Ok, sea monkeys! It's me again. And you know what? There is nothing quite like the buttery-goodness of croissants. (Yes, I spelled that word right on the first try!) I love high fat, high calorie foods. They are just yummy. Too bad I can't eat fast food anymore. L oh well. Sucks to be me. I'm watching a movie that is Romanian, but dubbed in English. It's pretty neat. Except for the fact that the dubbing is a little off, I'm liking it. Called "Gargoyles" on SiFi Channel. Watch it if you can!

All right. I know evilness is supposed to start soon, but I want to get Rikku's shopping trip done so that you can find out what Gippal is going to make her wear. I keep going into fits of giggles when I think about it! Like right now. Hehe. Sooooooooooooooooo...let's get it started!

I don't own FFX-2, but if I did, I'd but everyone I know a cookie and croissant!

Chapter 12: Charge It!!!

So Muja immediately leapt into Rikku's arms when she and the others entered the Sun Rose. Rikku held her close, nuzzling and caressing the little cat. After a few moments of very loud purring, So Muja turned her attention to the other people in the room. She accepted a caress from Gippal with a 'mew' and stared at Paine and Barali.

"This is So Muja." Rikku said proudly. Paine cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You named your cat My Love?"

"Yup yup! Isn't she cute?"

"If the cat's named My Love, what does that make me?" Gippal asked. Rikku turned a brilliant smile on him. He had a very hard time resisting the urge to smile back.

"Chopped liver." was Rikku's response.

"Feeling the love here, folks. Feeling the love."

"You should be love-muffin!"

Paine and Barali laughed heartily at the antics of their friends. Rikku put her kitten down and led the way into the kitchen. The odors coming from within were mouth watering. Elizza greeted them with a smile, and informed them that breakfast would be ready soon. Rikku brought an oversized carafe full of hot coffee to the table, followed by mugs. Her friends liked coffee almost as much as she did. There would be no dainty cups for them.

A veritable feast was set before them in a few minutes, as promised. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, homemade biscuits with homemade jam, fried apples in a yummy cinnamon -sugar sauce...the list went on and on. Raas came to join the group, nodding to the new comers before digging in himself. Eating seemed more important at the moment than introductions. No one could be very courteous on an empty stomach.

"These friends of yours, Rikku, or did you pick up a couple more strays?" he asked after fortifying himself with several bites of pancake.

"Yep. This is Paine and the one with white hair is Barali."

"Nice to meet you. Eat up; else me and Rikku are going to eat all of this. Elizza won't make more pancakes after nine." Everyone looked at the clock and realized that it was already eight. Raas laughed and slapped him knee when they fell to with gusto.

"Didn't I tell you Elizza is the best breakfast chef around?" Rikku said around a mouth full of apples.

"Indeed. I'm glad we joined you." Barali said, leaning back in his chair. "I don't think I can eat another bite."

"Don't worry!" Rikku said happily. "We'll finish it off, won't we Raas?"

"We'll have to, girl. Looks like the others are full already. More for us. Pass the remnants of those apples over here."

After Rikku and Raas ate the rest of what was left on the table, they went into the lobby to relax. Raas left for work, but Elizza came to join them after cleaning up. Barali was playing with So Muja, teasing her with at colorful feather. The kitten leapt after it, pouncing and missing time and time again. She always tried again, and eventually caught the feather in her mouth.

Rikku was sitting next to Gippal on the sofa, with Paine in an armchair. It felt nice to be able to just sit there with him, and her friends. She was a social creature, and had felt shut in after so long indoors because of the rain. Now she was as happy as she could be.

"Rikku?"

"Hmmm?" Rikku turned her head to Gippal, smiling.

"So when am I supposed to take you shopping?"

"Well, how about today? I've been stuck inside for way to long."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're taking her shopping?!" Paine was slack jawed.

"Um, yeah. Why? Doesn't Barali take you shopping?"

"You've never been shopping with Rikku, have you?"

"No..."

Paine did not answer. She smiled a very strange smile and turned to Rikku. "Don't scare him away so soon, Rik."

"He won't be scared. Will you, Gippal?"

"I'm not too sure about that."

Rikku gave him a glare and hit him with one of the pillows adorning the sofa. Gippal dodged the first attack but got a pillow across the face with the second. She would have tried for a third, but he grabbed her pillow and tossed it out of reach. Rikku grabbed another one and proceeded to beat him with it until it joined the first one. Rikku was pinned with her arms by her side, unable to grab any more pillows. Gippal smiled and pulled Rikku close to him. "That's better. Now why'd you hit me, huh? If I'm buying you stuff, you should be nice to me instead of hitting me with pillows."

"Don't come running to us for help when your arms fall off from holding too many bags, Gippal." Paine said, rising to leave. Barali followed, telling Elizza what a wonderful hostess she was and it would be a pleasure to visit again.

"Sorry if we don't walk you to the door, but I'll get attacked again if I let her go."

