"Paine!" Rikku yelled, chasing after Paine on the airship. She'd been looking for the warrior everywhere. "Paine, wait!"

"What?" Paine sighed, pausing before the elevator.

"What did I REALLY say?" Rikku asked, out of breath. She'd run through just about every hallway on the ship hoping to get a moment alone with Paine before everyone disembarked for the night.

"What?" Paine squinted, confused.

"Did I want him to like, you know, SLEEP with me? Or just kind of sleep with me, you know, like, actual sleep?" Rikku asked, making hand gestures.

"Oh goodness, are you still harping on this?" Paine groaned.

"I need to know!" Rikku cried.

"Your exact words, as I heard them in Spiran AND Al Bhed, were 'stay with me'," Paine replied flatly.

"Stay with me?!" Rikku put her hands over her mouth.

"Yes."

"OH NO!" Rikku shouted, her hands still clamped over her face.

"That's a hell of a lot better than some of your other colorful requests I've had the pleasure of overhearing you make through the years," Paine smirked.

"Dr. P, I am REALLY not in the mood!" Rikku warned.

"What's the big deal?" Paine shrugged and pushed the button to call the elevator.

"If I wanted to just have sex with him and was asking for that, I could EASILY blame THAT on being just drunk. But I wanted him to stay! I wanted to BE with him! He's going to think I actually LIKE him!" Rikku whined, her hand over her eyes.

"DO you like him?" Paine grinned.

"NO!" Rikku snapped, giving Paine a shove.

"Just checking," Paine replied smugly.

"What should I DO?" Rikku moaned just as the elevator opened.

"About what, Kid?"

Gippal.

Of course.

"Nothing," Paine and Rikku blurted at once.

"It always is," he smiled and pushed between them, a bag thrown over his shoulder and headed towards the ramp. Paine pushed a slack-jawed Rikku into the elevator.

"What the heck was THAT?" Rikku pointed after him, her voice high pitched.

"I don't know?" Paine shrugged.

"This is bad, Dr. P. This is REAL bad," Rikku was pacing in the elevator.

"What's bad?" Yuna asked as the elevator opened in the cabin.

"AH! They're everywhere!" Rikku jumped.

"Excuse me?" Yuna laughed.

"She's jumpy. She didn't take a nap like I suggested," Paine told Yuna as she shoved Rikku into the cabin.

"Well, don't be too long, you two. Wakke and Lulu are expecting us." Yuna said in a sing song voice and the doors promptly closed behind her.

"She's driving me crazy!" Rikku had her hands on her head as she stomped up the stairs to her and Paine's room.

"She's just getting old," Paine snorted.

"She's not getting old, she's getting frustrated," Rikku sighed, snatching a bag off her bed she had packed earlier.

"At what?" Paine asked, doing the same.

"Well," Rikku began over her shoulder as they descended the stairs. "You didn't hear it from me? But SOMEBODY isn't taking very good care of Yunie's needs in the bedroom."

"You're joking!" Paine laughed.

"She got drunk in Bevelle a few weeks ago when she had to appear at Baralai's conference and told me all about it. He sucks in bed." Rikku replied matter-of-factly.

"Wow. That explains a lot of mysteries," Paine nodded.

"I know, right? She's so in love with him but he can't get her off. What a shame," Rikku sighed waiting for the elevator again

"It's pitiful."

"Don't say anything to her about, she'll murder me if she finds out I told you," Rikku said sternly to Paine.

"I'll try not to being it up at dinner," Paine said sarcastically, stepping into the elevator.

"Hey! You made it!" Wakka cried out as the crew started filing off the ship. Rikku and Paine scurried in at the last minute. Wakka and most of the Besaid Aurochs were cutting up fire wood for beach fires over the next few days.

"Of course we did! Hi Wakka!" Yuna gave him a hug.

"How's the fam?" Rikku hugged him next.

