Thief

A/N
Suddenly got this idea that I just had to write down. There is supposed to be more chapters so if you people like this chapter, I'll write on (:
Please read and review. Enjoy.
//Smile-for-real

Chapter 1, Friendship with a thief:

Gippal´s POV:

Gippal was in a bar in Luca fiddling absent-mindedly with his drink, but his mind was entirely elsewhere. It was on Rikku. He glared viciously at his drink as he thought of the events that had led up to this point. She had done it again. He didn't know how but she had. He clenched his fist on the table. But then again she had always been a masterthief. And she had stolen from him more times than he cared to admit. He thought of the day he and Rikku had met and his expression softened. She even stole from him then.

---

6-year-old Gippal was standing on a dune of sand overlooking the newly built Home. His green, swirled eyes shone with pride.

"What do you think about it, Mon?" he asked the little machina-monkey sitting on his shoulder.

It turned its head and ´looked´ at him with its brown marble eyes.

"Cool, huh?" He sat down and crossed his legs. He ran his hand through the hot sand.

"That's gonna be our new home, you know?" he said and smiled fondly. His mind drifted off and he thought of his old home. A home among yevonites who hated him and his parents. A home where every day was a fight to survive. He shivered.

"Talking to yourself?" a cheery female voice sounded behind him. He turned around startled. Behind him stood a little girl about his age with tanned skin, long blond hair in a ponytail and green swirled eyes. They glinted with humour and mischief.

"That's weird" she continued and giggled. Gippal wrinkled his nose.

"I'm not talking to myself, I'm talking to Mon here" he said in an offended tone gesturing towards Mon.

"Aww! A machina-monkey! It's so cute!" she exclaimed and snatched Mon from his shoulder.

"Hey!" he yelled angrily.

"Get your hands off of Mon!" The girl frowned and obediently sat Mon down. It ran over to Gippal and hid behind his legs. He glared at the girl.

"Who are you?" she asked him curiously with a big smile on her face.

"Gippal" he stated. "And you are?" he asked indifferently. The girl straightened.

"I'm Rikku. Cid´s daughter" she answered proudly. Gippal gaped. Then he laughed.

"Cid´s daughter? Ah huh. Yeah, I'm sure you are" he said and rolled his eyes. She clenched her teeth.

"It's true!" she yelled shaking her fist at him.

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say" he said with a disbelieving glance at her.

"You wanna fight about it?" she asked pushing him in the chest. Gippal looked her up and down. She was short and skinny glaring at him with a furious expression on her face. The thought of a threat from her was so comical that he started laughing and bent over. He should never have done that. The next thing he knew he was laying on the sand with the girl sitting on top of him smirking triumphantly. He narrowed his eyes.

´She wanna fight, she's got a fight´ he thought and suddenly threw her of and quickly straddled her pinning her hands above her head. But she squirmed beneath him and soon they were rolling around with sand everywhere, each of them trying to gain the upper hand.

"Rikku!" a deep voice suddenly exclaimed and the two stopped their fighting. They looked up. Above them were standing none other than Cid himself. Gippal and Rikku (which apparently was her real name) jumped away from each other and got to their feet glaring at each other.

"What's going on here, kid?" Cid asked Rikku. Rikku pointed at Gippal.

"He wouldn't believe that I am your daughter" she said with wide eyes and trembling bottom lip. Cid shifted his gaze to Gippal who felt extremely uncomfortable. After a moment where no one said anything Gippal raised his gaze to meet Cid´s. Cid didn't look angry he rather looked.. expectantly at Gippal. Gippal looked at his feet.

"I'm sorry Rikku" he mumbled.

"That's okay" she said promptly her voice cheery. When he met her gaze she looked happy and mischievous again.

"We'd better get going, Rikku" Cid said and gestured towards Home. He patted Gippal on the head.

"We haven't got all day, ya know" he said before walking off.

"You're good fighter" Rikku told him and punched him playfully (and rather hard) in the shoulder. "You too" he said and smirked.

"Hope to see ya later Gippal" She waved at him and trailed after her father with the air of a reigning queen. Gippal chuckled and shook his head.

´So she really is Cid´s girl´

"We'd better be going home too" he said looking down at his feet where Mon was supposed to be. But he was gone.

"Mon?" His eyes frantically searched the sand around him. Mon was gone. He narrowed his eyes.

´Rikku´

---

Gippal chuckled at the faint memory and the people at the table closest to his stared. He faintly remembered showing up on Rikku´s doorstep demanding her to return Mon to him. But she had just looked innocently at him with those big, green eyes of hers. And he never could resist those eyes. To think that those events had led to a friendship. Gippal smiled. Tthey had even become best friends. They had been inseparable for the rest of their childhood. You never saw one of them without the other and they were the most infamous troublemakers of home. They also argued a lot. Both of them were very stubborn and strong-willed. But they were also very close because they were so alike. But everything changed when they became teenagers. Gippal sighed. He didn't feel like thinking about that now that his mood had finally improved a bit. He didn't want to think about what she had stolen this time. He drained his glass, got of his chair and threw some gil at the table. He left the bar and wandered the streets of Luca aimlessly feeling very alone. He suddenly remembered his machina-monkey.

´If only I had Mon´

He smirked.

´But then again Rikku never did return it to me´