"Understood. We'll see you around, love-birds." Paine said as they walked out the door. Rikku wiggled until she could face Gippal.

"Let go of me." she said unhappily.

"Only if you promise to be good."

"Ohhh...you meanie. Fine. I'll behave. Now let me go."

Rikku jumped up from the sofa, and started for the door. Gippal, assuming he should follow her, went for the door too. Rikku bent down to pet So Muja and went out the door. Gippal followed her again, only to find the steps empty and no Rikku in sight. He frowned, looking around for her.

"BOO!"

Rikku was behind him, the one place he had not looked yet. Gippal kept his frown on until she was up against him, arms around his neck. Then he let it slip, finding his lips much better occupied with kissing Rikku than frowning at her.

"You know you're not chopped liver, right?" she asked, even though she knew that he knew that it was not true. She just wanted to hear him say it.

"I don't know, what with you hitting me and all-" Gippal was cut short when Rikku kissed him again. It was so very hard to talk with someone's tounge in one's mouth. It was a short kiss. They did not want to be cited for public indecency, after all. "So I'm not chopped liver. Glad we clarified that." She smiled and tried to pull away, but Gippal's arms stopped her from getting very far. "I thought you wanted to spend the day in bed..." he said, lightly kissing her neck. Rikku let him do it, though not for very long. Public indecency again. It is such a pain to be a publicly decent person.

"I do, but I've been cooped up for a week. I want some fresh air. We can spend the other half of the day in bed, and most of the next day too."

"You don't want much, do you? It's a lot of work pleasing you, so raynd."

"But it's a labor of love. You know you like being my love slave."

"Damn straight."

Rikku threw her head back and laughed. She led the way down the stairs and navigated the now busy streets of Luca. People were out in abundance. Most were just enjoying the sunshine. The crowds thinned a bit away from the main Plaza. Rikku was heading right for the shops that were near Vinito's Restaurant. There were so many of them, she did not know where to start. Finally deciding to just work her way down the avenue and back again, she dragged Gippal after her into the nearest shop.

She only spent an hour in it, and only bought two bags worth of clothes. All the other shops were calling her name, so she decided to hold back on the shopping urge. Gippal had surprised her by actually paying for it all. If he wanted to buy her stuff, he could. It just ment that she had even more gil to spend.

Rikku found that one store in particular was singing the siren's song. It was a high end clothing store and Rikku found herself practically drooling when she entered it. Gippal was trailing behind her, holding all of her bags. There were not that many, considering all the stores she had been to so far. He went to sit near the dressing rooms. Rikku managed to get one of the employees to be her personal shopper. A dressing room was taken over and a constant stream of clothes and shoes came and went from inside it. Gippal got to be the judge, helping to decide what she would buy and what she would not.

It had already been an hour, and a truly massive amount of clothes had been collected at the front counter. That did not include shoes and accessories. The employees were estatic at the large sale, tallying them up with glee. Meanwhile Gippal was getting annoyed. Not that he minded looking at Rikku, but she already had nine very full bags and seeing what was being toted to the front, it would be at least that many more. He had been sitting here for entirely too long in his estimation.

"Come on, Rikku! You've got enough clothes here to last you for months. Let's go."

"You agreed to come shopping with me, so suck it up. I'm almost done here." Rikku said, poking her head out of the dressing room door.

"What do you mean, here? We are not going anywhere else. My arms are going to fall off if you get anything else."

"No they won't, Gippal. Don't be silly. You're such a big, strong man. I can't imagine you not being able to carry a few little bags." She shut the door again, not waiting for an answer. Gippal growled something under his breath and caught the woman shopping for Rikku.

"No more. Start ringing the sale." She looked like she was going to argue, but he cut any argument short. "I'm buying it, so stop bringing her stuff to try on." She nodded and gave Rikku the armful of clothes she was holding. This one included some dresses. At least he would be enjoying Rikku in a dress. There was an emerald green one that he was eager to see her in. She had tried on all of them but that one. "Try on the green one, baby."

"I'm wearing it right now."

"So...let me see it."

"Not yet. Hold on."

"Why?"

"Because I've got to try on something with it, Lover. I can't decide which one I like better."

"Which what, Rikku? Let me see and I'll decide. Then we can leave."

"Um...no. I don't think I should."

"Damn it, I'm buying it, so let me see it." He was really annoyed now. Gippal just wanted to go and get something to eat. Being hungry made him almost as grumpy as Rikku when she was hungry. He did not wait long. Rikku emerged from the dressing room, wearing the green dress. It was an evening gown, made for admiration and showing off. It matched her eyes perfectly.

"We'll take it, and whatever else goes with it."

"I think you like this dress."

"Hell yeah. Now take it off before I do it for you."

Rikku giggled and complied, exiting the dressing room in her own clothes. She handed an armfull of clothes to her shopper, and took Gippal's arm. His hands were holding her shopping bags, so she could not take one of them. By the time they reached the front counter, the sale was rung up and her bags waiting to be taken away. Gippal groaned when he saw how many of them there were.

