Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Respect Points ❯ One-Shot

~Respect Points~

 

Paine was in a bad mood today. Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai `just happened' to be nearby and decided to pay a visit. She knew they didn't come by coincidence so she decided to begin her day by finding out their real reason.

 

Gippal was easy because she already knew why he came. At first, he just rambled on about needing a vacation until she asked, “You came because of Rikku, didn't you?”

 

That caused him to freeze with a shocked expression on his face before returning to his relaxed composure and flashed his trademark grin, “As sharp as always, aren't you Dr. P.?”

 

Her next victim was Nooj. He didn't beat around the bush when she asked. Unfortunately, the reason of his visit was not only to see how she and the others were faring in Besaid, but to meet with Leblanc and her goons, Ormi and Logos, once they arrive. After Nooj left, Paine pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper from her left glove and picked up a pen from the table in Wakka's hut. She marked two tallies under Nooj's name and five tallies under Leblanc, Ormi, and Logos.

 

Now it was Baralai's turn. Paine placed the paper back into her glove and left the hut to find him. She found him leaning against a post near the temple while Yuna, Tidus, Rikku, Gippal, and Nooj discussed something nearby. She watched as Yuna giggled and leaned against Tidus when Gippal called Rikku `Cid's little girl' and messed up her hair. Paine rolled her eyes as Rikku pushed him back and muttered “I have a name…” while fixing her hair.

 

Baralai was staring off into space when she approached. His hazel eyes looked sad and regretful.

 

“What's wrong Baralai?” Paine asked, forgetting her previous question.

 

He slightly jumped as he snapped out of his reverie, “I was just thinking…”

 

“About what?” she crossed her arms.

 

“I wanted to say I'm sorry.” He finally whispered.

 

“Why is he apologizing?” she wondered, “Oh…Shuyin…”

 

“It's not your fault, Baralai. You were possessed so you couldn't help it.”

 

“No, not that…well I am sorry about that, but I was talking about Bevelle. I'm sorry about breaking your trust, I was only trying to protect you and the others.” He explained as his foot made idle pictures on the ground.

 

“You thought I didn't trust you anymore?” she asked in an amused tone. Baralai's head snapped up from the ground and his eyes stared deep into her ruby ones.

 

“But in Bevelle…you…” he trailed off and looked away.

 

“I should be the one apologizing; I was acting rashly. I thought you didn't trust me.”

 

“So it was a big misunderstanding then.” He said with a small relieved smile forming on his lips, “That's a relief. I thought I lost a lot of respect points from you.”

 

Paine chuckled lightly, “Don't worry, you already regained the respect points you lost 2 years ago.”

 

Silence took over, allowing them to hear Yuna and Rikku fawning over Vidina as Lulu brought him by. Wakka and Tidus were now arguing about when they should start training the baby for blitzball. Paine didn't care much about the blitzball issue so she focused her attention on the baby. Gippal managed to make Vidina laugh by putting his fingers on Rikku's face and forced her to make a funny face.

 

“What are you doing?! Stop it!” Rikku squealed while frantically trying to get away from him.

 

“You're born to be a mother Rikku. We'll be great parents someday.” Gippal chuckled as he finally released her, causing her to nearly fall over.

 

“Fryd tet oui cyo!? (What did you say!?)” she shook her head and held her red face as he continued to laugh. Vidina gurgled and smiled as his tiny chubby hand reached up and grabbed Yuna's finger.

 

“Aw…I want to have a baby!” Yuna exclaimed, causing Tidus to stop in the middle of his conversation.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Nothing.” Yuna sighed while taking the baby from Lulu's arms.

 

“I think he likes the idea…” Rikku whispered near Yuna, causing her to almost drop Vidina and scream her cousin's name. Her cheeks heated in embarrassment when every one glanced at her.

