A/N: This one-shot was for a challenge hosted over at the Aurikku Facebook Page (link in profile, go join!), though I have to say I got a bit behind on finishing it...close to a year's worth of behind (don't laugh!). But finally, it is done! lol Hope you enjoy! :D

- - - Sunshine - - -

"Burning the midnight oil, Auron?"

I looked up from my desk, eyes blurry and neck stiff, to see Walt standing there in his janitor's uniform, a smile on his face.

"Seems that way."

"Well, don't work too hard, man. It's a Friday night. You should get outta here."

I gave him a small smile and nodded, not really planning on doing such a thing. I had files to go through and documents that needed signing before the following work week. Walt could only smirk and shake his head as he walked off, knowing me as he did. He'd worked for me the past six years at the construction office. He knew just as well as I did that I wouldn't head home until it was at least nine or ten o'clock.

I stretched my back and rotated my neck to try and relieve some of the stiffness. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I noticed that it had just gone 7:30. The windows of my office showed the pitch black of night, illuminated only by a streetlight here and there. Just wasn't enough daylight this time of year. As I stared out the glass, I saw small white flakes flutter down and across my vision. I contemplated heading home now, lest I get caught in some sort of blizzard. The streets of Bevelle were kept clear of snow to the best of the city's abilities, but living on the outskirts of town as I did, I knew I'd be in for a long, hard walk if I stayed too terribly late. But then again, it may not get bad at all, and I still had some things I needed to finish up at the office.

Walt decided for me, as his head popped 'round the corner of the door into my office. "She's back."

I stilled. "Outside?"

"Yep. Told her to come into the lobby, get warm, but she refused. Said she was warm enough. Ha!" Walt sighed, a sad look on his face. "The girl looks like she hasn't eaten in a few days. Should I get her something out of the kitchenette?"

I stood, shuffling papers and folders into a neat stack on my desk. "No, no Walt, I'll handle it. I need to leave now anyway, before the storm gets bad."

"Yes sir, I'm off as well. See you Monday!"

I mumbled a response in his direction, preoccupied by the girl outside and finding my coat and other belongings.

Switching off the light, I locked my door behind me and made my way to the lobby, my steps getting more and more hurried. When I reached the front door of the building, I could see her through the glass, her small figure sitting on the stone steps outside. She was wrapped in a small blanket, but she was not as warm as she'd told Walt. I could discern her shivers even through the frosty glass. Stubborn girl.

The door opened noiselessly, and I stepped out into the cold air, making sure that everything was locked tight behind me before I turned my attention to the girl. She was blonde and very pretty, even if she was extremely too thin for her height. She couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty, though living on the streets had made her look just a bit older. I asked her age once, but she only ever shook her head and looked away when I would probe her with personal questions. I sighed and sat down beside her, my long coat keeping the snow on the steps from soaking into my clothes.

"Hi." She said, her teeth only chattering minutely.

I nodded at her, my usual response.

"Been awhile, hasn't it?"

I nodded again. "About two months, I believe."

Silence. She was staring off into space, a calm look about her, despite looking cold and hungry.

"Have you eaten today?"

"Yes, Auron, I have."

I wondered how much she'd eaten, if anything. The last time I saw her she was thin, but now…This was the worst she'd ever looked. Her skin was beyond pale and there were dark circles under her eyes, though she didn't look all that tired, I decided.

She glanced at me and saw my disapproving look. "I promise you, I ate today." She turned away in a huff.

"You just look thinner than you usually do. My apologies. Have you been going to the shelter?"

"Yes. Though not as often as you'd probably like. They look at me there. Because of what I am."

'What' she was, was Al Bhed. As much as I would have liked to give her chapter and verse about staying there more often, I couldn't blame her. This was Bevelle, after all. Several times I had offered to pay airship fare for her to find any family or friends she could stay with. She declined every time and said she didn't have anyone.

I wondered for the hundredth time what had caused her to live a life on the streets. She seemed very smart, so I don't think it was a problem with finding jobs. Maybe it was her heritage that hindered her, and no one would hire her. No, that couldn't be it. I knew plenty of Al Bhed sympathizers in the city; I'd given her a list of their names once in the hopes that she'd go and see them about a job. She never did.

Looking at her, I decided it wasn't any of that. She was always so forlorn and sad, but not about her homeless status. Something else had made her give up, made her leave her previous life behind and live this life instead. Some sort of tragedy? She said she didn't have family…was that it? And then I put two and two together. She was Al Bhed. And their Home in the Sanubian desert had been destroyed only three years before. Why I had never thought of it, I don't know. I usually didn't think of her Al Bhed heritage, but since she had brought it up this evening, it was stuck in my mind I suppose. I was sure now that that is what had happened to her, what had caused her to give up on life and everything. Had she been there, seen it all happen? There had been a report that none had survived, but that wasn't something the officials could know for sure. Living here in Bevelle now seemed much worse. The church, while they had shunned Seymour Guado because of his involvement with the attack, had done nothing to punish him. Everyone knew that the most devout followers of Yevon hated the Al Bhed. Seymour had gotten his comeuppance, though. He'd been assassinated a year later by his right hand man, Trommell. Seems the poor fellow couldn't handle the things that the maester had made him do and he snapped.

A chattering of teeth broke through my thoughts and I looked over at this young girl whose name I had never learned. I'd first seen her more than a year ago and it was one of the questions she avoided like a plague. I called her Sunshine on days when I was in a particularly good mood, because of her long golden hair. She didn't seem to mind it sometimes, though now that I was looking her over, her hair didn't seem as lustrous as it once had. Everything about her seemed off, like she was only a shadow of what she had been, even compared to a few months ago.

