to prove it, so while we're having a friendly lesson on etiquette, how's about you don't belittle my survival instincts?" He said in a 'higher than thou' voice. I was torn between blowing up at him and laughing, so in the end I did neither.

"Touché." I said; quirking an eyebrow in an almost amused manner.

"However, risking a severe beating, you're not flat chested." He said, clomping up the stairs in his ridiculously huge, worn army boots. He turned and gave me a cocky salute before the door stole his frame from my view, while I stood there like a lemon, looking gormless and uncomprehending. The next thing I knew Paine was waving a leather clad hand in front of my face and I snapped out of my trance.

"He's calling your first born child: GCGS-01 by the way." She said with a trace of exasperated amusement. My reply was a bellow of incoherent rage.

"GIPPAL! WHEN I'M FINISHED WITH YOU WE'LL HAVE TO ADOPT!" I screeched. Maniacal laughter echoed off the steel planes of the ship. Gippal: 571, Rikku: 3. "AND I HAVE A NAME!" His laughter proceeded to get louder as I silently started to fume. What was I getting myself into?

Unfortunately, before Gippal removed his glorious presence from the ship, we got a big tip off at Kilika, turns out, there's an awesome sphere hiding in the temple! So we shakey-shaked our way to the port, after me having sphere changed into my Gunner outfit, because I've noticed that more people treat you with respect when you've got a 9mm automatic strapped to your hip. Plus I love the frilly skirt type thing, but saying that out loud detracts from the hard earned respect. The fact that I was showing more thigh than Yunie was didn't help much either, as one islander inferred from my outfit that it was an invitation to pinch my bottom, but after I was done with him, no one else seemed willing to try anything, thank Ixion…

Brother, delightful and gracious as always, refused to have Gippal on the ship while we weren't, so we were now YRPG, and Gippal was not impressed.

"This is SO cool Yunie! We're gonna waltz right in there and knock 'em dead!" I chirped, whilst bouncing.

"I want that sphere." Yunie stated finally, a serious and slightly frightening expression on her face. "It's gonna be so awesome!" She squealed and we high fived and proceeded to continue our embarrassing jumping. Paine walked past us in disgust.

"It'll already be gone with the time you two are taking." She grumbled.

"Lighten up Dr. P!" Gippal cried in a shrill falsetto, doing a really bad impression of my bouncing. "We'll nab the sphere, then go on a picnic, then do each other's hair!" He cried in mock happiness. Paine's mouth was still a hard, angry line; she was obviously far too used to his antics. She proceeded to walk on huffily. He returned to normal, well, as normal as Gippal can get, and he pouted. "What, no high five?"

After Yunie had recovered from her hysterics we walked into Kilika Woods, -turns out, Gippal's a lot more widely known than I thought so we didn't have to come up with some harebrained plan consisting of a comedy of errors- to be stopped by a throng of people who seemed to be eagerly awaiting this Mevyn bloke. I was surprised to see that this mega powerful authority figure was so young, and was also crippled. He lifted his crutch high as he addressed his 'Youth League'.

"That's the Mevyn Nooj." Paine explained in a monotone, a bleak contrast to the euphoric adoration of the Youth League members.

"What's up with his side?" Yuna asked a little tactlessly. Gippal, who was standing behind me, leaning on my head 'cos I was the perfect armrest height' chipped in.

"The Noojster was maimed real bad by Sin about five years back; he used to be one of the Crusaders. Sin took away an arm, a leg, and half of his rib cage, and now he's half man, half machina." He said. I grumbled and pried his arm from my head.

"You went to join the Crusaders three years ago, did you meet him there?" I asked curiously.

"Is Cid's little girl keeping tabs on me?" He asked slyly. I growled and blushed and he chuckled. "Yeah, I signed up but I wasn't accepted, I think it was because I was 'sub-human, Al Bhed scum,' if I remember correctly." He said and we both shared a look of rage at the racial prejudice still enforced by Spirans today. "We met up in a covert force instead, they let me join cos they thought I wouldn't last the first op. Nooj was my captain, I also met-"

"That's enough." Said Paine sharply, giving Gippal a warning look. "We're heading out, let's move."

