Short but sweet is this chapter, well semi-sweet if you know what I mean. Yes it's short, like the last one, but don't complain. You guys get some action in this one, plus I updated quick.

Rikku wasn't entirely sure if the alcohol was getting to Gippal, or he that he had completely lost it. Well, if not either of those things, then he was just nuts. Eyes still wide, he wouldn't pull away to let her talk. With his hands moving to her arms, like the last time, she couldn't do anything.

But her eyes instinctively closed, his tongue brushing up against hers. Up until then, her arms had been hanging to the sides, with nothing much to do. Shakily they moved, slowly working their way up his arms. He wore a tank again that day, arms bare. Her fingers moving along every crease of his muscles, at least the ones within range.

Though since her arms moved, his had to too. Like most males, his were larger. They clasped almost all of her waist, well the sides anyway. She couldn't help but feel that he removed his gloves, her skin tingling with the touch of his fingers. Finally her hands reached up to his neck, and she clasped her hands together. But instantly she shed her gloves, pulling them off in a hurry, as they begged for his skin too.

Long ago she was returning his kiss, her lips responding with his automatically. Her tongue ran along his lip, in turn he sucked on her bottom one. He nibbled on it playfully and she giggled. It was almost as if they had rehearsed it, knowing exactly what to do. She hadn't kissed all that much before, but seeing as that he returned her gestures hungrily was a good sign.

She couldn't help but notice that she was walking backwards, and she was getting closer to the windows. Finally she had to stop, for she was pressed right up against the bed. At this, her eyes widened a little bit. How far was he gonna take this?

Rikku didn't have time to think about it, for backing up so far, she lost her balance. Her lips were ripped away from his and she landed on her back on the bed. Gippal looked at her with an almost smoky look, his eye covered with an almost animal look. She backed up, almost a little scared as his gaze ran along her form. This was farther than anything she'd ever done before.

Without another glance, Gippal reached down and pulled off his shirt over his head, revealing his chiseled and shaped chest. He had a complete six pack, waist thin, but not bulky. His chest was shown off with a ring in his left nipple, complete with sleek biceps and strong lower arms. Her breathing picked up and her mouth watered just looking at him. She craved to run her hands over those muscles.

She didn't have to wait, as he slowly descended upon her, almost crawling over to her. Eagerly she met his lips again, her body heating as she ran her hands over his back. A moan escaped her throat. He parted from her again, taking a moment for air, but then his lips started to trail off. From her mouth to her ear he went, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses as he did. Her eyes went up, though still open when he made is way to right behind her ear. There he lingered for a bit, but that's not all he did.

She started take sharp intakes of breath as her temperature rose. Her skin tingled, his hand moving up from her waist. His fingers reached up into her shirt, the fabric moving with them. She was wearing a bikini that day under her shirt, for more support since she had a rapid, slight growth in her chest area. For a moment she pulled away, and he gave her room to remove her own shirt. When off, he seemed disappointed he had another obstacle in his way.

He muttered something in her ear that she didn't quite hear. It was something like "Women and their clothes," but she wasn't sure.

Gippal moved from her neck down to her collar, obviously not concerned about the tie around her neck, because he immediately untied it to let it fall. He kissed his way down, not entirely taking off her top, but nuzzling the valley between her breasts. Her head was leaned back and her chest rising and falling with anticipation. She had absolutely no clue what was happening, but she was sure enjoying it.

His hand was just at her bikini strap when suddenly she heard something. The door downstairs opened and she heard a conversation.

"Barkeep," came a deep Al Bhed accented voice. "Where is Rikku? I have a message for her from Yuna."

Her eyes widened and she pushed Gippal. "Gippal," she whispered. "It's Brother. If he finds us like this he'll castrate you."

At this, he jumped up as though she burned him, eye wide as well. Instantly he started looking for his shirt, though he seemed a bit aggravated with the interruption. Fastening her bikini, she grabbed her shirt, shoved it on and tried to fixed her hair. She went over, getting her gloves where they rested on the floor and pulled them on as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Gippal, since he was quicker at dressing, automatically covered her. He pressed against Brother, making his way down the stairs.

"Hey, Brother, how have you been?" he asked cheerfully.

She heard her sibling grumble. "Gippal? What are you doing on my ship?"

"Well, actually, Rikku invited me," he said. "You see since I have to go to Luca as well and there is room..." Quickly she fixed her hair in a mirror and checked to see if anything was amiss.

"I don't care. Where is Rikku? Is she upstairs? She dropped her communicator on the bridge," Brother replied, edge in his voice. That meant that he wanted his way and wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You know, I really haven't—."

Just as Gippal was about to lie for her, she appeared. She smiled. "A message, you said?" she asked, coming over behind Gippal on the stairs. "From Yuna?"

Brother just looked between the two. "Yes...what were you—?"

"Oh, thank you," she said cheerfully, giving him a hug. She had cut past Gippal to do so, making a gap between them. He was so startled with her act of warmth, that he couldn't finish. She took her phone. "I'll call her on the deck, thanks."

With that, she butted past both of them and casually walked to the door. In the hallway she went into a jog, getting to the elevator breathlessly. Well, that was close. She leaned back and closed her eyes, but then they snapped open when something hit her. She almost did the very thing that days ago she said she'd never even think about. She squeaked again, just like at the Blitzball game.

"Oh Shiva, I almost slept with Gippal."

Thud, thud, thud, thud. After almost the fiftieth time, the pain was starting to numb. Gippal was beginning to wonder if the banging the head into the wall really worked. He wasn't sure, but it did make things seem a whole lot better.

He was so close, so close. Another few minutes and Rikku would've been his. Brother just had to ruin everything. Of course, they hadn't exactly been anywhere private, but still. But then he slowly realized that he'd almost slept with Rikku and didn't even plan it right. Not to mention he tried it right under the nose of her older and very protective brother.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," he hissed at himself. He was still upstairs in the cabin, the, on the other side towards the sitting area, where he stood up against the wall, his hands pressing up against it on the sides. He wasn't sure what he was doing, probably trying to forget the stupid mistake he had just made, but he was pretty sure he was injuring himself too.

He stopped and looked around with a dizzied look. He had to stop doing that or he'd get a bruise. Shaking his head, he went over and sat, propping his feet up on the coffee table. He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. Yeah, he had to stop.

He had almost had Rikku, almost had her. What would have happened afterwards was the bigger question. He wasn't even sure if she was going to let him go farther than that. He hadn't intentionally wanted to take it that far, but seeing as she did things to him was hard. She had gotten him hotter than expected.

That could be a problem with living with her. He groaned and leaned his head back. Shiva he wished that he could have a potion. A migraine was coming on.

How will our couple deal with this? Find out next time on 'The Thin Line'...(I'm being funny)