Chapter 2

"Of all people in the field, of all people, they pick him! Him!" she exclaims for the fifth time, throwing her arms in the air. A pigeon that was poking around for crumbs next to her flies off in alarm, and she jumps back a bit to avoid its flapping wings.

Joren looks at her with amusement in his eyes. The same amusement that filled Gippal's in class that morning before he made the comment which made her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. So she pushes his arm and groans again. The fountain's splashing and the sounds of laughing students fill her silence, and Joren just keeps looking at her with that stupid grin. She turns away from him, sticking her bare feet into the fountain pool. She wasn't expecting to like the deep brown and clay colored sandstone brick buildings. The same sandstone that the fountain is made from, which is warm to the touch and feels like the rest of Home.

"Look on the bright side... you already know everything, so you can skip class. Then you don't have to deal with him." He shrugs and takes a bite from his sandwich, tossing a piece of crust on the ground for the pigeons.

"You know what really makes me mad? I'm paying him. Like... my money, his pocket. So no, genius, I can't skip class because then I'll be paying him for nothing." She shakes her head and shoves her hand into the pockets of her newly purchased school logo shorts, lying back on the wall of the fountain. Basking in the warmth of the sandstone like the little lizards she's seen all over campus all day.

He nudges her with his foot before kicking off his sandals and sticking his legs in the water. "Okay, you have a point. But it's just for a semester, right? You won't have to deal with the embarrassment forever. Besides... maybe you'll get the chance to correct him on something in class one day. Wouldn't that make your day?"

"Yeah," she says, pouting a bit. "Yeah, that would make this a bit more bearable."

Joren flicks some water at her. "So Gippal's teaching your intro class. At least you can take comfort that he's teaching a low level course. You're taking advanced courses that half of your classmates won't be able to comprehend for three more years. So don't be all down on yourself. You'd have been suffering through the class because it's at 9 in the damn morning anyway. Now there's just a little added suffering. It's not the end of the world, right?"

She thinks his encouragement is comparable to the thick underlines under the first bullet point in her notebook. With a sigh, she flicks water back at him before hopping off the fountain wall and stretching her arms over her head. She watches as a group of children run by, laughing as they scatter groups of hungry pigeons. Her pocket buzzes, and she distractedly reaches down and pulls out her minicomm, hoping that Yuna has decided to answer her earlier plea for girly support.

And there is a message from Yuna, but there's another one, too. With Gippal's code on it. She sighs heavily, biting her lip as she opens it up.

come by tonight to pick up your stuff. and maybe return your professor's pants.

He feels like whistling while he waits for the coffee machine to finish filling up his cup. The staff lounge was empty and it wasn't like anyone was going to hear him happily express his good mood. It was an exceptional morning today, and he couldn't deny that seeing Rikku twice before noon contributed to that. He was going to have so much fun teasing her this semester.

He makes his way over to a leather sofa by the window, planting his briefcase on the ground beside him as he sorts through his lecture notes. He kind of haphazardly threw them altogether at the end of class as the students surrounded him with either questions or introductions. He wasn't an idiot; he knew many of them were practically trying to have an on-the-spot interview with him for a job at the Faction. Some of them sounded promising, but it was much too early to tell.

He barely gets to flip through the first few pages when his thoughts are interrupted by a pair of staff members entering the room. An older gentleman and sharply dressed woman walk in, their initial hallway chatter slowly reduced to silence as they take note of his presence. He hasn't seen them around the university before, but then again, he was new and it's a large campus after all. There hadn't been any formal introduction or welcoming ceremony for him; he never expected nor wanted one necessarily. But it did make it harder to meet new people.

He makes a motion to stand, but pauses when he notices the frown on the woman's face. She crosses her arms in front of her chest, raising her eyebrow at him. "Students aren't allowed in here," she says.

Gippal pauses for a moment before the words sink in. "Oh... no, I'm not a-"

"You're a little overdressed for the first day, aren't you son?" the man chuckles, pointing out his tie. "Well, I like when kids try to show a little bit more respect in the university." He elbows the woman in laughter but she doesn't return the smile.

Gippal sighs in amusement, placing his mug on the table before standing. He holds out his hand. "I'm actually teaching a course here. My name is Gippal, leader of the Machine Faction. Nice to meet you."

They exchange glances before taking his hand. "Oh, well, in that case, nice to meet you too, Gippal. Welcome to the university. I'm Niran," the old man says.

