Ok sea monkeys! Here at long last! A new car! . …. . A new chapter! Hehe. Let's see if things go as you think they will…loo…

Nothing is mine but my genious. All things else are of Square Enix.

Chapter 20: Of Spider Guts and Goo

BANG!

CRASH

click-click…bangbangbangbang

Gippal was running flat out up the stairs of the townhouse he and Rikku were now renovating. The banging and crashing was coming from the master bedroom. Where Rikku was at.

Turning a corner at the top of the stairs (and almost sliding into a near by door) Gippal found Rikku standing in front of a closet, a gun in hand, aimed at said closet.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?"

Rikku didn't even spare him a glance. She kept her eyes and gun trained on the closet door, searching for movement.

"There's a spider in the closet."

Gippal stood there, panting from his dash up the stairs, in complete disbelief.

"You shot at a spider."

"Yes."

"WHY would you use a gun? Why not a shoe or a golf club or something!"

"It looked at me funny. That's why. And its BIG!"

"Damn it Rikku! it's a SPIDER. You don't use guns to kill spiders!"

"Well, this one you do!"

Gippal counted to ten very slowly while rubbing his forehead. He then walked over to the closet..

"Don't open it, Gippal!"

"I'm not scared of a little spider, Rikku. You shouldn't be either. Now put that gun away before you damage the house any more."

"I'm not afraid of little spiders! I'm afraid of BIG spiders!" Rikku gave him a quick, scathing look. "And this one is HUMUNGO- BIG!"

Growling under his breath, Gippal turned the handle of the closet door. There was nothing inside it, really. A few discarded boxes from the previous owners, an article of clothing that looked ready to fall apart with the slightest breeze. Dust covered the floor. It was removed in places, making a strange pattern.

Gippal followed the pattern with his eyes, tracing it into the depths of the closet. Upon peering closer, he saw a slight movement, and the glitter of many eyes staring back at him. Just as he saw it, the thing moved. Not only did it move, it moved fast and forcefully. It leapt out of the dark corner it had been occupying and straight onto Gippal's chest.

The force of it, coupled with surprise, knocked him to the floor. He could only gape at the gigantic spider sitting on his chest. It had to be the size of So Muja. All eight eyes glittered malevelantely at him, while the fangs started to drip venom. Just before it decided to impale him with those fangs, Rikku's gun went off, knocking the thing off of his chest.

Unfortunately, it also got spider guts all over Gippal's face and chest. It was splattered on the wall and floor as well.

"I TOLD you it was big!" Rikku made a face at him, half triumphant and half annoyed. "But did you listen to me? NOOOOO!"

Now recovered from the Spider Shock of the Century, Gippal stood up. He wiped most of the spider guts from his face before facing Rikku.

"I'll never doubt you again."

"Is that sarcasm I hear? You ingrate! I just kept you from being bitten by Spira's biggest house spider and you repay me with SARCASM!"

"Fine. Want a hug?"

"EW! NO WAY!"

"Awwww…come on, Rikku! Give your lover a great big hug!"

He stepped forward, as if to embrace her, but Rikku nimbly jumped away, avoiding him.

"You stay away! You're all yucky!"

Thus began the great chase around the house. Gippal deliberately missed catching Rikku while she did her utmost to avoid capture. It wound throughout the building, going into rooms on both upper levels and included Rikku sliding down the banister from the second floor and landing unceremoniously on her rump in front of the door.

Gippal was making ready to pounce on her from the stairs when the front door opened to reveal Raas.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"NONONONO! Gippal was just being a meaniepants!"

"I see."

Rikku clambored to her feet, and made the mistake of turning her back on Gippal. She thought that he would behave with Raas there. She found out just how wrong that idea was when Gippal's arms wrapped around her from behind and felt the slimy, gooey mess on his chest squish against her back.

A look of pure horror appeared on Rikku's face. She tried to wriggle free from his grasp, but that only made the sticky situation worse. She began squealing in disgust as the mess soaked through her shirt and onto her skin.

"EWyousuckgrossgunnamakeyoupayseeifyouevergetlaidagainOMGGROSS!"

"THAT, my heart, is for scaring the beejeesus out of me."

"GET OFF ME YOU JERK!"

Gippal released her, making sure that he was well out of kicking range before she turned around. He grinned at the smouldering look she gave him, which further enraged her. She stood there huffing and glaring at him. Finally she got her voice to work.

"You are SO not sleeping in the same bed as me tonight, buster!"

"We'll see about that."

So Muja had come up to sit next to Rass' feet when he had opened the door. She had appeared with the feline grace no other creature could reproduce. Raas looked down at her, and they shared an amused look at the two people standing before them.

"Are you kids done playing? I have those supplies you ordered." Raas said into the brief silence.

"I'm done. Not too sure about Rikku here."

"HEY! You big meanie! YOU'RE the one who had to hug me! AND you didn't listen to me about that spider!"

Gippal held his hands up in defeat.

"OK. OK. Fine. But you're the one who shot the damn thing, so you're the one to clean it up." He turned to Raas, ignoring Rikku's protests and asertations of being an ingrate. "Let's get that stuff inside."

"Do I want to know what's on your clothes?"

"Spider guts." Raas gave him a skeptical look. "Really. There was a huge spider up there and Rikku decided to shoot it so I got splayed with spider guts."

"Huh. You don't say."

"I do say. Let's just hope she doesn't really kick me out of bed for hugging her."

Most of the repair work had already been done on the town house. New plumming, air ducts and electricity had been installed in all the rooms. The kitchen had been completely renovated. Every last fixture had been removed and replaced with new ones, along with new appliances. It was the only room that was on the ground floor which was ready for habitation.

Rikku had begun the tedious task of cleaning up all the dust and debris. The top floor greenhouse was the easiest to clean up. All of the dead plants and rotting furniture were just chucked into dumpsters outside. The hard part was cleaning up all of the dust.

While just hosing down the place with a few water spells was tempting, it would also ruin the building. So the good old bucket and sponge were employed. No sense dusting anything. It would only float about and choke everyone inside.

Now, wiping down a ceiling is not an easy thing to do. Neither are high walls. So Rikku used a paint roller with water instead of paint to clean the out of reach spots. Mops were relied on for the floors and all of the intricate detailing was cleaned with brushes.

Everything had to be scrubbed to within an inch of its existence. Cleanliness resounded on the top floor greenhouse. The second floor was another story. All of the carpets had been taken up and replaced. New tiles adorned the foyer. The hardwood floors had been refinished, and the musty-dusty smell had been replaced with the smell of freshly cut wood and varnish.

Some of the neighbors were looking at the old townhouse in wonder. The outside was being transformed along with the inside. New frames for the windows and doors were installed. The walls were cleaned and restored. What little space that was beyond the front stoop was being turned into a home for various plants.

The fact that random objects were being thrown out of a window by a small Al Bhed woman had a bit to do with the neighbor's facination.

Rikku could not have been happier. She had her home. A REAL home, not a place to live. She had her cat. She had her lover. What else did she really need?

What else indeed…oooooooooooooo I'm EVIL! MWAHAHAHAHA!

Ok, yeah, kinda lame, but I'm working on Rikku's deviltry. It'll be fun fun fun!

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