"Sure thing pilot." Gippal replied, "Let's mosey on after el capitano!" He said with mock cheer. Paine shot him a death glare for hinting at whatever he hinted at, it was all Moogle to me.

"I'll lay down the hurt after, grease monkey." She spat before striding off, wearing the almost palpable aura of anger like a cape, small tendrils of her wrath dancing on small eddies of tropical breeze.

"And I thought I was low on respect points!" I whistled through my teeth.

"I have 78!" Yuna stated proudly… the goody two-shoes… she was just as nosey as I was!

"If she's still counting I'm on 27…" Gippal muttered.

This was when it hit me like a slap in the face.

-Paine was one of Gippal's GIRLS? Oooooh… That MAN!-

As I silently started to boil over Gippal amiably put an arm round my shoulder.

"What's up Cid's Girl? You're wearing the look Paine gets when she's gonna chase me around with something sharp and or heavy." He laughed sheepishly.

"How long have you known Paine?" I asked icily. Gippal didn't notice my tone and warmed quickly to his subject.

"Dr. P? I suppose, three years, on and off." He said easily. On and off? He was marrying me and carrying on an affair with PAINE? Well, no wonder she was pissed off… that greasy, conniving, love rat! I was gonna make him wish he'd never been born!

"OCHU!" Paine yelled from within the curtain of trees. Without a second thought I sprinted forward, hearing Gippal's boots pounding the earth behind me as well as Yunie's lighter footfalls. Skidding to a halt I saw a long branch of an arm swiping towards Paine, barbs bared over the petals of its fingers like talons as it raked downwards. Without a spare second to even aim I fired off a shot which tore into the open palm of the Ochu with a dull rip and an arc of green sap, which proceeded to burn through the forest floor, releasing a foul cloud that stank of cooking foliage and decomposing flesh. However, even with the superficial yet extremely painful wound, the Ochu continued its swing, smacking into Paine's abdomen and sending her flying back through the undergrowth. Not daring to turn to the others I ripped my second pistol from its holster, twirling both in my hands before firing off a few rounds. The bullets hardly even seemed to penetrate its thick, leathery skin, but I'd managed to get its attention. Screeching in indignation it swatted at me.

I leapt, hands wrapping around the stem of one arm to use it to somersault me safely over the attack using my momentum. Safely back on the floor I drew my guns again, to drop them helplessly as my palms began to sizzle. Wincing in pain I heard the other two arrive behind me, panting heavily. Paine was still missing somewhere past the tree-line. Pausing momentarily to formulate a plan, the Ochu saw the opportunity to lunge again. I rolled back, managing to avoid all but a glancing blow to the shoulder. I felt the barbs rake through my flesh nonetheless, injecting more of their poison into my body.

-Its skin must be covered in millions of tiny barbs- I concluded as I came to my feet again.

"Yuna!" I barked authoritatively, not daring to turn my back on my foe. "Paine's somewhere in the forest, beyond the path, she's hurt bad!" I explained, "Help her now!" I heard her take off after brusque acquiescence, but suddenly her steps halted.

"You can't take that alone!" She called back. I fired another ineffective shot to draw the Ochu away from her, for it seemed to have been attracted by the sound of her voice.

"I know! But I can't let Paine die either!" I cried. "Anyway, I've got someone watching my back; it'll have to do until you come back! Now GO!" I screamed. Yunie seemed mollified and disappeared into the forest. I turned for the first time to Gippal, who was looking at me like I was a stranger.

"You really grew up, Cid's Girl…" He said in soft wonderment. I was almost fatally distracted, but managed to trap the flailing tentacle under my boot as it slapped the floor. I fired into the thinnest section I could find, hoping I was shooting quick enough, or I'd be tossed like a rag doll when it came to its senses. Fortunately, the great barbed paw came loose from the vine in a sticky, noxious cloud of green, a wound that the Ochu had actually deigned to notice this time, as it wailed in agony.

"Now is NOT the time, Gippal…" I managed to grind out. Spores were flung from the Ochu in an angry, sudden haze and my eyes widened. Pivoting quickly I grabbed Gippal's arm and ran full pelt away from the onslaught. We managed to escape the brunt of the fumes, the deleterious green dissipating mercifully quickly. The Ochu was lumbering after us however, and I knew I had seconds at best until the next assault. "Gippal, please tell me you have some form of weapon?" I begged. He gave me a wry smile and shook his head.