"Professor Welkar," the woman says next. She shakes his hand only lightly as her gaze falls over him. Her voice is monotonous and stiff. "How long are you here for... Kid?"

Gippal forces out a grin, straightening his back. "Just this semester for now. Hopefully longer, but we'll see."

Niran slowly nods at his statement, as if in deep contemplation. "Well son, I wish you good luck. I think you'll bring a unique... hands-on approach to our school... with all your..." He pauses to wave his finger in the air as if drawing out shapes in the space between them. "All your machines... and Faction work… practical stuff... all that..." He clears his throat as he turns over to Welkar, but she's already left their conversation to make herself a cup of tea. He glances back at Gippal, seemingly restless and uncomfortable confronting the young man alone. Finally, he points at his ear. "But son, lose the earring and tighten your tie. You need to show a little bit more respect in the university."

Rikku looks down at the bag in her lap, in which Gippal's pants and shirt are carefully folded... sitting alongside a guide to aerodynamic design and the rather expensive course reader that Gippal just had to assign. She looked through it earlier, and she hates to admit it but... it's well constructed.

She went home for a little while after class, and she looks nice. Not quite professional, but definitely not how she looked last night. A little bit more reserved because she's not sure how to deal with his teasing after this morning.

She already has homework, and she's already had a phone call from the representative at Airwaves to inquire about her first day. She feels a bit gratified that they even bothered to call, because it means that she's pretty much got the job. But she also feels a bit sad that Gippal is already teaching and she's still working on the beginnings of a professional career.

As the trolley stops and she steps out on the sandstone sidewalk in front of Gippal's place, she's not quite sure how she feels, other than awkward. And she hopes he'll make it easier on her than she thinks he will.

Tearing his eyes away from the pot on the stove, he trudges over to the couch and collapses with an inpatient groan. He glances up at the wall with a sigh. It's nearly eight and she still hasn't arrived. And he's getting hungry. Like, crazy hungry. Like he can eat his arm off hungry. Or rather, hungry enough to ponder the idea.

He suddenly jolts up and jogs over to the balcony door, the rush of blood to his head not nearly as exciting as hearing a knock on his door right about now. He tugs at his shirt lazily as he stares outside at the dark sky. The bright city lights sometimes makes it hard to tell whether it was time to sleep or time to party. It's not what he expected when he was offered this job, that's for sure. It'd been awhile since he visited Home, and without the billowing smoke stacks and constant clang of metal and machine, he still feels as if he's not quite at home yet. If anything, Djose feels more like home than Home itself.

A heavy breath escapes his lips as he leans his head forward on the glass window, feeling hungrier than ever. He almost thinks this is how the authorities will find him dead... when suddenly, a recent memory comes back to mind. Particularly this morning. And yesterday night. And the amusing thought is enough to make him wait just a little bit longer.

Unfortunately, his stomach doesn't agree, and he can hear it growling like a menacing fiend, forcing him to bend slightly at the waist. He pulls himself away from the windowsill, ready to eat up his portion of dinner and hers and tell her to order herself pizza instead, when there's a familiar knock at the door. With a wide grin, he quickly walks over, his socks like skates as he slides to a halt by the door knob.

He pulls it open, and leans his foot against the edge. His arms crossed over his chest as he gives her the easiest, biggest smirk in all of Spira.

"Sorry, office hours are over."

And suddenly it's not as bad as she thought it was this morning. But she thinks that might be because she's back in these semi-familiar surroundings and he's wearing that very familiar smirk.

"Well, it's a good thing friends don't have to wait for office hours, huh?" she states with a small smile. She shoves him lightly, trying to be playful but not quite getting there. "You could have said something, you know!"

And she glances down at the bag in her hands, her cheeks turning as pink as they were all through class as she points at it and meets his gaze. Clears her throat. "I uh... I have your clothes." Her face falls a little bit because he's still smirking at her.

He grins. "Well, you can keep them if you want." He gives the door a hard kick wide open before gesturing for her to come inside. "I just need you to pick up your stuff, really, 'cause I'm not coming to class in lady-luck, even if its exam day."

She snorts a bit as she imagines that picture, stepping through the door uncertainly. "Everyone would love it, though." She doesn't broach the subject of keeping his clothes, because she sort of liked his pants but she's certain it's inappropriate to keep a pair of your professor's pants. Even if that professor happens to be someone you've had the occasional romantic sojourn with over the last five years.

