A/N-sighs- I hope you guys enjoy this chapter... it didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted but I can't figure out what's bugging me. Ugh. Having a block. Maybe I put too much fluff in it, I don't know.

Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews-hugs-

-

"We should probably get going." I looked at Gippal and gave him a smile. He seemed disappointed that we had to leave, but it was getting late. It was nearly dark outside and I could tell Rei was getting pretty sleepy, a fact she would deny in between yawns and rubbing her eyes.

He stood up, picked up Datto from the floor, and handed it to Rei who eagerly took him. He opened up his arms for one last hug, and Rei complied drowsily. I picked her up in my arms and she laid her head on my shoulder, her eyes beginning to close. Gippal moved his hand across her hair and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. I looked at him and smiled as he continued to stare at the little girl in my arms.

"Does Cid have a commsphere, Rikku?" His voice was almost a whisper.

"No."

"Do you think that you could come back tonight, after you put Rei to bed? We...we need to talk, and tomorrow I'm pretty busy."

"Um...yeah, I guess. I'll just have to convince Cid to let me leave." I laughed.

"Don't tell him you're going. Just sneak out, like you used to do, remember?" He gave me a gentle smile.

"I need to let somebody know, Gippal. I just can't leave Rei there without telling them I'm leaving."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I forgot." He looked down at the ground and scratched the back of his head. "Well... at least ask him for me. I don't know if I can wait two days."

"I'll try." I gave him a smile before I turned and left the room.

The building was pretty dark and most of the people had already gone home. The woman at the desk was gone and it was eerily quiet. I noticed that it was pretty chilly out when I got outside and I made a mental note to grab a sweatshirt or something before I left to go back. I seriously doubted that Dad would be okay with me leaving to visit Gippal at night by myself but he would have to deal with it. I was almost twenty years old... I wasn't a little girl anymore.

When I got home Dad was sitting on the couch reading something. He looked up at me when I entered and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Where you been all day?" His eyes moved back to his book.

"Gippal's. I told you about it, remember?" I went to the bedroom and started getting a barely awake Rei ready for bed.

"No, I don't remember," he yelled. I rolled my eyes and finished putting Rei in her pajamas. It was silent for a few moments before Cid spoke again. "So... he saw her?"

"Yeah." I helped Rei snuggle underneath the covers and gave her Datto.

"Did it go alright?"

"Yeah. It was fine." I kissed Rei on her forehead and told her goodnight. She smiled and closed her eyes. I grabbed a blue sweater and left the room, leaving the door open a crack so Rei had some light. "Dad... can you do me a favor?"

"What? And where are you going?" He turned to face me, his expression stern.

"Just over to Gippal's again, Dad. Could you please keep an eye out for Rei? I won't be long."

"Whoah now, why are you goin' back there? You've been there all day."

"Gippal and I need to talk, Dad. He'll be busy all day tomorrow."

"Talk, eh? Is that what they call it now?"

"DAD!" My hands clenched at my sides. He could be so difficult sometimes. "Nothing is going to happen. I'll be back in a couple of hours." I turned around and walked away.

He coughed. "I've heard that one before."

I didn't even respond as I walked out into the night air once again. I pulled my sweater on and cursed under my breath. Cid was still the same as always.

The stars were already shining bright in the dark sky... out in the desert you could see them pretty well. When I was younger I remembered coming out and looking at the stars. I used to wonder what it would feel like to be up there with them... sounds kinda weird, but I had a big imagination, I guess.

Gippal and I went stargazing once.

I reached the building pretty quickly. I must have been walking faster than I thought. As I made my way up the stairs again, I noticed how dark and eerie the place was. I wondered how Gippal could stand to live there... it would creep me out.

I noticed that the room was pretty dark when I got to it. I could still make out Gippal's form on the bed, however. He was deep in thought again and didn't even notice me until I sat down next to him. He gave me a small smile.

"Manage to convince him?"

"Not really." I laughed. "He's still the same."

