Disclaimer: I do not own Gippal, Baralai or any other characters from Final Fantasy X-2. SquareEnix owns 'em. This really is MY story. My friend originally posted it on here, and since he lost his password, I can't update this. So this is the REDONE version. Hope you enjoy it.

Binks: I got the idea for this fanfic two years ago while listening to the Excel Saga Opening Song and working on my Algebra I home work. This was my first FFX-2 story and my first shonen-ai story. Woot for stepping stones!

Warnings: Gippal X Baralai, Nudity mentions, Possible Fluff later in chapters.

Bound to You, Literally +Reloaded+

Golden beams of sunlight shown through the dark room's windows as the sun crept over the horizon. The orange light danced over objects in the room, and over the dark skin of the Praetor. Praetor Baralai mumbled as he pulled the blankets over his head in an attempt to block out the sunlight. Soon a buzz came from the clock near the bedside. Baralai sat up and shot an almost dirty look at the contraption. One of his best friends, Gippal, had made it for him. Even though it was very nifty, some days Baralai had an urge deep inside of him to throw it out the window. Finally turning the clock off, Baralai sighed. He had stayed up late reading books, even though he knew he'd pay for it in the morning. Well, he was paying for it enough right now. Dragging himself to his feet, Baralai stretched then yawned. Baralai turned and began to make his way to the bathroom when he tripped over one of his boots and fell flat on his face. Scrabbling back up, Baralai looked over at the boot, picked it up, and threw it over by the door.

Baralai stumbled over his own feet frequently as he, once again, tried to make his way to the bathroom. Yes, he wasn't a morning person, Baralai would not argue with that. It was true, and his worst mornings occurred after nights of heavy working or high tensions. Surprisingly, this was one of his better mornings. Baralai turned on the shower faucet and waited for the water to get warm. After a few minutes, he got in the shower and began to wash up. As soon as he got the shampoo in his hair, he heard banging on the front door of his apartment. It was probably one of the monks. Couldn't they wait? The pounding on the door became slightly more annoyed. This person was evidentially not going to be ignored. Baralai hurriedly washed some of the suds out of his hair, grabbed a towel, and rushed to the door. He swung it open to find Gippal standing there, with a playful smirk.

"Awww, you didn't have to put on a little show for lil' ol' me, Baralai," Gippal teased.

Baralai couldn't help but smile, "You kind of caught me at the wrong time."

"I can tell," Gippal said, looking over his friend.

"Ummm?" Baralai started, wanting to know why his friend had stopped by so early. If he could remember correctly, Gippal wasn't the type to wake up too early in the morning just to stop by and chat.

"Don't you remember? We were going to go meet Nooj and the girls at a breakfast diner and I said I'd pick you up at 8:30."

"Oh dear, I forgot! I'm sorry," Baralai said, shifting his gaze toward the floor guiltily.

"Hey don't worry about it, just hurry up and get ready. I can wait," Gippal reassured.

"Very well, thank you very much."

Baralai motioned for Gippal to come in to his room.

"Make yourself at home. I'll try to get ready as quickly as possible. I'm sorry I wasn't ready.," Baralai stated as he started back toward the bathroom.

"Stop saying sorry, and you may wanna rinse your hair a wee bit more there, Sudsy," Gippal teased as he pointed to Baralai's hair.

"I was in the middle of that when someone knocked on the door," Baralai reminded.

"Well if you had been ready and remembered about the breakfast you wouldn't be so bubbly. You could always go to breakfast like that though. . ."

"I think not."

"Awww, but you look good like that."

Baralai walked back into the bathroom, making sure he locked the door behind him.

"You don't have to lock the door. I'm not a peeping tom ya' know!" Gippal informed.

Baralai chuckled, "With you, one can never tell."

"You're words sting me. Me? A peeping tom? Never!"

"I do remember a certain situation with you and Paine a couple of years ago."

"That was completely accidental!"

