Thanks for all the reviews from the first chapter! I'm sorry that I haven't replied to the reviews, but I've been suffering from some writer's block and I spent all my energy on this story. I hope this chapter isn't too bad.

Disclaimer: Trust me, if I owned Final Fantasy X-2, there would be so much Rikku/Gippal fluff it wouldn't be funny.

Gippal's POV

The next morning, I sat at the tree again, feeling slightly more comfortable than yesterday. I leaned over cautiously and knocked on the window.

Almost as if she had been waiting for me, Rikku immediately opened the window, grinning at me.

"I didn't know if you'd come back today," she said, moving out of the way to let me crawl in. Once I was in her room, I remembered something from the day before, after I'd left.

Flashback

Gippal walked back into his house, straight up to his room. Soon after, his mother came in after knocking softly.

"Gippal?" she asked, stepping around the clothes and spare pieces of metal on the floor. He nodded in response.

"Famm, ouin vydran yht E ryja paah ehjedat du y vunsym byndo."

"Yht...?" Gippal was confused; what did this have to do with him?

"Oui yna aqbaldat du pnehk y tyda."

"Fryd?1!" He was certain he had heard his mom wrong. A date

"Oui raynt sa. Ev oui lyhhud veht y kenm du dyga, E'mm veht uha vun oui. Ihtancdyht?"

Gippal nodded, knowing it was ridiculous to even try to argue with his mother on anything. She smiled and left the room.

"Cred," he muttered, "where am I gonna find a date?"

Flashback End

My mother's words came back to me as I followed Rikku out of her room and down the stairs, only half-listening as she hummed a made-up song.

Once we were downstairs, I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. Sure, I wanted to ask her to go as my date, but what were the odds she'd say yes?

I decided to ask her, but try a different approach with it.

"Hey, Rikku?"

She turned from her position next to the stereo, eyes set in mild curiosity.

"My mom and dad... they have this party to go to, over the weekend. And..."

I suddenly thought of something, and looked up.

"I need you to teach me how to dance."

I nearly laughed as she took on a look of mild surprise before her face broke into a grin.

"Sure," she chirped, and slid to the CD tower next to the stereo. She ran her thin fingers over every case front before selecting one. She cracked open the case and withdrew the CD. Sliding the case back into place, she pressed a button and placed the CD in.

At once, an instrumental song filled the house via the large speakers placed strategically around the room.

I mock-bowed and held out a hand.

"Care to dance?"

Rikku's POV

I giggled and took his hand.

"That would be most wonderful, kind sir," I replied in a fake accent, and I felt a little swell of pride when he laughed.

"Okay..." he said awkwardly, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Now what?"

"Place your hand around my waist," I instructed. He looked at me blankly and I took his hand, leading it to the right spot. "Now keep your other hand in mine."

I laid my hand on his shoulder, and I began to teach him the basic steps. He caught on fairly quickly, and pretty soon, we were waltzing around the room, joking around the whole time.

"You're not too bad at this," he noted as he spun me around. I giggled.

"You're pretty good yourself," I commented, slipping my hand back into his. I couldn't help but notice that his hand, warm and soft, seemed to be the perfect size for holding mine. I blushed slightly at the thought before shooing it out of my mind.

Suddenly, he dipped me down, and seemed pretty content to just... keep me suspended in midair.

The first thing I thought (and said) was, "If you drop me, E'mm gelg ouin ycc."

Pulling me up again, I was moved close to his chest, and muttered in my ear, "Is that a threat, or a promise?"

I felt myself flush and looked up at him incredulously. He took one look at my face, and I thought I saw a flicker of something go through his eye before he started cracking up. After a second, I began to laugh, too.

"You should've seen your face!" he howled in between fits of laughter.

"Well," I mock-huffed, "you were pretty convincing." Our laughter began to fade into a comfortable silence.

We began to dance again, and I asked him questions about the party he was going to. It seemed like he didn't know anything about it, other than it was formal, and he had to know how to dance.

"So," I said casually, "are you gonna need a date for this kind of thing?"

Gippal's POV

I nearly froze. How did she know?

"Yeah," I replied, continuing to dance. I could see a small amount of... apprehension in her eyes before she spoke again.

"Did you already ask someone?" she asked. She was nervous, I could tell; her teeth were beginning to sink into her lower lip. But wait, I thought, why would she be nervous? Maybe... nahh.

"No," I answered, and I could've sworn she let out a sigh of relief. But, then again, maybe I just imagined it.

A plan suddenly struck me. Maybe I could ask her in a way that wouldn't seem too obvious...