Gippal gave me a gentle smile. "And you? Are you still my same Rikku?"

"I don't know, Gippal... I just don't know. So much has changed, you know?"

"Yeah." He looked at the wall and bit his lower lip. "Well... why don't you start by telling me what you've been up to these past couple years."

"Um... taking care of Rei, I guess."

"Come on, Cid's girl. You've been up to other stuff."

I smiled at the name. I never thought it would feel nice to hear him call me that. "No, not really. After I left Djose I just went to Besaid and stayed there. I've just been hanging around with Yunie and everyone, I guess. What about you?"

Gippal laughed. "Oh, the same old stuff. Work. Helping manage the rebuilding of Home. Nothing real interesting."

It was quiet again for a few minutes before Gippal spoke again.

"So... I heard Yuna's expecting a baby."

"Yeah. She'll be having it pretty soon."

More silence.

"So... what are we going to do about this whole thing? I mean... with Rei, and telling people... and everything."

Gippal cleared his throat and placed his chin in his hand. "The people will have to know. It's just a matter of when and how I tell them," he sighed, "I think I'll bring it up at the council meeting tomorrow. The other guys will probably know what to do more than I will." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed again.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you, Gippal... I know what this is going to do to you... what other people are going to think."

He just laughed at me. "You're not usually one for caring about what other people think, Rikku. I don't care about them. Let them think what they want."

I gave him a small smile.

"You have changed a little." Gippal placed his hand on my back and pulled me close to him. I placed my head on his shoulder and he took my hand in his. "I've missed you, Rikku."

"I've missed you too."

Silence.

"I guess we have to decide where to go from here. With us, I mean."

"I don't know, Gippal."

"I know... I know we still need some time. I just want to know how you feel right now... if you think this is worth putting back together."

I bit my lip. "What do you think?"

He was quiet for a minute before answering. "I think it's more than worth it. What we had was special, Rikku. I want that back."

"Things can't be the same again. You know that." My voice came out in a choked whisper. Gippal tightened his grip on my hand.

"I know. I still think we have something, though. I think we have enough. It will just take time."

"What do we have, Gippal? Too much has changed. Everything... it's so different."

"We have love, Rikku. I still love you more than anything even after these years. I can tell you still love me. And are we really that different? We have something here, Rikku... I just need you to tell me if you want to do this... if you want what we had back."

The tears were welling up again. I was so confused... every logical part of me was telling me that this couldn't work... that we were different than we used to be, that we would never get back what we had... but another part longed for what we had. I wanted to be held again, in that way that made me feel safe from the world. I wanted to be kissed in that way that made me feel alive. I wanted someone that I could always talk to and always depend on to make me feel better... to make me feel like there really was a reason for living.

I wanted to be loved again.

The tears came. I turned around and snuggled into Gippal's shirt. He placed his arms around me and embraced me in a warm hug. He kissed my hair gently and whispered soothing words that I could not make out. I just held onto him like I was a small child, starting to sob as I let all of the confusion, frustration, loneliness and everything that I had been holding on to for so long go. We sat like that for around half an hour, just holding and taking in each other. I started to calm down, and I smiled slightly as I took in his scent.

Maybe things hadn't changed so much, after all.

-

I left Gippal's residence that night without giving him a definite answer. He told me that it was fine and I could think about it as long as I needed to. I could tell he was anxious for my answer, though. He told me to visit him around dinnertime the next day along with Rei. He gave me a hug and a smile before I made the journey back to where our daughter was sleeping.

I had quite a bit to think about on the way back but my mind didn't seem very focused. I figured it was just because I was tired and I would think on it some more in the morning. Sighing, I crossed my arms and looked up at the sky as I walked.

The stars seemed to be even brighter than earlier.

I wished I was a star. They never seem to change... you can always tell where they're gonna be whenever you look up.