 

Paine let her arms fall to her sides and then shifted her weight to the other leg in boredom. Babies, although cute, are too noisy and a pain to take care of. Her eyes unconsciously wandered back to Baralai. His eyes softened at the sight of the baby and his smile grew wider. She quickly averted her eyes away from him when she realized she was staring. Even after two years she still had special feelings for him. She had hoped these feelings would disappear when they separated after the Crimson Squad, but she found herself thinking about him once in a while. She thought of him even more when she joined the Gullwings. She was pulled back into reality when she felt his eyes staring at her. She suddenly couldn't stand the silence any longer.

 

“So is apologizing the only reason why you came?” she inquired in her usual monotone voice. Baralai immediately pushed away from the post and grew taut. He also started blushing to Paine's surprise.

 

“I…uh…Actually…I-I came to tell you something…something else…” he stuttered. He now had her undivided attention as her blood colored eyes bore into his. After a small moment of hesitation he opened his mouth…

 

“Noojie!!!”

 

Paine winced as a migraine formed in her head from Leblanc's voice.

 

“Bwahahaha! I knew we'd find the village eventually,” Ormi bellowed while Leblanc grabbed on to Nooj.

 

“Yes, and we would have gotten here sooner if we hadn't taken one of your `shortcuts',” Logos grumbled.

 

“Hello Leblanc,” Nooj greeted calmly before he placed an arm around her.

 

“Is everyone here?” Yuna asked as she gave Vidina back to Lulu.

 

“We're still missing two people aren't we?” Tidus noted.

 

“Yeah…Paine and Baralai. Where are they?” Rikku asked while looking around energetically.

 

“They're by the temple,” Gippal replied before raising his arm to get their attention, “Hey Baralai! Paine! Come join the party!”

 

“I'll …tell you later,” Baralai sighed, sounding both disappointed and relieved. He glanced at her as he brushed past her and joined the group. Paine narrowed her eyes in anger at Gippal and pulled out the paper. She marked three tallies under his name with the pen she still held in her hand. They continued talking about their plans for the future as she joined unnoticed. She mostly ignored them since she already knew what they were going to do. Half of them asked her for advice on their plans. Her eyes kept wandering across the circle where Baralai stood. She could have sworn he was looking at her.

 

“So where are you guys going to next?” Yuna inquired while glancing at Nooj, then at Gippal.

 

“Well, we did decide to split up after Besaid, but I don't know where I want to go to yet.” Gippal answered.

 

“Oh, I know!” Rikku suddenly jumped up and then danced in place, “Why don't we go to Luca or somewhere and throw a party?”

 

“To make up for the one we missed?” Paine raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

 

“Yeah! I'll call Brother and get him to take us there.” Rikku giggled.

 

“Uh, would Brother even allow me on the Celsius?” Gippal wondered as he placed his hands behind his neck.

 

“Don't worry! I'm a genius when it comes to persuasive speaking,” she reassured.

 

“Since when is threatening him with a petrifying grenade persuasive speaking?” Paine muttered from behind, causing Rikku to chuckle nervously.

 

“Well it works…” she whispered back in her defense.

 

“A party? Sounds like fun!” Leblanc squealed and tightened her grip on Nooj. Nooj let out a small chuckle and replied, “I guess that means we'll attend.”

 

“Ooh! I can't wait to show you what's new in Luca.” Yuna told Tidus in response to Rikku suggestion.

 

“Alright! Maybe we can see a blitzball game too,” he added while he grabbed her hands.

 

“A party! Can we go?” Ormi asked hopefully before Logos pulled him back.

 

“Of course we're invited. If the boss goes then so do we.” He responded confidently.

 

Only Wakka, Lulu, and Baralai didn't say anything once Paine agreed in going. Gippal decided to fix that problem.

 

“Hey Baralai! Are you going?” he lightly slapped Baralai on the back to pull him from his thoughts.

“I…I don't know. Will you forgive me if I gave you a last minute answer?” his eyes were focus on Paine, but his question was directed towards Rikku.

 

“That's okay. Just be sure you have an answer before noon tomorrow because that's when we leave!” Rikku answered cheerfully.

 

“Eh, you're gonna have to count me an' Lu out. We got plans tomorrow.” Wakka mentioned after hearing when they were leaving.

 

“Aw…party pooper…” Rikku teased while she poked Wakka in the stomach with her elbow. Soon every one went their separate ways to prepare for the party or find a place to stay the night.