"Only an EM bomb, but that won't really be of much effect against a giant plant monster." He offered apologetically. I sighed and clutched my head with my chemically burnt hands, wincing at the sensation.

"Bullets aren't even bothering it, and at this rate we'll be dead before the others get back." I said gravely. "I'm still suffering from severe mana depletion as well, dammit…" I grumbled, soon becoming aware of Gippal's apparent confusion. "I cast a basic fire spell and I'll probably go into a coma." I deadpanned. Gippal absorbed this quickly and gave me a fake grin.

"I take it that's a no no then?" He asked redundantly. The Ochu roared and swiped with its good arm, narrowly missing Gippal and turning the tree it hit to sawdust under the force of the assault. Suddenly, inspiration struck me like a physical blow.

"Gippal!" I cried impatiently, "The bomb! Give it to me now!" He did as he was told instantly and I tore the wires out of the small sphere's control panel. Grabbing a bomb fragment from my pouch, I connected it to the split wires as a new battery conduit and ripped the pin from my makeshift grenade. "Cross your fingers!" I yelled, before lobbing the device hard into the open, screaming mouth of the Ochu.

After a painfully long wait that could have only been seconds, a shockwave of magnetic energy exploded from the Ochu, followed by a large detonation of cataclysmic flame. The fire began to lick at the creature, causing its skin to shrivel and crack, blood and pus beginning to ooze viscously out of the opening sores all over its body. Its screams rent the air as it floundered futilely, helpless to do anything but watch its body combust and burn to ashes. The smell of its smouldering flesh was vile and rancid, and I almost gagged at the combination that so battered my senses.

After aeons of struggling, the Ochu sunk to its knees, withered petals falling from gnarled stems and floating on the oozing rivers of secretion before curling and hissing into nothing. I watched with bated breath, until its blackened husk fell lifeless to the ground. I sank to my knees, adrenaline having had deserted me, leaving me exhausted and aching.

"You know," Gippal said easily, "your knight in shining armour is feeling mighty obsolete." He finished with a chuckle. I turned to look at him sleepily, wondering where he was going with this. "If you keep saving my hide like this, I think we should do a switch." He laughed. I joined in, entertaining the thought of Gippal in a dress and swooning. "The least a damsel can do though is to patch up his heroine." He said sincerely, eyeing the gashes that adorned my shoulder. The fabric of my outfit had been peeled back, revealing a large parcel of skin with the flap of material quavering uselessly underneath. I tried to brush him off but he was having none of it. He began to lave the wound with an antidote, to rid it of all traces of poison as I winced. It stung like blazes!

"Nurse Gippal…" I whined petulantly, struggling not to laugh, "It huuuuuuuuurts!" I sulked. He chuckled under his breath.

"If you're a very good girl I'll reward you." He said impishly. My eyes alit, glad that he knew about my weakness for presents.

"What is it?" I demanded excitedly, almost bouncing at the prospect. He started to laugh outright at my exuberance.

"You sure do change moods quick, don't you?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not a total flake, I just think that it's stupid dwelling on stuff you can't do anything about!" I defended.

"Ah, I see, you have the attention span of a shoopuff." He said jokingly. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out.

"No, it's just, that someone needs to cheerful, right? So I don't mind being the optimistic one!" I chirped, before wincing as he pinched the wounds closed after irrigating them with potion. "There's a needle and thread in my pouch." I said, tossing it behind me. His hands left my shoulder so I turned to watch him fumble with the needle. After a couple of minutes of laughing at his progressively more frantic attempts I took them from him. "You should suck on the thread a little so it becomes finer, then you'll have an easier time of it." I said matter of factly, wetting the thread with my tongue and pushing it through the eye of the needle easily.

"Methinks you should have done that in the first place, to save me making myself look like an idiot." He said wryly. I laughed, shaking my head.

"That wouldn't have been any fun at all!" I sing-songed. "So! What's my present?" I asked impatiently. Gippal chuckled at my one track mind.