"Ah Rikku! Good to have you back on Besaid!" Wakka hugged her tight. "Lu's good, she's back at the house waiting for you girls! She's cookin' up a storm! Vidina's around, playing with some of the kids in the village."

"Great! We'll head into town and help Lulu get dinner going," Yuna smiled sweetly and hoisted her pack up onto her shoulder.

"Sounds good to me, Yuna. We're getting some fire wood ready out here, we'll be in by dinner," Wakka patted her on the shoulder.

"Do you need a few extra hands?" Tidus asked. Gippal and Buddy sighed, realizing they had just been volunteered.

"Of course! Grab an ax!" Wakka grinned. "You three get going! Lu might need back up in the kitchen!"

"I think I'd rather cut firewood," Paine rolled her eyes, but followed Yuna and Rikku all the same.

"Are you cooking for the whole village?" Rikku laughed at the immense amount of pots and pans bubbling on Lulu's stove as the trio walked in. She had food everywhere.

"Well, between your crew and Wakka's team it certainly does feel like it," Lulu smiled sipping from a glass of red wine. "But come in! Sit down! Would you like a glass of wine?" Lulu gestured to the kitchen table that was covered in breads and vegetables.

"I would LOVE a glass of wine," Rikku sighed, exasperated. She'd already had enough of this tour and it hadn't even started yet. Rikku helped herself to glasses and moved around Lulu's kitchen with ease. It had been a while, but she knew where everything was.

"Can we help you Lulu? What do you need?" Yuna asked, standing by the stove and peering into the pots.

"Oh Yuna, no, please. Sit. Drink. I will take care of all of this," Lulu waved a hand over the stove and counters and waved the other at the table urging the younger woman to sit.

"Here, Yunie. Chill out," Rikku set a glass of wine down in front of Yuna and handed another to Paine.

"No thank you, Rikku," Yuna held up a hand.

"Yunie. You are being impolite, our nice hostess, Lulu has offered you a glass of wine," Rikku rested a hand on her hip and drank from her own glass.

"I think our Rikku has a point," Lulu smirked. Yuna scowled. "So tell me, Rikku. Where have you been? What have you been up to? I feel like we haven't been so lucky as to be graced by your presence in weeks now," Lulu said, stirring a few pots lightly on the stove.

"Well, I've been doing some traveling and some relaxing," Rikku replied. "I was in New Home for a few weeks with the family, spending some time with Pops and helping him out with work stuff. He's getting all huffy about me taking over the family business," Rikku said, her voice almost shy.

"Why's that?" Lulu asked, tasting what looked like a sauce. She shrugged, then dumped the rest of her glass of wine into the pot, stirred, tasted again and nodded.

"He's just being a meanie about everything. Yelling at me to 'find a good upstanding husband, Rikku!' and 'I'm not going to be around forever, Sweetheart! Our people need a new leader!' and things like that," Rikku imitated her father with an impersonation so spot on that all the girls laughed. "I'm not ready to get married, or be in charge, you know?" Rikku shrugged.

"What about Brother?" Yuna asked.

"I think we all know the answer to that," Lulu and Paine exchanged a silent laugh. "Rikku has always been keen to taking over. The Al Bhed love her and idolize her," Lulu shot Rikku a smile.

"What can I say?" Rikku shrugged modestly.

"Perhaps you should start acting like a leader," Yuna grumbled, giving in and sipping her wine.

"Hey!" Rikku cried out.

"Lulu, tell Rikku she needs to grow up. She won't listen to me!" Yuna looked to the mage.

"I think Rikku has done a fine job growing into herself?" Lulu said, opening the oven and looking inside.

"Yes, and more than half of the male population of Spira is well aware," Yuna crossed her arms over her chest.

"Whoa! Yunie! Low blow!" Rikku gaped at Yuna.

"Now, now. Our little Rikku is just enjoying the finer things in life. We all have our temptations. The Al Bhed have always been much freer, Yuna. You know that," Lulu poured herself a new glass.

"I'm Al Bhed too!" Yuna pointed to herself.