 

This was how Paine's morning started, but it got more annoying as the day dragged on. Gippal kept asking for advice on how exactly to approach Rikku. Well actually he was asking hypothetical questions, but she knew what he was talking about. When Paine answered, however, he would shake his head and say `there must be some other way' and then walk off only to return again asking the same questions, hoping for a new answer. She then decided to hang around Rikku so he couldn't ask her anymore questions.

 

Big mistake.

 

All Rikku could talk about was Gippal. Paine thought about telling her to confess her feelings to him because it was obvious she liked him, but decided to save her ears instead since Rikku would scream and get angry at such a suggestion while blushing madly the entire time. It wasn't long before Rikku rambled on about how cute and romantic Tidus and Yuna were and how Lulu and Wakka were so lucky to have such an adorable baby. Then she started to talk about Baralai, causing Paine to try to leave. This made Rikku accuse her of having a crush on Baralai, which she did, but she didn't want Rikku to know it. To hide the small blush forming on her face, Paine pulled out her paper and marked under both Rikku and Gippal.

 

“What's that?” Rikku asked when she saw the paper. Paine shrugged and put the paper away.

“Nothing,” she walked away, leaving a curious Rikku who was now determined to find out what the paper was.

 

The end of the day was quickly approaching and Paine was now left with two options. One was to go help Yuna with the party snacks or go to the quiet privacy of her secret spot and record all the respect points everybody had lost so far. She spied Tidus going into his and Yuna's hut and knew that they would want to be alone. Well, it's off to the secret spot!

 

Her secret spot was located at the small cliff above the alcove beside the beach. She made sure to bring her item bag with her before she peacefully disappeared from sight. Once she reached the hill that overlooked the village, she began to run all the way to the beach. The fiends could only watch as she ran by, none daring to chase her down. When she reached the beach, she stopped to catch her breath and froze when she thought she heard something approaching. Nothing appeared from the bushes, but she could definitely hear someone breathing heavily, as if trying to catch their breath. Paine shrugged and dismissed the sound as a fiend that actually tried to chase her. She then climbed up the cliff and darted around the tower remains. She laid down on the cool grass and rummaged through her item bag. Inside her bag was a special machina that was good for recording respect points. Paine unfolded the paper and added the tallies each person had earned before subtracting the total on the small machina.

 

“Hmm…almost forgot him…” she mused as she subtracted points from Tidus.

 

She seldom had respect points for people she just met, like Lulu and Wakka, but Tidus was an exception. Never before has she met anyone who would stick their noses into anyone's problem and then call it `the right thing to do'… Well no one else besides Yuna. He probably was her biggest influence.

 

With the respect point count finished, she tore up the paper and pulled out a new one. Once she wrote everyone's name down, she folded it and placed it into her glove where the old one was. When her work was done, it was twenty minutes to sunset. She placed her arms behind her head and closed her eyes while enjoying the gentle sea breeze blowing against her short silver hair. She soon felt the presence of another human being above her. She opened her eyes to find hazel eyes framed with tan skin and white hair looking down at her.

 

“How…?”

 

“Rikku told me where you were.” Baralai quickly answered before she could finish her question.

 

“He's lying…” She watched him as he sat down next to her. Rikku never knew where her secret spot was and there was no way that the sound she heard earlier could have been Rikku either. It must have been…

 

“You followed me,” she accused in a voice so soft that Baralai wouldn't be able to hear her if they were not in a tranquil area like this.

 

He chuckled lightly and then spoke in a tone as soft as hers, “Yeah, that was me back there.”

 

A few questions plagued her mind but she refused to voice them. Did he leave and come back or did he just stay there watching her until this moment?

 

“What are you going to do in the future?” She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't hear the question.

 

“I don't know…,” she eventually replied, “I'm definitely not staying here.”

 

“Too quiet here or would you feel uncomfortable living here?”

 

“Both. I doubt Yuna would want her friends around too often now that she found Tidus and Rikku is going to leave in a week to go help rebuild Home.”

