This story has been lurking in the back of my skull for several days. Eee… This is
not intended to be a romance, so don't worry. Yuna's pov.


A Sense of Calm

That first impression you have of awakening, that one thought that emerges from
all the others, I felt that now. My heavy eyelids took in the small Machina clock
upon a wooden stool beside my bed… four am. What? I did not remember even
/going/ to bed, let alone stopping at an inn.

Cold air nipped at my uncovered skin and I hugged the soft comforter to my chin.
My body warmth had seeped into the bed; I had been here some time.
Awareness had yet to bless me with its presence, and I fumbled in the darkness
of my mind to come to some understanding of how I got here. My mind was not
working right; my thoughts were jumbled and unsteady.

I was vaguely aware of the creaking of a door, someone was entering my room. I
remember a time when I would be curled up in bed, awake and sniffling, when
my father would open my door, a small beam of light from the hallway entering
my dark room. In my own dull state of mine, that blessed word mumbled its way
past my lips…

"Daddy?"

The presence halted and stiffened. He did not move for some time, and as my
eyes grew aware of the darkness in contrast to the light, my lids fell closed before
I could make out my late night visitor. Daddy… I felt an unbidden tear track
across my face, mingling with the hair that rested upon my cheek. Where are you
daddy?

I was almost unaware as the being crossed the carpeted floor of the room
silently, making haste to the bedside. I was sniffling into the pillow when the
depression in the mattress pulled my curled form into the stranger. In a false
hope, my sleep-induced mind reached out for that figure. My hand wrapped itself
around an arm, the smooth skin of the limb tensing as I touched it. No… not my
father. My father was never reserved around me.

In desperation, I muffled my cry into the pillow. Not my father. My father was
gone, and I was so very alone without him. I felt my haggard breaths come faster
as I cried, my mind in a state of fog and exhaustion. Please… I felt a child-like
aspect of my being come to surface, reducing me to nothing more than a five-
year old. Please daddy, come back. I want to see you again…

A large and heavy hand was placed upon my cheek, a rough and callused thumb
making a futile attempt to wipe away my tears. Not my father. My father's nimble
hands were like a whisper, I remember them as smooth and steady against me
as he held me. But this hand was large and warm, and as it slid to my shoulder,
another joined it beneath my back as the stranger lifted me to a kind of sitting
position, my frame leading into his torso and lap.

The scent of the stranger was dark and mysterious, like the afternoon breeze in
autumn. Not my father. My father smelled of a cool summer morning, his smile
infectious in the dawn. This man was not who I wanted him to be, and yet his
touch was welcomed by my befuddled mind. Who are you then, if you care so
much and are not the one I lost so long ago?

I raised my cheek against the figure's taught chest, tears tracking across his
shirt. My misted eyes found two pieces of glass reflecting the hallway's faint light.
I reached a trembling hand to those glasses, my muddy thoughts preventing me
from realizing the audacity of my actions. I removed the darkened lenses and
then I realized-

Not my father, but his most trusted guardian.

A small gasp escaped my lips. The realization of my actions dawned upon me in
slow motion. My tearing eyes fell downwards out of respect, and I attempted to
stifle my tedious crying. I realized this had happened before, once, when I was
younger. My father had left me in the care of this man as he had journeyed to the
temple in Bevelle for a meeting of great importance. I awoke that night in tears, a
horrible nightmare clinging to my mind. Auron had entered the room in a panic,
his eyes blinking rapidly to clear the fog from his just-awakened mind. He knelt
by my bed and stayed with me until the nightmares fell away. I had awoken to the
smiling face of my father looking down at me from behind Auron's slumped and
sleeping form.

Now, I felt that same hand gently holding my damp face to his chest. After a time,
I felt the tears dry and my eyelids droop. I felt the guardian lay my head back to
the pillow with the utmost of care, and pry the glasses from my fingers. He turned
to leave when my hand shot out from the covers, gripping his scarlet robe with
more strength than I knew I had. Please… don't leave me…

After a few minutes of silence, a deep sigh of resignation came from the
swordsman. He sat again, his back to me as he fiddled with something by his
face. I heard the gentle plop of his gray collar hitting the carpeted floor and the
click of his glasses being folded as he set them next to the clock. He sighed
softly again, lifting a leg to be crossed as he removed his heavy boots. More
movement that I could not see; the muffled sound of things being set upon the
ground.

I was afraid he was going to leave me when he stood, and I felt these strange
child-like fears of loneliness and abandonment. His tall frame went to the opened
door and shut the light away, leaving the room in darkness. There was a rusting
of cloth as he removed the well-worn scarlet cloak and he set it upon the bedpost
by my feet.

I really didn't feel like a summoner anymore, I just felt like a lost and abandoned
child. I felt like the only thing I ever loved in my youth was taken from me, and yet
there was this one thing that remained that I had not known in so long. A lost
guardian, a man I had not known in ten years. Regardless of his feelings for me
now, I knew that I would always cherish him from the days of my youth, the
young energetic man whom had stood by my father, always.

I felt the rush of chilled air as he lifted the comforter from the bed sheets. His
thick body was heavy and sank into the mattress as he slid next to me, making
sure to leave a foot wide gap between us. His fine hair, still held by the green tie,
fell to his shoulder, and I watched in reverence as he closed his eye. Even
through the space between us, I could feel the warm emanating from his body.

I don't know why I said it, I guess the boundaries between thoughts and words
were thin in my exhaustion, but I said it nonetheless.

"I miss him."

My words were soft and almost choked, and I turned away from him, my shoulder
hitting cold and unused sheet as I turned to my side. At first, I thought that he had
already gone to sleep, and had not heard my confession.

I felt the indentation of the mattress before I felt his hand touch my side. I was
somewhat surprised to feel it trembling against my arm. He shifted his position,
the mysterious man whom I had not known in ten years gently whispering into my
ear.

"I… I know."

I could not know what had happened to bring such emotion to his raspy voice,
but I know he felt the same way about my father. I turned back, colliding with his
thick body. He was taken aback as I clutched his shirt, tears sprouting anew from
my eyes. I could feel him tense under the leather of his shirt, but he said nothing.
After a few moments of getting used to my frame crushing into his, he relaxed
and gently murmured reassuring words of comfort and peace, as he had done in
my youth. His chin rested upon my head as I felt myself succumb to exhaustion.
Auron was not my father… but he was someone that could sooth away the tears
and pain. For that I was ever grateful.

***************************
The morning came all to soon. I was in far better control of myself when I awoke;
a good night's rest is wondrous for one's mind. Auron was gone from my side, as
could be expected of the reserved guardian. I heard his deep voice else ware,
outside of my room. I heard footsteps pause outside.

"And how is she?" I heard Lulu inquire as she and Auron stood outside my door,
apparently unaware that I was awake.

"Better than last night. We should be more careful of her physical health. It does
not do her well to pass out during a meal," Auron rumbled, unconsciously
explaining what happened to me yesterday. "She was exhausted," He sighed.
"However much of a setback, I must insist we wait until she is rested. It will do
her no good if she attempts to continue on in this condition."

I heard Lulu's grunt of agreement, and the two walked away. I closed my eyes
again, thankful for the few precious moments of peace. My father would have
been proud of Auron, the man who gave everything for his summoner. My father
had been a lucky man to have such a wonderful guardian. And then I realized, I
was ever so lucky to have him as well.


*** Awwww. Cutecutecute! :D I dunno, I really like the way I did this. Hope you
did to. Eeee.

-Spazkit