"I'm sorry I ever criticised your attention span." He laughed. "All I can say is that it definitely ain't a sponge bath." He joked, winking at me with his good eye. I giggled at his antics and begun to think about rewards you got in hospitals…

"OOH!" I squealed. "Is it a lollipop?" I asked excitedly. Gippal laughed at me.

"You think I'd knowingly give you MORE sugar?" He asked in disbelief. I did stick my tongue out at him this time, but that just made him laugh harder.

"I wanna lollipop!" I whined, pouting to emphasise my puerility.

"How am I not surprised?" Asked a sarcastic monotone. My eyes flashed upwards and I beamed.

"Paine! You're ok!" I squeaked happily.

"I'll live." She replied. Yunie stood beside her, half supporting the tall, amazonesque warrior, looking worriedly at the stitches Gippal was threading through my shoulder.

"Are you ok?" She asked softly.

"I'm fine!" I chirped. "It would've been a different story if Gippal hadn't saved the day though." I said cheerily. Paine looked taken aback at my sudden civility towards the annoying one, but I just grinned.

"You see, Dr. P?" He asked smugly, "I do have my uses!" He smirked. Paine rolled her eyes and I suddenly remembered that they were together. My face fell and I kept silent.

"I'm still gonna kick your ass…" She muttered. Gippal adopted a cheeky expression.

"I'll tell Baralai that ickle Paine was mean to me!" He sing-songed, and to my surprise, Paine actually blushed!

"Tell Nooj, he's closer…" She muttered gruffly. Gippal chuckled.

"The Noojster would hold me down while you throttled me!" He laughed. Paine smiled softly, something that still freaked me out.

"I wonder…" She said whimsically. They both suddenly became solemn, and I couldn't bring myself to pry. Yunie did that for me.

"How do you all know each other?" She asked curiously.

"It's none of your business." Paine said sternly.

"I'd tell you, but I enjoy being alive." Gippal said after receiving a glare from Paine. Something clicked on in my head.

"Wait a sec!" I cried. "Isn't Baralai the name of one of the new up and coming Yevonites? He's been forwarded for the next Preatorship!" I cried. Paine cringed at my sudden random flash of intelligence and Gippal smirked proudly.

"Atta girl!" He said, ruffling my hair. I flailed to get him off but he still managed to pull my bandanna down over my eyes.

"Mature…" I spat half-heartedly. He smirked, biting off the thread and tying it neatly as I rolled my eyes.

"You still love me." He said through a beatific smile. "Anyways, Paine's got a HUGE crush on… MMPH!" He cried as Paine covered his mouth and started to bodily drag him away.

"You say one more word and they'll never find the pieces!" She shouted irately whilst blushing furiously.

"Save me Cid's Girl!" He cried, flailing in mock-panic. I laughed and got up, relieved that the pain in my shoulder was reduced to a dull ache. I strode confidently up to the enraged Paine.

"Hands off my hubby!" I cried, before cracking up along with Gippal. Paine's nose crinkled in disgust.

"Ugh, take him then, cos no one else would willingly touch him with a ten foot barge pole…" She said derisively. Gippal pretended to sob.

"She's right! She never loved me! She always wanted Baralai!" He cried in melodramatic anguish. Paine slapped him upside the head so hard his brain must've rattled, but he just kept on laughing. I realised with a surprising amount of happiness and relief that Paine just treated Gippal like an annoying kid brother. I found myself beaming delightedly at the revelation.

"I want that sphere…" Yuna butted in, and I saw the dangerous look in her eyes had returned.

"Then off we go!" I chirped. I was about to skip merrily away when someone grabbed my arm. "What's the big idea?" I whined to Gippal.

"Your hands, they're badly burnt." He offered by ways of explanation. I pouted in reply. "What did I tell you? If you're a good girl and let me fix you up, you'll get your damned lollipop!" He said in exasperation. Instantly I was in front of him, palms outstretched in cooperation. I stoically bore the sting of the potion until he was satisfied with his work. "Does this hurt?" He asked softly while taking one of my hands in his own. I shook my head shyly, wondering what the hell had happened to my outgoing hyper self. He smiled proudly, but didn't let go of my hand. I proceeded to disguise myself as a tomato.

"Oh please… if you two just wanted to stay behind and make googly eyes at each other, you should have told us beforehand…" Paine said in irritation. Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, I wrenched my hand from Gippal's and took off along the path.

