Disclaimer: VERBAGE. Oh. Ownership. Right. Erm, Square Enix owns FFX and all related characters.
Notes: Another FREAKISHLY LONG piece. Maybe it's a sign. :O Title is actually from bible verse. I'm not religious, but I know a good idea when I hear one. Er...Peter 4:8, "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins"
...
When she first kisses Auron he is pliant with shock, in the way that all men become pliant with a sudden, gentle touch, regardless of age, or status, or religion. And then he pushes her away with a frantic, hissing sort of groan, and she knows that she has him, or she has at least part of him.
"No," he says. "You're so young, only sixteen. Give it time, and this will fade."
But it's the whole that she wants. And a woman, regardless of age, always knows what she wants.
Recruiting Tidus is a stroke of luck not easily repeated, so she doesn't question it. All she knows, all she needs to know, is that Tidus is young and cute (in a bewildered, athletic sort of way), someone she wouldn't terribly mind being in a relationship with, but even better is that he looks at Auron in a way that is familiar to her, with warmth and devotion and yes, a healthy, teenage-y amount of lust.
She, of course, sees that look whenever she passes a mirror.
Tidus is unsurprisingly startled and intimidated by her approach, even though she can tell right away that his body wouldn't mind. "The three of us," he says, more than once, as if the very idea is something holy, something worth savoring. "Together. Together? And…we'd always be there for him. Always."
"Yes," she whispers, against his hand, against his mouth. "Together. Just us three, forever and always."
And so Tidus agrees, and he helps, in his own way. It's a different way than hers, less direct, but no less effective. She continues her loud, exuberant, painfully obvious pursuit, with sneaky kisses and dexterous groping when she can pull them off, and seething-with-want stares when she can't.
But Tidus burns quieter. If she is a blazing campfire, than Tidus is a bed of coals, smoldering, flaring up only if you nudge them
And Rikku, of course, has picked up the metaphorical poker.
She finally notices, about a week after their agreement, what Tidus is doing.
Whenever Auron is hurt in battle, before Yuna can even fire off a Cure there is Tidus with a potion and a soft smile. When Auron makes a noise of appreciation over some new sword model at the Travel Agency, it is Tidus who steps out at night, exchanging sleep for bloodshed, so that he can afford to leave a shiny new blade at the foot of Auron's bed come morning.
It's Tidus who tells her about life, his and theirs, before Spira, before guardians and summoners and Sin. So when she first (finally) manages to get Auron to laugh, it is Tidus' laugh, too, vicariously. By now she knows very well that, no matter how stubborn and strong-willed she might be, without Tidus she would get nowhere.
Then comes the night when Auron beckons them, the both of them, away from the campfire and into the shadows of the Macalanian trees.
Rikku takes Tidus' (slightly) trembling hand in hers and follows, into the forest, into the deep dark woods. She feels a frisson of hot excitement course down her spine and thinks that sixteen is a ridiculous thing to be.
Even so, her breath catches when she sees him. It's hot out, not hot like desert-home-hot, but humid, and even Auron seems to be affected, because he's taken off his red coat and set it aside somewhere. He stands just to the left of a shaft of moonlight, an arc, a fountain of pearl and wonder that puddles at his feet like an offering to a god. The sight leaves both her and Tidus breathless, she knows because she can hear him gasp, so quietly, in her ear, "Oh, beautiful," and she has to agree.
She is expected to represent their case. Chatterbox, loudmouth, of course she is, she came up with this idea, so she lets go of Tidus and clears her throat, stepping forward a bit.
"Many," Auron rumbles, "would call this harassment."
Rikku blinks and thinks hard about innocent things. Puppies, kittens. Piles of gil that are actually hers to begin with.
"In fact," he continues. "I'm fairly certain that it can also be considered corruption of a minor. Minors."
Rikku opens her mouth and, like almost always, words fly out without actually having passed through her brain yet. "But you haven't done anything! That's the whole point!"
Tidus, at some point, has vanished from her side. She can still see him out of the corner of her eye, but he doesn't look terribly upset.
"This isn't about what I have or have not done." Auron somehow manages to look both smug and unamused. She wants to learn that trick. "This is about you, and Tidus, and your infantile delusions of love."
She is about to become angry, about to become righteously indignant, when something clicks.
"Have or have not done? Which implies that you have done something! In which case that means that you do feel something, you're more than just annoyed, and you just admitted to it." Rikku crosses her arms over her breasts (whenever she does this around Tidus he always swallows and has to look elsewhere) and grins triumphantly. Auron looks at her. His sunglasses have slid down his nose a ways, allowing her to see the one good, lovely dark brown eye, the length of that nasty (she wants to lick it) scar. His mouth opens, then closes. It almost seems like he's in shock.
"You," he mutters. "You…idiot, little…" Rikku does not lose her 'aha-a-winner-is-me' grin, and stealthily, so much so that she almost didn't notice it, Tidus sidles close enough to wrap his arms around Auron from behind. His hands clasp just over the older man's stomach and Auron stiffens dramatically. Rikku takes the opportunity to dart in, to add her own hands to this living knot, this want, this love. She has to lean up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against the strong, stubble-heavy chin, and behind she can see Tidus burying his nose in dark and grey-streaked hair, nudging the hollow behind one ear with a mouth she knows is soft as any down-stuffed pillow. Auron remains rigid as a board, so Rikku plucks his glasses away, neatly folds and pockets them, and receives a huff in return.
"This will end poorly," he murmurs. "You…the both of you. I'm almost twice your age. I am…was…his guardian. And there are things you don't know." He sighs, and both Rikku and Tidus feel it when his muscles spasm a bit, and then relax. "So many things."
Strong, scarred arms come up. One curves around her waist, chaste just above her hip, and the other reaches up to card gloved fingers through Tidus' shaggy sun-blonde hair.
"We know all that," the girl says.
"And we know what we want." The boy's voice is achingly desperate.
The man groans and is pliant between them.
...
A/N: This isn't a part of the little "Bells" thing that I've been writing. I just felt the overwhelming urge to see Auron give in. :D Also, I think I might be addicted to italics.
Oh, yeah, btw. This is probably going to be the last update for a little while, as the day after tomorrow I pack up all my junk and leave Casa de Moorish for the greener pastures of college.