She stands next to the table, setting the bag down near his briefcase by the door. "So why didn't you tell me you were teaching now?"

He motions behind her to shut the door before disappearing into the kitchen. "I dunno, you never asked. And I only ran into you again yesterday, Kid." He turns on the light above the sink, poking at the cooled spicy noodles in the pan with an inward groan and growl. Slightly annoyed most of his machines get overheated faster than his food, he leans over to turn on the stove again. "Why didn't you tell me you were going back to school?" He makes his way back to the sink to wash his hands, his voice teasing. "It could've made last night way more interesting."

"Last night was interesting enough. And I'm not playing schoolgirl with you. Never." Because she knows that's what he's thinking. She closes the door and flips the lock, kicking her shoes off. "And I didn't tell you because I knew you'd just make fun of me. And I wasn't in the mood to get made fun of. And... you didn't ask either." She follows him into the little kitchen, grinning as he stands by the stove. "You made dinner?"

"Yeah. For myself." He pauses with a grin. "But I guess you can stay and have some, if you really want." He nods toward the table, cleared of his usual paperwork. "Take a seat."

He swings open the fridge, swooping down to stare at his collection of bottled beverages. "Can I get you something to drink? Chocolate milk, apple juice, orange juice... Or maybe we should save that for recess?" He chuckles loudly as he catches her glare. "I'm kidding..." he adds in a lower, calmer voice. He rummages through the shelves, decidedly getting her a bottle of sweetened tea instead. "So, why are you back in school anyway?"

She accepts the tea from him with a nod of thanks, walking out of the kitchen and over to the couch as she considers how to answer him. Truth? Lies glorifying her standpoint on the necessity of an education? She leans back on the couch and tucks her legs underneath her, taking a look around. She didn't get the chance to look at it too closely the previous evening... she thinks the balcony is what really could have made last night more interesting.

She finally looks back in his direction and takes a small swig of her tea. "Because Airwaves Aerospace has accepted my application to become one of their airship designers and engineers, specializing in development of power cells. But they require all employees to have university certification, so if I want the dream job, I have to hit the books first." She takes another sip from the bottle. "This is good tea."

"Huh." The word comes out more so to fill in the silence than anything else, because he's not quite sure yet how he feels about the idea. The fact that he's pretty sure an application from Cid's girl to the Faction wouldn't have left his eyes. That he's pretty sure she knows as well as him that he would've given her practically any job she wanted - no credentials necessary - provided there was room on the payroll. And yet she's going through all this trouble for the same type of work elsewhere.

He gives the noodles a quick stir before taking out some plates from the cupboard. "So... What other courses are you taking?"

She continues to look around at the place from her seat on the couch, sipping at her tea. "Advanced architecture, advanced sculpture, and traditional Al Bhed literature. And I'm trying to pick up an advanced aerodynamic design course, but they're giving me issues because even though I already know all of the stuff you'll be teaching" - she pauses with a teasing grin - "your class is a prerequisite for other mechanical courses."

She shakes her head and stands up. "What about you, are you teaching anything else? And do you need help decorating, because your walls are very bare." She leans against the counter, watching as he serves some very good smelling noodles.

He leans back a little as the steam rises into his eye, and the noodles end up a little lopsided on the plate. He pushes it aside, filling the next one much neater, much more carefully, before sliding it towards her. "Nope, just the intro course." He glances up at her with a half smile as he turns around to toss the hot pan into the sink. "In case you've forgotten, I still have a Faction to run."

He grabs a few utensils out of the drawer and motions for her to go sit at the table. It's only when he's seated down and the messily placed plate of food stares back at him does he suddenly remember how hungry he was just a few minutes earlier. "But don't worry, my class is easy stuff. You don't even have to come to class," he says, stabbing a fork into a piece of chicken.

She grins across the table at him, shaking her head a bit. "That's what my friend Joren said to me this morning. But like I told him... I'm paying you. So I'm coming to class. You'd better teach me something I don't already know." She takes a bite of the noodles and is pleasantly surprised. "So how are you running the Faction, then? Commuting, or..."

He shrugs, scratching the side of his face absently as his gaze drifts back to the scene outside. "Haven't decided yet. I'm gonna see how this week goes. I'll probably fly back every weekend and have stuff shipped over to me."