 

“I heard a rumor that Cid is going to arrange a marriage between Rikku and Gippal.” He grinned when Paine stared at him in surprise.

 

“I'd like to see their reaction to that.”

 

“Gippal told me that Cid asked him if he would marry her, but he's afraid that Rikku doesn't like him back.”

 

“And if he would just follow my advice he wouldn't be worrying about it right now.” Her tone was a little louder than she intended.

 

“True, but you know how Gippal is…”

 

“Yeah…,” Paine sighed as she remembered what started the conversation, “Anyway, I have no idea where to go.”

 

“I don't belong anywhere…” she added in her mind as an after thought.

 

“You…you could live with me in Bevelle,” he suggested hesitantly as he slowly faced her. She sat up to meet his gaze, her face clearly asked `Why?'.

 

“You could help me find more secrets Yevon has been hiding and…it would be nice to have someone to talk to. It's not fun to be alone.”

 

“Alone? But you're the Praetor of New Yevon.” She hoped he didn't notice the small smile forming in her face as he continued.

 

“I can't trust anyone there,” he muttered. He then grew quiet and sullen, causing her smile to fade.

“Paine, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…”

 

“What is it?” she asked as she remembered what happened earlier in the morning. She had almost forgotten that he wanted to tell her something important.

 

“It's really hard to say…and I have been trying to tell you ever since we separated back then,” he paused and took a deep breath before looking into her eyes, “I…love you.”

 

Her eyes widened and she froze in place. Words refused to come out of her mouth, leaving her feeling helpless as he stood up. She was relieved to find that her limbs were still cooperating and quickly stood up next to him.

 

“Damn it…say something!” her mind screamed, but her mouth would not comply.

 

Baralai mistook her silence for rejection and sighed sadly, “I understand…”

 

He began walking away and Paine was allowing it. Her frustrated anger increased as she realized this would be the second time she let him leave her. She reached out and touched his shoulder, effectively stopping him.

 

“Baralai…,” was all she could say. She didn't realize their faces were drifting closer before she snapped.

 

“To hell with words!” her mind said fiercely as her arms traveled to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Now it was Baralai's turn to be shocked when she pressed her lips against his. He quickly relaxed and wrapped his arms around her slender waist, deepening the kiss. It was the lack of air that eventually pulled them apart, leaving them both feeling lightheaded. They stayed in their embrace only staring into each other's eyes until someone voice shattered their moment.

 

“Paine!” Yuna called in the distance. This was soon accompanied by Rikku's shrill cry.

 

“Paine! Where are you!?”

 

“You know…Baralai's missing too. You don't suppose…” A man's voice trailed off.

 

“Ew! Gippal, you perverted sicko!” Sounds of someone getting slapped echoed through out the vicinity after Rikku's scolding.

 

“Ow! I was just kidding!” Gippal whined.

 

Paine gently groaned in annoyance and buried her head against Baralai's chest as she realized her peace and quiet was ruined.

 

“Maybe we should return to the village,” he whispered in her ear and lightly kissed her cheek.

“Go ahead, I'll return in a minute.” She pulled away. She felt a chill as the suddenly cold wind touched her skin, making her regret pulling away from his warmth.

 

“Okay, I'll lead them away from your hiding place.” He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before leaving.

 

Paine couldn't stop the smirk as she gathered her things and placed them in her item bag. The machina still laid in the grass in the dim light of sunset. She picked it up and added ten points to Baralai and subtracted a few points from Gippal in response to his comment.

 

*********************************

 

The sun rose and another day began for Besaid village. The early risers were greeted with the gentle chirping of birds and a cool, crisp breeze. The sun slowly warmed the village with each passing hour as more people arose from their slumber and started their daily work. The villagers were soon surprised when a large red airship broke the calm stillness and landed just outside the town gate.

“Come on people! It's time to go!” Rikku shouted at Tidus and Yuna. The couple had fallen behind because of the large box of food they had to carry.

 

“I don't remember packing this much!” Yuna gasped as Logos and Ormi passed them. Tidus and Yuna could only look on helplessly as Ormi stopped and dropped another pound of food in the box.

