Been a while, huh? I've been ill, so nothing has been posted or updated or even written! So sad, but true. Here is an update for this one, at least. Thank the random reviewer who left the comment about the 'bare' style of this story for this update.

I do not own FF X-2 or any of her characters. I simply use them.

One gets used to not sleeping much. At first, lack of sleep is due to the desire to forget something, then it simply becomes habit. Nooj could not go to sleep before two in the morning if he wanted to. The body becomes used to the constant exhaustion, and functions properly with what little rest it receives. So many tasks are completed, a person begins to wonder just why, exactly, people require so much sleep. The extra hours in the day give more productivity. They also give a small sense of peace in the late hours of the night when not even the hardiest of warriors are awake. There are no disturbances, no voices startling the night owl out of their wits or interrupting their work.

One definitely gets used to not sleeping much. Nooj looked out of his office door, seeing Rikku there, waist deep in a hole that was once a highly polished floor. She was fitting the new pieces of a frame into place, gently pounding them with a rubber mallet. Several small boxes of wooden pegs were within easy reach, each box holding a different size peg. She would periodically pound one into the frame she was building around the original.

Rikku was alone, Gippal having left for Djose yesterday. He had not been happy about leaving, but he had no choice. Too much of his time had been spent chasing after, and then staying with, Rikku. He had made her promise to come and see him when she was done at the Youth League headquarters. She agreed, surprisingly, and even smiled at him before he left.

I wonder if Rikku has insomnia because she can not sleep or if it is because she will not. If she will not, then I wonder which dreams haunt her, ones from the past or the present?

It was decidedly odd for Nooj to concern himself with anyone. He was usually too busy contemplating his own death to think of another person. Yet, here he was, involved in Rikku's personal life, and with no idea how it happened. He had come to Rikku by chance, and was now unable to tear his attention away from her problems.

Perhaps this is how Yuna feels regarding the problems of Spira.

Yuna's genuine concern for the welfare of Spira and its denizens was slightly sickening. Such blatant caring for people who will never be a direct part of her life was beyond his understanding. At least Rikku was concerned with herself and those closest to her. If she were slightly suicidal, Rikku would make an excellent Deathseeker.

Then again, she would attempt to make it a 'club', with passwords and official pins and hats. Better to keep her interested in living.

Keeping her interested in living meant keeping her interested in Gippal. Gippal had somehow managed to breath life into the dead part of Rikku's soul. No one would really notice unless they were looking closely. Her shoulders no longer slumped, and she became more easily distracted from her task. Lucil had been able to take Rikku away from the hole she had made in the floor and talk about colored metal for nearly an hour. Food made its way into her stomach without protest.

The most important thing was a lack of new cuts and scars. Nooj had been relieved to find this so, then irritated for not knowing why he was relieved.

"Why'd you let her make such a big hole in the floor, Noojie? I had to jump my way in here, and you know how I hate jumping in heels."

Nooj tore his attention away from Rikku and set it on LeBlanc. The woman was still wearing that ridiculous purple outfit. It suited her, and him on occasion. So few impediments when aroused. LeBlanc shut the door before sauntering up to him.

"You would find your way in here if that hole was there or not, so why complain?" He saw her pout slightly when he went back to his paperwork.

"You're not sneaking around with that Dullwing, are you love?"

"Tempting, but no. She belongs in Gippal's bed, not mine."

"WHAT!" Nooj winced, thinking of how she sounded more like a squawking chicken than a grown woman. "Why that little thief! I'll just go have a talk with her about spending time around my Noojie."

"You will do nothing of the sort." He heard her stomp a foot. "Did you not hear what I said earlier? She is not in my bed, nor will she be. If I have my way, once she is finished fixing that floor she will be scampering off into the sunset with Gippal and out of my hair."

"Really, love?"

Isn't that just the question, Nooj? You have found something that distracts you without pleasure or pain. Are you really going to give that up?

"Yes."