-

I awoke the next morning to find, as usual, an awake and bouncy Rei at the foot of my bed. I pulled her down on to the bed and tickled her feet, causing her to giggle loudly. She grabbed Datto and ran off the bed and down the hallway and I heard Dad say something to her about breakfast. I groaned. I didn't think I had slept in once in the last two years.

Yawning, I made my way into the kitchen. We did our normal breakfast eating routine, and I took Rei out to play afterwards. We took a walk around the town and when we came back she played with the neighbor girl again for a while. We ate some sandwiches for lunch and Rei played with the girl's dog for what seemed like hours. They chased it all around the house and played fetch and all kinds of different things. I just watched them and tried to think about what I was going to tell Gippal tonight. I had so many things going through my mind it seemed I couldn't think straight. I mean... it seemed so simple... but was it?

I knew that things weren't ever going to be the same again. I knew I still had feelings for Gippal, though. I couldn't deny that. I still felt happy when he smiled at me and beautiful when he looked at me with love. I still felt so safe and at peace when he held me and comforted when he stroked my hair. I longed to feel one of his kisses again... I wanted to feel like I was truly alive.

Then... it dawned on me. The answer was obvious.

I still loved him.

I wanted to be with him.

I smiled and looked up at the sky, taking comfort in my decision.

-

Dinnertime came around soon enough, and Rei and I walked back to his building. The woman at the desk told us he was waiting and we made our way up the stairs. He was in his room, sitting down at a table that had been placed in there. He smiled and went up to meet us.

"Hope you like spaghetti." He smiled and Rei gave him a quick hug before she ran inside his room.

I looked up at his face. He looked tired, but relatively cheerful. I smiled at him and our eyes met. Gently, I placed my hand on the back of his head and I brought his face to mine where our lips met.

I had almost nearly forgotten what it was like to kiss him. His lips were so warm and soft and he placed his hand in my hair, keeping me close. For just a few seconds the world could disappear and all I knew was him.

Slowly, I moved away and opened my eyes. I gave him a gentle smile and he just looked surprised, although happy.

"I want to be with you, Gippal. I want this back."

He grinned and leaned down to give me another quick kiss. He leaned his forehead against mine and we closed our eyes, our arms wrapped around each other in peace and understanding.

-

The grass was wet underneath my body, but I didn't care. It was a spring night in Djose, and I was outside the temple where Gippal was supposed to meet me fifteen minutes ago. Tardy as usual.

I rubbed my arms to try and keep warm. It was a lot colder than I expected, and my stupid teenage self hadn't thought to grab a coat or something on my way out. Then again, I snuck out, so keeping warm wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind.

I stared at the sky for a few minutes, just gazing at the stars, before I heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"What are you looking at?" His voice was loud in the quiet and still of the night.

"Just the stars. They're real pretty tonight."

"Not as pretty as you," he sat down next to me in the grass and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me cheek.

I gave him a playful punch in the arm. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Acting all sweet. It's just not you."

He made a fake gasp and laughed. "Why, Rikku, I'm hurt. Who ever said I couldn't be romantic?" He kissed my cheek again and squeezed me tighter. "I have a sensitive side too, you know."

"Really? Prove it." I looked at him and grinned.

Gippal leaned over towards me and kissed me. Not just any kiss... a mind-blowing, amazing, take-your-breath-away kind of kiss. It was deep, loving, and passionate- there was no doubt in our minds that we loved each other as we embraced and the world drifted away.

I don't know how long we kissed like that. By the time we parted, we were both pretty breathless. He smiled at me gently and caressed my cheek with his hand.

"Have I ever told you that kissing you is like a wonderful dream that I never want to wake up from? That I love you more than life itself and I could kiss you until the stars fell from the sky?"

I smiled at him. The way he kissed me made it a little bit more believable that Gippal was actually saying this. "No."

"Well, now you know." He kissed me again and we laid in the grass together for a while, just enjoying the feeling of being close, warm, safe, and utterly happy as we just gazed at the stars for a while.

I could have stayed that way forever.