"Come on everybody! Time's a wasting!" I called over my shoulder.

Fortunately, Paine had caught up with me in time to grab me before I stumbled across the guards. We hid in the undergrowth beside the small garrison to see if we could glean any information about where the sphere was held.

"Wait a sec… I forgot the password!" One of the soldiers moaned to his superior. The captain started to massage his temples, obviously almost pushed to breaking point.

"For the ninth time TODAY, if there's an even number of soldiers, it's craven monkey, and if there's an odd number of soldiers, it's carved monkey! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" He bellowed. The soldier nodded hastily and fell back into rank. I managed to catch the captain mutter a threat about feeding his corporal to the blasted monkeys and couldn't keep in a low chuckle. The captain spun round at the noise, but, seeing nothing, blamed it on the stress getting to him. We all filed out from within the foliage back onto the path.

"Rikku!" Paine hissed, "You almost blew our cover!"

"Oh come on Dr. P, that guy was stressed enough to have believed Sin was just some mass delusion!" I said, before chuckling. Paine rolled her eyes in response. "Anyway, do you think this is all just another interactive tour of Pops'?" I asked in amusement. "Cos for some reason monkeys seem to pop up an awful lot as passwords."

"I swear, if that nut job Isaaru is standing up there, I WILL murder your old man." Paine said to me. I laughed.

"Pick a number and get in line." I quipped. We rounded the corner and stood before the guards.

"What's the password?" Asked the captain gruffly. I heard feet clomping towards us and Yuna stopped at my side, breathing heavily.

"Oh Ixion…" She groaned… "It's not MONKEY again is it?" She asked. I laughed and nodded, causing her to groan louder.

"Carved monkey." I said.

"You can pass, and take this; I hear things are getting pretty rough up the top." He said, lobbing me a hi-potion. I grinned and thanked him before skipping merrily through the checkpoint. As soon as we were out of sight of the soldiers, I turned to our now reassembled team.

"Where the heck did you two go? We didn't even know you were missing!" I hissed. Yuna blushed and Gippal smirked.

"She may have brought down a gazillion tons of deformed whale blubber, but the Lady Yuna's… directionally challenged…" He said tactfully. I giggled quietly as Yuna began to profusely apologise.

"Well, it explains why she took so long to grace us with her wonderful presence in Luca." I snorted, causing Yuna to pout.

"There were no eye holes in that Moogle costume!" She defended sulkily. "It was so stifling I almost suffocated and I had to give the people their damn balloons!" She shouted. The three of us looked to Yuna, scandalised.

"Paine!" I said fearfully, "Yunie said a swear!"

"Someone's made Yuna a bad girl." She answered, giving me a pointed look. Gippal laughed and ruffled my hair.

"Cid's little girl is as innocent as they come!" He said, as if he knew. Well, he was right… but it would've been really difficult to balance saving the world and having a boyfriend. Ever since I hit puberty I'd been run ragged! I paused in mid-thought, wondering just how much my father had to do with that.

"Yeah Gippal, I'm as pure as you are…" I said acerbically, pleased with my ability to lie. It was Yunie's turn to look scandalised as her look of horror pierced into me. Gippal was momentarily taken aback, but then the cold mask of a soldier fell back into place over his features and he nodded like it hadn't bothered him in the slightest. I was pleased that I had at least momentarily made him somewhat jealous, though I really couldn't say why. Paine started to walk up the winding hill road as I stood in my original position, lost in thought.

"We'll give Yuna a course in orienteering later, right now there's no time to waste!" Paine wisecracked. I hid a smile behind my hand and ran after her retreating form, leaving the still embarrassed Yuna to bring up the rear.

"You think the temple's just gonna hand it over?" Gippal asked me. I scoffed in reply.

"If the Youth League has come prepared for war I'm guessing no." I said rather sardonically. He chuckled and nodded his agreement. I suddenly frowned, puzzled. "Where'd you get the gun?" I asked, brow furrowed in consternation, to which Gippal smirked proudly.

"I… 'liberated' it from a guard that Yuna 'found'." He said cryptically, causing me to crack up.

"Do you remember the scoring guide?" I asked nostalgically. He nodded and smiled.