“You forgot this,” he bellowed cheerfully before laughing.

 

“So you're the one who was stuffin' this behind our backs!” Tidus grunted.

 

Rikku quickly ran to the ramp and blocked the way for Ormi and Logos, “Uh-uh! If you want to get on this ship then you will have to carry the food on board.”

 

“We don't take orders from the likes of you,” Logos retorted. Unfortunately for him, Nooj and Leblanc were about to board the ship and heard what was going on. Leblanc was willing to ignore it, but Nooj decided to help out.

 

“Looks like we're not going anywhere at this rate,” he replied, nudging her into action.

 

“Right! Boys, I order you to carry the food unto the ship.”

 

“Yes, Boss!” They yelled in unison and quickly ran to do her bidding.

 

“Thank you Leblanc,” Yuna said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.

 

“Think nothing of it!” Leblanc looked smug as she grabbed Nooj's arm once again. Buddy and Brother walked out of the air ship just as Leblanc and Nooj went in.

 

Buddy watched Leblanc in disgust and turned to Rikku, “Don't tell me she's coming too?”

 

“Afraid so…” she answered while looking back to make sure Ormi and Logos were doing their job. Gippal decided to make an appearance and patted Buddy on the back.

 

“Yeah, Leblanc can be a pain, but she can easily be ignored.”

 

“YOU! What are you doing here!?” Brother demanded before he tried to push Gippal off the ramp.

“Come on Brother! Can't you let him on just this once?” Rikku pleaded as she and Buddy held Brother back.

 

“NO!” He broke away from them and crossed him arms stubbornly. Gippal only shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck.

 

“Figures…,” he muttered. Rikku's eyes narrowed at her brother before she angrily searched for a grenade in her small leather bag.

 

“Okay, you asked for it…” she threatened.

 

During this time, Paine was waiting in the shade of the Celsius for Baralai. She was grateful to find that no one knew of her budding relationship with the Praetor of New Yevon otherwise she would have to sit through Yuna and Rikku's nosey and ridiculous questions. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply; she hasn't seen Baralai all morning. Maybe he wasn't coming. She wanted to leave with him when they reached Bevelle at the end of the day, without having to say a word. But now she might have to explain why she needed to be dropped off there.

 

Suddenly she noticed Rikku with a grenade in her hand and Brother standing beside her, shaking his head furiously. Paine sighed before walking between them and then grabbed the grenade.

“Brother, you do realize that if you don't let Gippal on the airship then everyone won't let you join the party, right?” she reasoned. Brother just stared back at her, mouth agape. He then noticed everyone was glaring at him with their arms crossed.

 

“Fine! He can ride on my ship…I will be watching your every move,” he threatened in his deep Al Bhed accent. Gippal smirked to his displeasure and put his arm around Rikku.

 

“I'll be a good boy, right Rikku?”

 

“Y-yeah! Of course he will,” she stuttered as a blush spread across her cheeks. Brother only growled in anger before storming back into the airship, followed by an amused Buddy. Silence over took them after Ormi and Logos finally loaded the food on board. Gippal still had his arm around Rikku and Tidus, Yuna, and Paine were surprised she hasn't said anything yet. Paine raised an eyebrow before Rikku realized…

 

“Uh! Why are we standing around! Let's go!” she cried rapidly while pushing Gippal away from her. She then grabbed her grenade from Paine and ran inside. Paine and the others cast knowing glances at each other as Gippal chuckled and went inside himself. Rikku soon poked her head back out, looking annoyed.

 

“What are you waiting for!? We're leaving now!”

 

The Celsius engines suddenly started at that moment, causing Tidus and Yuna to briefly glance at each other before racing up the ramp. Paine backed up inside the doorway and scanned the area for any sign of Baralai. She was soon disappointed when the ramp closed and the Celsius took off. `Why didn't he come? Where did he go?' were the questions that swarmed her mind as she caught up with the others. She began to wonder if last night was a joke, but Baralai was never the type to play with emotions.

 

“Oh! Guess what? Buddy said he picked up Shinra before leaving!” Rikku announced all of a sudden, bringing Paine back to reality.