"Don't worry. I'll carry some too. I don't want you to get tired so soon."

"Gee thanks."

The total was ridiculously large. Rikku was reaching for her platinum gil card. Gippal beat her to it, handing his card to the woman behind the counter. Rikku tried to fight this, saying that he had bought her something already. He did not listen to her. The slip was signed and they left the store. Gippal was carrying the majority of the bags while Rikku only had a few.

"Why won't you let me carry more bags, Gippal? All this stuff is mine."

"It goes against the Big Book of Rules Men Live By. A woman should always carry less than the man escorting her. It's rule number forty-three."

"Ok...whatever you say." Rikku said while patting the top of his head with her free hand. She had to stretch to do it. Why can't I be just a few inches taller? It's not like my parents were short or anything.

"I like you just the way you are."

"I was thinking out loud again, wasn't I?"

"Yes. That seems to be a habit with you. Although I'll always know what you're thinking in the future. Definite bonus for me."

"Ooooo, and what future do you foresee for us?" she said with that thousand watt smile of hers.

"A good one, if I have my way."

"You probably will have your way."

"Really. And when did you stop being stubborn, Rikku?"

"I'm not stubborn. You just don't realize that it's easier to let me have my way than to argue with me. And I happen to remember you having your way with me the other night. Without my being stubborn."

"Are you saying I can handle you? I'm touched."

"It's a shame you're not touching me." she said. Gippal raised his hands, showing all the bags that kept him from touching her.

"That's your fault. I didn't make you buy all this stuff." he said. They passed another shop, and Gippal stopped to look in the window. He had an evil grin on his face.

"You have GOT to be joking."

"No such luck. Come on." Gippal went inside the shop, and Rikku sighed and followed him in.

Several minutes later...

"I can't believe you picked this outfit out of everything else in these shops."

"I can. Smile, baby. The kids are watching."

Rikku looked around and did indeed find several children staring at her. No few adults were staring too. It was no wonder they stared. Her outfit was ridiculous. She looked exactly like her favorite childhood super hero: Sailor Moon. (A/N: I don't own Sailor Moon either. I really wish I did though.) Complete with magic tiara and hair do. She even had a stuffed Luna doll. All in all, it was not something a normal adult would be wearing for any reason other than a masquerade party.

Gippal must have remembered her childhood obsession and been unable to resist the costume. Not that Rikku minded too much. It was fun to see the children giggle and ask for her autograph.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Gippal asked as they walked back toward the Sun Rose.

"I sure am."

"You are something else. Anyone else would never wear that thing."

"I know you like me in this outfit, Gippal. Admit it. You like the whole sluty-school- girl- turned -super- hero thing."

"Alright, but just a little. There's nothing like a girl in a tiny skirt running around trying to beat up bad guys and failing miserably."

Rikku stopped walking. "How dare you make fun of Sailor Moon! Take this: Fluffy Kitty Attack!!" She took her stuffed Luna doll and proceeded to beat Gippal over the head with it numerous times. Gippal's body was shaking with laughter and tears streamed down his face. Other people on the street were guffawing and some women were rolling on the pavement. They must have remembered being Sailor Moon fans too.

Once her attack was over, Rikku started walking again like nothing had happened.
Gippal came up next to her, still laughing. They walked the rest of the way in silence. Everytime Gippal tried to talk he just burst out laughing. Rikku ignored him all the way up to her room. He set all her shopping bags down near the door and turned to face Rikku. And immediately started laughing. She was standing near the bed with her arms crossed and tapping her foot.

Seeing him laugh, she threw her Luna doll at him, hitting him squarely on the nose. He laughed harder. She stomped up to him sending further waves of mirth through his body. Rikku pushed past him, closing the door.

"Here I was going to let you take this off me, but I've changed my mind. You wait here while I change in the bathroom."

"Oh no you don't. Get over here."

"No. I'm being stubborn, so too bad for you." She twirled around, headed for the bathroom. Gippal caught her after two steps.

"Don't you know it's easier to let me have my way, Rikku? It'll be a lot more fun for both of us."

"Okay! You've convinced me." She pushed him backwards and onto the bed. "Now get this off me."

Alrighty, how'd you like it? You might not think it was too funny, but I think the idea of Rikku attacking Gippal with a stuffed cat while wearing that outfit is gut-wrenchingly funny. Then again, I have an odd sense of humor. If you don't like it, well, too bad.

Anywho, this was short, but I have to start the evilness sometime. And there's no time like the present, right? So next chapter will be evil-like. And it might take me a while to do. So, I am a Sailor Moon fan, and I'm proud of it! Hehe.

I didn't put the SM disclaimer at the beginning because it would ruin the surprise. Nobody sue me, please!

I will start on the evil chapters tomorrow. It can't be happy all the time, right? So until we meet again, please r&r, and thank you ever so much for reading my story!

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