A burst of laughter could be heard from the bathroom as the sound of the shower began again. Well it had been an accident! Nooj and Baralai hadn't told Gippal that Paine was bathing in the Oasis. So with the thought of getting a drink, Gippal had went to the Oasis to find him staring at a not-so-decent Paine. The worst part was that Gippal just stood and stared until Paine notice he was there, screamed, and threw the sphere camera at him. When Gippal regained consciousness, Baralai was looking down at him with a huge grin on his face. Paine, who was fully dressed now, didn't look one bit amused. Even the impassive Nooj had a ghost of a smile present on his normally stoic face. Gippal knew that his teammates wouldn't let him live this down for a while. He was right too. Two years had passed, and still he didn't get a break.

The teasing really didn't bother Gippal though. It was actually kind of funny that Baralai still remembered. Gippal walked around the apartment.

"Wow, this is one big apartment. . . Maybe I should become a Praeter" Gippal muttered to himself.

Gippal wondered into Baralai's study. On the desk, lie an open book and a pen next to it. Interested, Gippal wondered over to the desk and looked over the book.

Today, work was a bit easier than usual. Fewer problems have been bubbling up since the Youth League has decided to make some what of a pact with us. There have been a few disagreements, but none as serious before.

Gippal felt a bit guilty when he figured out he was reading Baralai's journal, but he had to continue reading. He really couldn't help himself. Besides, if he got into anything deep—he'd stop reading, or so he tried to tell himself.

. . . After the day of light work, I returned home. My apartment always seems empty, and it bothers me. If mother were still alive today, she'd be pretty disappointed to find that I still don't have any -planes- . . .plans for marriage.

Yup, Baralai was still a world-class speller, Gippal noticed. The quick scribble over the word "planes" stood out on the plane white paper.

Personally, I'm torn on whether I would want some sort of relationship with anyone. Sure, coming home to someone would be nice, but I don't know if anyone would be able to put up with my unpredictable schedules. Yet, I can't think of anything else to cure this loneliness streak I've been feeling as of late.

Reading over the last few lines made Gippal wonder. Baralai never told people that he felt this way. He always kept it to himself. So Baralai can tell a book this, but not a real person? Well, Baralai was just that kind of person. Besides, Baralai probably thought his journal would be pretty much the safest thing to "tell" because it would be locked up in his study. Safe enough, unless a certain Al Bhed barged on in and read it. Well, now Gippal was traveling on a major guilt trip.

Gippal left the study, and just in time too. No sooner had Gippal sat on the couch, Baralai came out of the bathroom. Baralai was ready to greet the day, and was sporting a joyful smile.

"I didn't take too long did I?" Baralai asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Not at all!" Gippal beamed.

"That's good. How late are we gonna be?"

"Ehh not too late. Besides, I think they can wait."

"Okay, well are we going to head out?"

"After you, Mr. Praetor."

Baralai cracked another smile. He may have been smiling but his movements were slow and his eyes looked tired. Gippal got up and held the door open for the Praetor, motioning for him to walk out first. Baralai began to walk out, but spun around. Gippal cocked an eyebrow as Baralai went back inside.

"Umm what are you doing?" Gippal asked.

"Key," Baralai replied, grabbing a key from the drawer.

"Ooooh, okay."

This time, Baralai walked out of the door. Gippal followed, closing the door behind him.

"You awake?" Gippal asked while playfully knocking on the back of Baralai's head.

"Awake as I ever get in the mornings," the Praetor responded.

"Oh right, your not the rise-in-shine type of guy are ya'?"

"Ehh, not really."

"Oh well, you're not the worst I've seen. Have you ever seen Brother in the mornings? Sheesh! He walks into poles and doesn't ever acknowledge it!"

Baralai chuckled again. Gippal always cheered the younger boy up, even if just a little bit.

The two got on the Hover Gippal had used to get there and made their way to the diner. Hopefully, their friends wouldn't be too upset about their tardiness. Little did the two know that this was just the beginning—the beginning of an escapade that would be the ultimate test of friendship.