He turns his gaze back to her, glad she seems to be enjoying the meal. "Or maybe I'll just pack up and leave right now and you can take over the class for me."

She laughs a bit bitterly. "But then I'd never graduate, y'know. So it looks like you've gotta stay." She gives him a small smile before taking another bite of her food.

"So when did you learn to cook, hm? Last time you made me dinner you burnt spaghetti!" She glances to the side and notices one of the cards from last night still on the ground. Smirks a little bit. "And you didn't answer me about decorating."

"Last time-" he starts, taking a pause to swallow. He holds up his fork to point at her accusingly. "-you walked out of the bathroom half naked, and I had the burner on high." He sighs a little in amusement as her eyes glance away guiltily. Taking a large mouthful of peppers and chicken, he gets up to grab himself a beer from the fridge. "And anyway, my living room is fine." He hesitates momentarily as he pulls the lid off the can, smirking at her. "But my office could use some work, if you want extra credit..."

She hesitates a bit as she remembers exactly how he'd looked at her as he burnt that spaghetti. The same look he gave her last night as they collapsed on his bed... and she thinks it's really mean of him to bring the whole school thing into it.

"I already told you, I'm not going to play schoolgirl. Especially not in your office! And any extra credit I get, I'll earn it with my brain, not my body!" She wishes she didn't sound so frustrated, because that's just something else he can make fun of.

He pulls the can down from his mouth slowly, as if her bitterness somehow found its way into his drink and burned his tongue without warning. The sudden, awkward silence makes him sigh with a weak smile, and he drags himself back to the table, where he sets his can. He reaches out to press his hand against her shoulder softly, as if rubbing it long enough will dissolve his words. Maybe he's pushed it too far this time.

"I get it, I get it," he says, leaning his chin down on top of her head. "But does that mean we're done?" He leans to the side, his mouth next to her ear. "No rides 'to the ocean and back'?"

His mouth so close to her ear makes her shiver, and his words make her wonder absently when they started, but she doesn't think about that for long. Because she hadn't really thought about the situation beyond its embarrassment factor. And she knows she doesn't want to give it up, not when the prospect of seeing him more often was just starting to settle in her mind. Not when they already have plans for Friday night.

"...not in your office at the university, at least."

His mouth curves up into a smirk. "Well, good thing we're not at the university then."

She shoves him lightly, pulling her head back and looking up at him. "Be serious for a minute, all right? We should figure this out. Because I'm sure if you were to get caught with one of your students they'd fire you on the spot. And I'm sure if Airwaves caught me with one of my professors my job offer would be rescinded. And I'm sure they wouldn't care that we've been like this for a long time. So we should figure it out."

He furrows his eyebrows with a pout. "Fine." He straightens his back as he crosses his arms over his chest, pondering out loud as he tries to recall the encyclopedia-like instructor manual the university had sent him. "Yeah, they'd fire me for sure. And besides," He leans down slightly to poke her cheek with a chuckle. "Any recommendation letter I write for you will be completely negated if someone from Airwaves finds out you've been 'decorating' my office." He gives a firm nod as he settles into his chair. "So, yeah. Nothing on campus, then."

She pulls her feet up onto the chair, leaning forward onto her knees as she thinks. "And we can't really do anything in the city, either. Because people know who we are, obviously, and people from the university live here. So no... 'dates'... in Home."

"That's fine," he says, taking another sip from his beer. And really, he is fine about it, because as much as it may mortify her to have everyone find out she's sleeping with her professor, he thinks he has more at stake if all his friends and coworkers find out he's hooking up with one of his students. He'd never be able to erase such an incident from his record.

His lips squeeze into a thin line as he stares at his unfinished plate. "Guess this Friday's off then?"

She didn't really think he was actually planning on going anywhere other than his or her bedroom. "I guess. Unless we actually go to the ocean. But... yeah, I guess it's off." There's some regret in her voice, because she was looking forward to it.

He sighs in amusement as he leans into his palm, his elbow on the table. "Of course we were actually going to go." He points behind him at the kitchen with his thumb. "I was gonna make us a picnic dinner and everything." He shakes his head with long sigh as he gets up from his seat. He ruffles her hair roughly. "But you had to go and get an education. Bah."