 

“Really? That's great! I wonder what he has been doing since he left the Gullwings,” Yuna responded with a giggle. Tidus looked confused and grabbed her attention by putting his hand on her shoulder.

 

“Now Shinra is the young Al Bhed genius, right?”

 

“That's right,” Yuna confirmed, “And I thought you weren't paying attention.”

 

Tidus opened his mouth to tell her their inside joke, but Rikku cut him off, “I hate to pull you out of your little world, but we need to go to the bridge,” she pointed to the lift behind her, “By the way, I heard Shinra started a research team to study the energy on the Farplane,” she added, answering Yuna's previous question.

 

They boarded the lift and soon they were on their way to the bridge. Paine noticed Rikku eyeing her item bag suspiciously while the lift slowly reached its destination. She covered her bag with her hand and glared at Rikku, causing her to chuckle nervously.

 

“So…what do you keep in there? More secrets? Maybe a certain piece of paper?” Rikku asked as a mischievous grin formed on her face.

 

“Minus three Rikku…” she answered tartly. Rikku gasped and immediately shut up.

 

“Minus what?” Tidus whispered in Yuna's ear.

 

“Respect points. Remember?”

 

“Oh yeah. Have I lost any Paine?”

 

“A few,” she replied while crossing her arms. Both Yuna and Rikku were surprised, Rikku's head switched from Paine to Tidus and back.

 

“Really? How?” he inquired. The lift stopped and Paine was the first to get off.

 

“Want to loose more?” was her only reply as she continued on.

 

“Nope, never mind.”

 

The sounds of laughter and whirring machina filled their ears when they arrived on the bridge. Ormi, Logos, Buddy decided to throw the party early by eating most of the food.

 

“Hey! Wait until we get there!” Yuna scolded, but was soon interrupted by Shinra as he ran up to her for a hug.

 

“Yuna!” he shouted happily. She kneeled down to his level and hugged him back, “It's so good to see you again!”

 

“So you're Shinra.” Tidus knelt down next to them.

 

“Correct,” Shinra answered, letting go of Yuna.

 

“And you know everything, right?”

 

“That's right. I know everything.”

 

“Then answer this, how come the songstress dressphere only affected Yuna, but not Rikku and Paine? And how come Leblanc looked like Yuna instead of herself when she put on the dressphere?”

 

“The songstress dressphere contained Lenne's spirit and chose Yuna to help her find Shuyin.”

 

“Okay, but how did Leblanc end up looking like Yuna when wearing the dressphere?” Tidus asked again.

 

Shinra paused for a moment as everyone waited for his answer. He just shook his head and said “I'm just a kid…” before walking back to his old terminal.

 

“That's our Shinra. He never changes…” Rikku shrugged. Tidus blinked once before standing up to help Yuna to her feet.

 

“I thought he knew everything,” he pouted, receiving a giggle from Yuna.

 

“He does, but maybe there are just some mysteries that can not be solved.”

 

“How much longer until Luca, loves?” Leblanc inquired impatiently. She was completely oblivious to the conversation that took place.

 

“You need to have more patience,” Nooj said calmly.

 

Paine sighed in the shadows, her boredom increasing. There were only two people missing. One of them was, of course, Baralai and the other person missing from the bridge was Gippal. He was probably in the cabin area or the engine room. She figured he was hiding from Brother or maybe…

 

Everyone was having too good a time talking to notice her leaving. Gippal was in the cabin area, sitting at the bar while Barkeep and his darling were off in their own world.

 

“Gippal, get it over with!” she snapped before he could acknowledge her presence. He faced her with a shocked expression that soon melted away into a face of innocence.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“You and Rikku. I heard about what Cid is planning. Just go ask her already. I know you love her.” She sat down on a nearby stool and placed her item bag on the bar. Gippal grew silent and closed his good eye.

 

“So what if I love her? Will being forced to marry someone she doesn't love make her happy?” he whispered harshly.