"I dunno how I'm gonna be able to dance like this with someone else," I said, and I could see that it sparked her interest.

"Well..." A faint blush had appeared on her cheeks, and I noticed that she was pretty cute when she blushed. "Maybe I could go with you—as a friend, of course, to make sure you don't fall on your face." She grinned, and so did I.

"I guess that could work," I said loftily, as if it were no big deal. However, on the inside, I was happy. Hell, I was ecstatic.

"Okay, then," she said, "it's a date."

I nodded. "I reckon I've got a hang of dancing now," I said, and she nodded.

"Yeah, you're pretty much set," she replied. She opened her mouth to say something, but she froze in a silent scream, her eyes fixed on the floor.

My eye followed hers, and I felt myself pale.

"S-spider," she managed to whisper. I nodded numbly, eye focused on the tarantula. It was the size of my fist, with eight long, hairy legs.

Okay, I admit it. I have a very crazy case of arachnophobia. So, when I saw this huge spider on the floor, all I could say was, "Oh, vilg."

Then, at once, we both grabbed each other's hand and ran. We jumped over the couch, and sat on the top of it.

Rikku's POV

I could feel myself shaking in fear. I hated how scared I was, but at the same time, I could understand it. I just hate spiders.

Gippal must've noticed how I was trembling, because he slipped a comforting arm around my shoulder, and pulled me a little closer. I sought solace in his arms (Oh, Spira, now I sound like a cheese romance novel) and buried my face in his chest, pure fear pulsing through me.

A shot ran out through the house, and I looked up to see Brother standing in the doorway, a small rifle in his hand, aimed at the spider. My eyes traveled to it, and I had to bite back a gag; the spider had a clean hole through the middle of it, and there was blood pouring from the wound.

Something hit me: I was supposed to be grounded, and here I was, quaking in Gippal's arms. This must've looked really bad to Brother.

"Is... Rao, Brother. Fryd'na oui tuehk rusa cu aynmo?" I asked nervously, moving (reluctantly, I admit) away from Gippal.

He narrowed his eyes. "Pops dumt sa du lralg ib uh oui, palyica dra bruha ech'd fungerk." Glaring at Gippal, he added, "Caasc mega E lysa zicd eh desa."

"Brother, bmayca! Ed'c hud rec vyimd! E bnusecat res E't daylr res ruf du tyhla. Ed'c so vyimd, hud rec." I pleaded with him. Beside me, Gippal was looking at me with a 'what the ramm are you doing?' look.

Brother thought it over for a few minutes before finally muttering, "Veha." Turning to Gippal, he added, "Pid ev oui rind ran eh yho fyo, E'mm syga cina oui tuh'd cinjeja du naknad ed."

He turned on his heel and left. Gippal and I looked at each other, and simultaneously started laughing hysterically.

Gippal's POV

I was so sure that Brother was going to bury me alive; I began to laugh in relief. Beside me, Rikku was also laughing.

"So..." I said, once our laughter had died down to an occasional chuckle, "now what?"

She shrugged. "How about a movie?"

I looked at her blankly. "Did you forget you're grounded?" She laughed.

"No, not at the movie theater! Right here! Pops is always buying us movies in an attempt to keep me from going out and meeting someone." Her voice was so cheerful, I had to laugh.

"Well, then. That sounds fine." I smiled. I just watched as she began to look over movies and finally selected two.

"Okay," she said, holding up the two DVDs. "Killer Chocobos or Revenge of the Chocobo?"

I laughed. "I'm surprised. Aren't girls supposed to like girly movies?"

She put her hands on her hips and mock-glared at me. "Well, then. I guess I'm no normal girl." She stood at the doorway to the kitchen, then ran and jumped over the couch, landing next to me. Grinning, she said, "How many girls do you know that can do that?"

I laughed. "Not many," I admitted truthfully.

She sat in a pensive silence for a moment before exclaiming, "Killer Chocobos it is!"

She set in the DVD and put on some popcorn. We sat there for hours, watching the movie, until we heard a car door slam outside. I immediately jumped up.

"Seems like I always end up running," I joked before taking on the stairs three at a time and waiting for Cid to get out of the car. Once I heard his voice downstairs, I launched myself out of the window and climbed down the tree. I was walking away when I caught Rikku's eye in a window. She waved.

Grinning, I waved back, and began the trek home, slightly happier.

Ahh. I think that was pretty bad. I have a question. Would anyone care to be a beta? I hate reading over my own work, and almost always miss something. So, would anyone like to volunteer? As always, please leave a review.