"I know, I ruin everything," she says, standing up too as she fixes her hair. "We... well, we could still go. We just don't have to - well, y'know. I mean... it's a rare day when you want to make a picnic. We shouldn't waste that." She hates that she's being so indecisive. Sending mixed signals and all of that. "We just need to be careful. This thing we do and the whole job thing..." She holds out her hands, trying to put into motion what she's thinking. Make it clear and defined. It doesn't really work, so she just sort of clasps her hands together and bites her lip. "Well, it just shouldn't mix, is what I'm trying to say. We just have to be careful." She shrugs again, pulling a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. "I don't want to say that we just can't be seen in public, because that sounds sneaky, but that's what I sort of mean. But it won't be too hard, right? I mean, we never really broadcasted the fact that we were sleeping together, so it's not like it'll be any different than normal."

He falls back on the couch, perhaps a bit dramatically, as if she'd just taken out an arrow and shot him in the chest. He stares up at the blank ceiling, absently thinking she may be right about the wallpaper...

He lifts his head off the cushion slightly, propping himself up with his elbows as he motions for her to come over. "So tell me what's your idea of careful," he says, patting the soft cushion. "How do you want this to work out?"

She flops down next to him, leaning her head back against the back of the couch. "Discretely. I don't know if I think sleeping together is the best idea right now. But I'm not going to lie and say I don't enjoy it. And I know you do. So as long as we're discrete, and we try to keep work and school out of it, it's fine." She laughs a little, because she knows he won't be able to resist teasing her, even if she ordered him not to.

"So," he starts, knocking his forehead gently against hers. He smiles against her lips. "How discreet is my apartment?"

She rolls her eyes, but she relaxes against his touch as he starts to rub her arm and settles his hand on her waist. "I think it'll do," she whispers, her lips brushing his, smiling because she just can't stay away.

He rolls her backward slightly, so his body hovers over hers. His fingers inching lower below her waist as he presses a kiss against the base of her neck. "And how discreet is my bedroom?"

She grins and moves her head to the side to give him more room, allowing her hands to settle on his shoulders. "I'd say it's alright, too."

"I meant... in Djose." He pulls away from her briefly to meet her eyes. Smirks because they're half-closed and he likes watching her eyelashes flutter like her breathing. "What do you say? Wanna go on a field trip one of these weekends?"

"Field trip..." she mumbles, grinning as she shakes her head a bit. "Yeah... yeah, okay. Djose. Sounds... educational." And she hopes he'll laugh because she played along.

He grins against her skin before leaning up to capture her bottom lip gently between his teeth. His fingers have left her shorts in favor of her shirt instead, skimming her abdomen as he slowly pushes the fabric out of the way. At the back of his mind there's something about strict university policies... and Waving-Air or Aerodomes or something of the sort, that have no bearing on the present moment.

He settles his legs on either side of her, sliding his hand behind her back to press against the base of her spine. He chuckles into her ear. "And you'll be under complete supervision the whole time."

"I'm sure I will," she giggles, sliding her hands around his back as she arches against him and catches his earlobe between her lips, their unfinished dinner forgotten on the table and her dress still scattered on the hall floor from the previous evening.

She feels a buzzing from her pocket and thinks about ignoring it since she's not expecting an important call. But she pushes her hand to his chest anyway, pulling the minicomm up to her ear with an impatient sigh. "Hello?" she says, her tone a bit annoyed.

"I'm going to the diner off of Block 3 with some friends. Wanna join?" Joren's happy-go-lucky voice isn't exactly what she wants to hear right now, not when she's still got Gippal's breath in her other ear and his lips against her neck.

"I... I think I'm going to stay in tonight, actually. Long day, you know..." she replies, her voice a bit breathy.

"...o-kay. You sound key'd up. Anyone there that I should know about?" He's teasing her, but he's right on the money. She grimaces as she glances over at Gippal.

"N-nope! Just me and the books, you know. Gotta start off on the right side of the bed, or however it goes..." She bites her lip again to keep Gippal from nipping at it while she's talking.

"I don't believe you. But okay... if you change your mind, you know where we'll be. Bye now!"

The minicomm disconnects and she looks at it for a moment setting it on the arm of the couch and meeting Gippal's gaze distractedly. "So where were we?"

He grins against her skin as he feels her body sink against his. As his lips skim over the red mark at the base of her neck. "I'd say... about two minutes away from the ocean."

A/N: Thanks for the warm reviews and love everyone! We hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to your comments! Have a great weekend! -Jezzi and BEM