 

“How do you know she doesn't love you? Have you asked?...I thought not,” she mumbled when he didn't respond, “Give up your cool act for a moment and see where it will get you. I'm pretty sure Rikku would say yes anyway, the way she rants on and on about you.”

 

“Really now?” he raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“Ask her,” she gestured towards the door.

 

“Maybe later…I know Brother will get mad at me and strand me on some deserted island if I talk to her before we land,” he chuckled.

 

“Fair enough, but remember Cid won't wait for long. He may ask someone else to marry her.”

 

Gippal smugly muttered a `yeah right' before pushing himself off his stool, “I don't know about you, but I'm going to go join everyone else. It's too quiet down here. Oh, and tell Baralai I said `hi'.”

Paine opened her mouth to tell him that Baralai wasn't here, but Rikku decided to grace them with her presence by nearly ramming into Gippal.

 

“'scuse me Rikku” he emphasized her name as he brushed past her and out of the cabin area. Rikku's face turned and interesting shade of red as she sat down next to Paine.

 

“He said my name…” she mumbled, a little dazed, “…What is he up to?”

 

“He's plotting something evil, Rikku. Run. Run away…” Paine muttered sarcastically.

 

“No seriously! He never calls me by my name,” she whined.

 

“Maybe there are changes on the horizon…maybe he likes you…”

 

“FRYD!?!?!? (WHAT)”

 

“Oui ryjah'd hudelat? (You haven't noticed?)”

 

“Fryd ec dryd cibbucat du sayh? (What is that supposed to mean?)”

 

A shadow upstairs followed by footsteps caught Paine's eye before she could answer Rikku.

 

“Who could be up there? Everyone is either in the bridge or down here,” she wondered in her mind. She was now too distracted to notice Rikku rummaging through her item bag.

 

“Ooh, what's this?” Rikku asked in English. Paine's eyes widened when she glanced in her direction. Rikku had her machina and was trying to turn it on.

 

“Put it down Rikku!” she ordered, but it was too late. Once the device was turned on, Rikku gasped and ran out of the cabin area with it.

 

“Rikku! Get back here!” Paine screamed as she chased after her, forgetting about the person upstairs.

 

**********************************

 

“Guys! Guys! Look what I found!” Rikku shouted quickly as she ran past the door. She only had about one minute before the lift carrying a very pissed off Paine arrives. She jumped over the rail in her excitement and almost landed on top of Gippal. She began wobbling so he grabbed her shoulders to keep her balanced.

 

“Whoa there Cid's girl. What did you find?” he asked, acting oblivious to the glare she gave him.

 

“Well so much for calling me by my real name… Anyway! I was digging through Paine's stuff and found this machina-” she began.

 

“Wait a minute! You went through Paine's private property? I think you should return it right now,” Yuna scolded while pointing at her accusingly.

 

“But it contains her list of respect points!” Rikku wailed in her defense. That caught everyone's attention.

 

“Well what are you waiting for? Tell us what's on it!” Yuna suddenly cried.

 

“What happened to `retuning Paine's private property'?” Tidus inquired as he rubbed his chin.

 

“Well…” Yuna looked like she was having an inner battle and her conscious was losing, “We should give back her list…but…I want to know how many respect points I have.”

 

“Maybe you're not that much of a goodie-goodie after all,” Leblanc teased before turning to Rikku, “Turn it on, love!”

 

Rikku jumped in surprise when she remembered the device in her hands. She then quickly turn it back on and scanned its contents.

 

“Let's see… What!? I only have 26 left!” she screamed.

 

“And you are about to loose more!” Paine threatened from the entrance. Rikku gulped and immediately dropped the machina. Gippal stooped down to pick it up.

 

“Huh?” he scrolled down to his name, “29? Why am I as low as Rikku?”

 

“Because you and Rikku kept pestering me about each other, so I thought it was fair to subtract equal amount of points from both of you. Rikku, of course, has recently lost three more points and you're next.” Paine replied while crossing her arms and became infuriated when he chose to ignore her threat.

 

“How many points do I have Gippal?” Yuna asked as she ran closer to him, followed by everyone else except Rikku and Paine.

 

“91,” he answered.