"How have you been?"

I didn't expect her to answer, but she surprised me and bestowed a small smile upon me. "I've been alright, considering. How about you? Still working too hard? Though I guess you being here now answers that question."

I chuckled, "Yeah, still slaving away over contracts and plans."

She wrinkled her nose. "Sounds boring."

"It can be, but I enjoy it most days."

The teeth chattering got louder and I heard the tell-tale sound of a grumbling stomach. She knew that I'd heard. I smirked. She couldn't refuse me now.

"So… to the diner?"

A sigh escaped her lips and she unfolded herself from the steps to stand up before saying, "Fine! If you insist. But I'm only going so you'll shut up about it, ya big bully." She turned right and lumbered off in the direction of my favorite diner.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say," I replied, a grin on my face as I followed her.

"So…"

I looked up from my half-finished cup of coffee, where I had been staring into its dark depths, my mind wandering. Sunshine was staring at me with large, swirling green eyes, waiting on me to acknowledge her. She looked a little better after her late dinner, though still not as well as she could. She'd all but devoured a juicy steak and piece of blueberry pie not half an hour before, making me chuckle as she'd stuffed her face full.

"Yes?"

She hesitated and looked down, sighing. I stared at her thoughtfully, giving her time to say whatever it was that was on her mind.

"I…saw the doctor that comes 'round the shelter a few months back…"

I waited again, but she didn't continue.

"What did he say?" I asked gently after another moment of silence.

She turned to look out the window and I saw her try to discreetly wipe at her face. She was crying. I knew it couldn't be good.

"I'm sick…" she whispered, barely audible to my ears. She sniffled and wiped at her face again, more tears tumbling from her eyes with each passing moment. I took the handkerchief I kept in my coat pocket out and slid it across the table to her. She accepted it without a word, dabbing at her eyes and face. "He says…he says it's serious. I don't know what leukemia is, actually, just that it's making me weak and I probably don't have long."

I was taken aback. This was very serious, indeed. Of all the things that I could have imagined wrong with her, this had never entered my mind. For such a young, beautiful girl to have such hardships…and now this. It was so unfair. I was at a loss as to what I should say. 'I'm sorry' wasn't enough. Nothing was.

I looked at her, really looked, and my heart broke. This poor girl, living on the streets this whole time with this knowledge, knowing that was where she would die, and at such a young age, too. No, I thought. She will NOT die on the streets. That I would make sure of. I could do that for her, at least.

I reached across the table and covered both of her small hands with mine. She looked up, startled that I'd touched her in such a way when I never had before. "Sunshine…" She smiled at that. It was barely noticeable, but I had caught it. It warmed my heart a bit. I continued, "I can't fix your illness. Every part of me wishes I could, but I can't. What I can do, though, is make you as comfortable as possible. You don't have to go back out there." I pointed out the window, where the streets were dark and filling with snow. "I have an extra room at my apartment. It's all yours, for as long as you want. You don't have to be alone."

She started crying again and dropped her head. "I can't ask that of you, Auron. I could never repay—"

"No," I interrupted her. "I'm not asking you to. I'm giving you this. You're so young…" I faltered, my voice cracking. I looked down and cleared my throat, willing the lump that was lodged there to go away. "You're so young and you don't deserve this. You do not have to die alone and on the streets. I will take care of you. Please, let me do this."

She stared at me, unblinking. I could see the gears turning in her head as she moved the idea around and around. I knew she wanted to take me up on my offer, but she had her pride. But she also knew she was dying and didn't have long.

In the end, she decided to let go of her stubbornness. "Al—alright. As long as you're sure?"

"Yes, of course I am." I said without hesitation. "We're friends, Sunshine. I want to do this for you."

She tilted her head to the side and scrunched up her nose. "We are?" she asked in possibly the cutest way possible. Gods Auron, I thought to myself, you're going soft.

"Yes," I said gruffly, trying to regain some of the composure I'd lost over the last half hour.

She laughed at me then, not fooled for a second. "You act all serious, but you're just a big teddy bear, ya know that?"

I grumbled at her, not really sure of how to respond. I signaled the waitress, an older lady named Bessy that knew us well, and started to gather my things up. Sunshine reached across the table and stopped me with her hand as I prepared to stand up. "Thank you. Truly. I…I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I'm not so scared now, with you helping me."

I smiled, glad that I'd made her happy for a moment. She responded with her own smile, and for a moment I saw a glimpse of how she probably had been years ago: happy, innocent, youthful. Bouncing with energy. That's how she should have stayed. If I could give her just a fleeting moment of that, I had done something good. We both got up and I took the check from Bessy who was standing nearby. Handing her a bill, I told her to keep the change before escorting Sunshine out of the diner. Once in the street I realized just how cold it was and took off my coat, placing it over her shoulders. A thought occurred to me as I led her down the sidewalk in the direction of my apartment."Sunshine. If you're going to stay with me, I make only one request of you..."

Her eyes widened and she nearly stumbled. "Uh um...What is it?"

"Tell me your name." I added as an afterthought, "Please?"

She giggled and took my arm, the tension in her shoulders melting away. "Oh, alright, if you insist. It's Rikku."

"Rikku." I rolled the name around on my tongue for a moment, trying it out. "Very nice. It's a pleasure to meet you Rikku." I stopped and bowed at her on the sidewalk. She laughed aloud and drug me forward, moving us along again.

"You're such a weirdo, Auron. But you're really nice. I'm glad we met."

"So am I, Rikku," I said, trying not to think about the hard months to come. "So am I."

~fin~