"100 for a headshot, 75 for the heart, 50 for a kneecap, 25 for a shoulder and 10 for everything else." He said whilst chuckling.

"How long did it take the lot of us to come up with that?" I asked, still beaming.

"Far too long. I remember it was because Brother wouldn't stop complaining that all he could accurately hit was a monster's belly, so that should be worth 500." He said, still chuckling at the memory. I sighed in amusement.

"He hasn't changed. He still couldn't hit the rear end of a shoopuff from ten paces if he tried." I said whilst giggling.

"I don't want to use this on a person." Gippal said, sounding serious for once.

"Of course not, it was hard enough for me to destroy an unsent man. I don't think I could kill someone that was alive…" I said worriedly. Gippal frowned.

"It's frighteningly easy…" He said softly. "We're just, so frail at the end of the day…" He concluded sadly. I reached out and took his hand, squeezing it as reassuringly as I could.

"We've all done things we're not proud of, but don't feel like you have to tell me this." I said sincerely. He exhaled harshly, whether from relief or frustration I couldn't tell.

"I've just done a lot more than most people." He said, but left it at that. I didn't let go of his hand, and he didn't seem averse to the contact, so we walked on in silence.

We reached the temple a short yet indiscriminate time later, and I don't think I could have told anyone where I'd just walked from, so distracted had I been. Embarrassedly I removed my hand from Gippal's for the second time, blushing furiously as Paine rolled her eyes. There was a clamour from the tumult of Yevonites and League members which didn't seem to dissipate upon our arrival. If anything, it got louder.

"This is really rude…" I said, utterly disgruntled at the fact that these people couldn't put aside their petty little differences when they were being robbed. Suddenly, a bald monk stepped forward, looking slightly hysterical in his glee. He rambled off some spiel about Bevelle having the sphere and how he refused to hand it over, the usual stuff.

"When's he gonna bring out the fiend?" Paine asked, having already participated in two similar scenes today. Yuna sighed and started polishing her pistol to kill time.

"He's a Yevonite." I explained. "They're the most long-winded orators in Spira. Every single one that we've fought has gone on and on about his little master plan and how he's going to grind our bones to make his bread… It gets tedious really fast." I said tiredly, beginning to fidget awkwardly. Gippal just looked amused more than anything else.

"You're a bit young to be so jaded." He said pointedly, leaning on his elbow against my head.

"You're a year older than me!" I whined. "A single year!" Suddenly, the prerequisite fiend started to lurch down the stone steps.

"A golem!" Yuna exclaimed. I nodded rather nervously; I'd last seen this model the first time we explored Zanarkand. Its stone skin flashed iridescently, a telltale sign.

"Well, I guess we're kinda lucky that it's magic resistant, seeing as I couldn't roast a marshmallow." I quipped, smiling sheepishly at Yunie's reproachful glare. "I said I was sorry!" I cried, raising my hands heavenward in exasperation. While I was moaning pathetically Gippal had already blown out a chunk of one colossal arm, leaving Paine to hack it off at the shoulder with an effortless swipe of her lethal sword. "You know, in my day, these things were an awful lot harder to kill…" I said, watching the utterly anticlimactic fight as shards of stone clattered to the ground as Yuna and Gippal fired. Paine weaved behind the giant as it was distracted by the biting metal flying impossibly fast from the muzzles of the gunners' weapons. With another graceful swing Paine had severed its head from the body, leaving it to stumble blindly for a brief while before collapsing into rubble at her feet.

To tell the truth, at that point, I felt seriously redundant. The battle had been fought and won in under a minute, and all I'd done was sulk. The priest looked to us fearfully, before turning on his heel and running back to the temple, dropping the sphere as he fled.

"We're claiming this sphere for the Gullwings!" Yunie smiled brightly, sensing a job well done, and walked off down the steps that led back to the village, with Gippal behind her. I followed them leisurely,still pouting for good measure,leaving Paine to grab the sphere from the ground, lobbing it upwards before snatching it out of the air with a smug smile.

A/N: I'm sorry if any of the characters seem somewhat, abnormal this chapter, but they just came out that way, so, sorry, blame my artistic license or the crazy influx of angst, comedy, fluff, then angst again; I'm sure it can make even the best of us slightly OOC... -giggles-