"Psh. Barely." Rikku laughed.

"Oh Rikku, stop," Lulu waved a hand. "If you want to explore your sexuality and explore nooks and crannies to life that you haven't seen yet, or nooks and crannies to Spira you haven't seen yet, god willing there are any left, then you go right ahead. You're young, you're strong and you're beautiful. You will make a fine leader with a respectable husband when the right time and the right man are upon you." Lulu hugged Rikku around the shoulders with one arm.

"Tell that to her," Rikku pointed at Yuna.

"Well, Rikku, perhaps the right man was upon you just last night?" Paine raised an eyebrow.

"Can it, Paine! I told you I don't like him!" Rikku tensed up, her fists clenched by her sides.

"What's this? Perhaps the right time is upon us?" Lulu joked, making a mock gasp at Yuna.

"This is news to me?" Yuna sat up straighter.

"Fine. You're just going to find out anyway, so I may as well tell you," Rikku scowled. "Shinra had to leave the tour."

"Why, Rikku. I know I said you ought to explore, but he is awfully young," Lulu tried to fight a tipsy laugh that was begging to be let out. Paine laughed into her glass.

"Oh, GOD! NO!" Rikku put a hand over her face, reddening at the thought.

"I'm sorry. Please, go on," Lulu busied herself at the stove again.

"So Buddy was in a jam because the kid is the only one who knows how to work our mega sound system. So who does he call the day before we leave for our big world tour?" Rikku threw a hand in the air.

"I knew it," Yuna said, her voice and smile smug.

"You did not!" Rikku snapped.

"Last night at your apartment! I told you! You two are going to work this out!" Yuna said.

"We're not working anything out! We're OVER! ALL DONE!" Rikku yelled. "We're going to be friends now, but there is NOTHING left!" Rikku huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and blowing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Buddy called Gippal?" Lulu asked Paine quietly.

"Oh yeah," Paine nodded.

"And fine, so MAYBE we went out last night and MAYBE we got drunk, no big deal! Nothing happened! We just had fun!" Rikku defended herself.

"Just the two of you?" Lulu asked.

"No. Paine was there," Rikku shrugged.

"And Buddy. Can't forget Buddy," Paine smirked.

"Oh goodness, I wish I could," Rikku sighed.

"Does he still have a bit of a school boy crush on Miss Rikku?" Lulu asked Paine.

"I'm afraid so," Paine hid a laugh.

"It's not funny!" Rikku yelped.

"Yes it is," Paine waved a hand.

"I think you should stop acting like a girl about it and start looking at things like an adult," Yuna said quickly.

"Yunie, what in our history together makes you think I'm going to do something like THAT?" Rikku asked.

"Absolutely nothing! Which is the problem!" Yuna snapped.

"Okay, Okay! Who wants cake?" Lulu set some dessert down in front of Rikku and Yuna.

"That doesn't work on us anymore, Lulu. We're not six," Yuna looked at up at Lulu from her seat at the table. Rikku sat down and took some of the dessert. Her comment aside, Yuna did too.

"I'll take my chances," Lulu smiled sweetly at Yuna. "So how did it go? Being friends?" Lulu asked Rikku sincerely.

"Not bad, as far as I remember. And he was nice to me today. Too nice. It's a little fishy," Rikku washed her cake down with a swig of her wine.

"He told her she looked nice at breakfast," Paine laughed.

"Did you look nice?" Lulu asked Rikku.

"I just got out of bed!"

"I've seen you look radiant in the morning?" Lulu shrugged.

"She didn't look radiant," Paine put in.

"Pardon me Miss Warrior-pants-and-some-tank-top-I-found-on-the-floor-just-as drunk-as-I-was!" Rikku scoffed.

"Never said I looked radiant. Just that you didn't. Not enough to garner a 'you look nice' from the player himself," Paine replied.

"That's true," Rikku sighed.

"Ladies, let's not stress about it and just enjoy this time we have together, hm? Now who needs their glass topped off?" Lulu smiled.