 

“That's good…” she breathed a sigh of relief. Tidus pulled her back a little.

 

“How much do I have?”

 

“Let's see…” Gippal scrolled down a little, “you have 89 points, Tidus.”

 

“Sounds like I need to be more careful,” he said while his head was buried in Yuna's shoulder.

 

“And Nooj has…” he continued, “95, which kinda makes sense though I thought he would've lost more. Shinra has 99 and Buddy has 90.”

 

“I feel so respected.” Shinra replied while looking back from his chair.

 

“Jeez…what did I do?” Buddy wondered before Gippal started snickering.

 

“Guess how many Brother has?” He held the machina up to Rikku.

 

“FIVE!!!!” she squeaked before she fell to the floor laughing. Brother heard this and jumped out of the pilot seat.

 

“A five? I should have more! I am the leader!” he complained.

 

“Okay `leader', to you and you only, five is a high number,” Paine retorted.

 

“Dryd'c paddan! (That's better!)” Brother struck a proud pose and then jumped back into his seat, earning weird looks and eye rolls from everyone.

 

“Whoa, that's harsh Dr. P.” Gippal commented as he faced Leblanc and her goons, “Leblanc has 30, Logos has 25, and Ormi has 50 points.”

 

“You hear that! I gots more than you!” Ormi shouted excitedly at Logos, who only glared at him in return.

 

“30!? I demand a recount!” Leblanc cried angrily.

 

“You get what you earn…” Paine justified.

 

Now that everyone knew how many points they had, they went back to their previous conversations. All pressure was finally off of Paine. She stormed over to Gippal and Rikku to get her machina back and reduce everyone's scores by five points, but froze when Gippal's eye widened in disbelief.

 

“Baralai has 110!?” he announced out loud. Once again the room went quiet and all eyes were on Paine.

 

“110? I thought 100 was the highest you can get.” Rikku said with suspicion in her voice.

 

“Nuh-uh! Five is the highest!” Brother called in the background, but was ignored. Paine's eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly opened. She didn't know what to say.

 

“T-the highest you can get is 120…” she lied.

 

Gippal unexpectedly came to the rescue after that, “Yeah that makes sense. Nooj definitely deserves that score after all he's done. Right Noojster?”

 

“Brat…” was Nooj's response before he swung his cane at him. Paine managed to grab her machina back from Gippal and left unnoticed from the laughter filled room. She glared over her shoulder on her way to the lift until she bumped into a soft, muscular body.

 

“Baralai!” she softly called out in surprise, “When did you get on the airship?”

 

“I snuck aboard while you were busy with Rikku and her grenade. I was going to surprise you, but…” he made an irritated noise in the back of his throat. His arms were crossed and his hazel eyes held in anger.

 

“I heard everything Paine,” he continued as he circled around her.

 

“Why are you-” she then detected the small grin playing on his lips.

 

“I only have 110 out of 120 after all that happened last night?!”

 

She was about to tell him that she lied about that, but decided to play along instead, “You think that small peck on the lips was worth anything? You disappoint me Baralai.”

 

“Oh, is that all?” he whispered before pulling Paine closer and gave her a kiss even more passionate that the one last night. They pulled away a minute later, gasping for air.

 

“How was that?” His warm breath tickled her ear.

 

“You earned ten points…but minus five for letting them see this.” She pointed behind him where Shinra, Rikku, Gippal, Tidus, and Yuna were standing with their jaws dropped. The group only felt guilty about what happened to Paine and decided to go cheer her up. However, they weren't expecting to see her in a lip lock with Baralai. …Well no one except for…

 

“…Someone owes me 50 Gil…” Shinra muttered. Everyone except Shinra, Baralai, and Paine groaned and dug in their pockets.

 

“They placed bets on us?!” Paine was about to go lay down some serious hurt on her so called `friends' only to be held back by Baralai.

 

“Just ignore them,” he said softly before he gently kissed her and guided her to the cabin area.

 

~THE END~

 

A/N: Thank you for reading my fic! Before I go, I need to add that I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 or any of its characters before lawyers come after me. C ya!