Typical Disclaimer-ness: I don't own FFX, anything familiar ain't mine, yadda yadda.

Notes: Same rules apply as the last ones.

Setting: Have no real clue. I guess they're at an Inn, somewhere.

Summary: A little piece with the girls having some girl talk, specifically, boys . Has Aurikku, you've been warned.

Rikku eyed her female companions as they sat in the room, both tending to other things. Yuna stared out the window from her bed, thoughts lost in the glowing stars. Rikku knew her thoughts centered on her father and their pilgrimages.

Rikku felt positive there was a different way to trounce Sin. Right now, though, she wanted nothing more than to think of anything except the Yevon-spawned pilgrimage.

Lulu groomed her Moomba doll, using long strokes from a beautifully-made comb to keep the fur silky. The prettiness did not fool Rikku; she had seen that Moomba in battle, and it fought with as much fervor as its owner did. And she was certain it could talk, too; late at night she swore she heard and saw the Moomba doll speak, "La-gu-na."

Then again, it could have been her imagination.

Rikku sat up on her bed, tired of the quiet. "Which are manlier, boxers or briefs?"

The comb stopped brushing. Yuna turned her gaze from the window to the Al Bhed, blinking. "I'm sorry, Rikku. What did you say?"

"Which are manlier?" Rikku repeated with more confidence; she had a brilliant topic for discussion. "Boxers or briefs?"

Lulu and Yuna traded looks. "I prefer boxers, myself," Lulu admitted.

"Boxers are cuter," Yuna giggled. She liked this conversation.

"Yeah, boxers are better," Rikku nodded, then asked, "Hm, how about. . . tall or short?"

"Tall," Lulu answered without hesitation. "An inch or two taller than me, but not too much taller."

"Enough to feel secure," Rikku agreed.

"But not enough that you have to strain your head back to make eye contact," Yuna demonstrated eagerly, falling back on her pillow with a laugh.

Rikku smiled widely; her plan was working!

"What color eyes?" Lulu asked, setting her Moomba doll on a pillow.

Yuna sighed, eyes dreamy. "Blue. Blue like the sea."

"Dark," Rikku decided. "Dark, but still warm."

"Black like midnight," Lulu rested against her headboard, eyes soft.

They thought for a few moments. "What's your ideal guy?" Rikku asked.

Lulu lay in introspect, feeling a tinge of sadness. "Mine died years ago," Lulu told her. "I would have no other."

Yuna tugged an ear. "I wouldn't mind someone like Tidus," she whispered softly.

Rikku's smile waned. Now everything was falling apart. "Use your imaginations!" Rikku pleaded, arms spread wide. "Come on, if the Al Bhed made a machina that could create the perfect guy for you, what would you tell it? I'd ask for someone big and buff!" Rikku jumped on her bed, eyes alight. "Someone with a sense of humor! And he has to dance!" She twirled, falling back down.

"Well," Yuna crawled over to sit on the foot of Rikku's bed. "He'd also have to be kind, and forgiving. I wouldn't want someone who treats others badly."

"And he must be brave," Lulu added, joining them on Rikku's bed, taking up the edge. "Someone who would not falter at protecting his love."

Rikku tapped her lip with a finger, then spoke out, "And he's gotta be smart! That way we could have intelligent conversations loooong into the night after the amazing sex!"

Lulu arched a brow at her. "What would you know about sex?"

Yuna giggled. Rikku scowled, then shrugged helplessly. "I know it's where babies come from, and that people are usually happier after it."

Lulu shook her head. "Let's not touch that subject. However, if our man is as smart as we agree, then half the male population of Spira are already out of the running."

"That's sad," Yuna sighed, but she did not look too upset.

"Hey, face it, Yunie," Rikku wagged a finger. "Tidus is out of the running. Same with Wakka."

"Tidus has very intelligent conversations with me!" Yuna protested. "And Wakka, too," she added after a thought.

"Intelligent conversations that have nothing to do with blitzball," Lulu amended Rikku's suggestion.

Yuna tried to defend the blitzers, but sighed in defeat.

Rikku thought. "Well, from our group, that means only Auron and Kimahri are left."

Frowning, Lulu told the thief, "I doubt Kimahri would be interested in crossbreeding."

"A little fur–or less fur–never hurt a relationship," Rikku shrugged.

"Um, guys?" Yuna twiddled her fingers, blushing. "With the exception of the eyes, you realize Auron exemplifies everything we want in a man?"

Rikku and Lulu sat, the former shocked, the latter thoughtful. "He doesn't have a sense of humor, though!" Rikku objected. "He's all 'Let's go now, no rest at all until we're dead'!"

"He does have a sense of humor, Rikku," Lulu argued calmly. "Of course, it is cynical and morbid, but it is still a sense of humor."

"But–but– he's old!"

"For us, maybe," Yuna agreed. "But he should be only a few years older than Lulu, right?" she looked to the black mage for confirmation.

"I wouldn't know," Lulu informed her. "That particular information was not–and I suspect never will be–offered by him."

Rikku shifted, then asked reluctantly, "Do you think he wears boxers?"

"Or perhaps nothing at all," Lulu supplied slyly. "They do say many men prefer not to wear undergarments."

That unsettled Rikku. In what way she was not sure.

Their door opened to the hall. Through it they saw a shadow approaching from further within the inn, and the women halted their conversation, curious as to who it was. No one occupied the inn except their party, leaving the inn's workers or the men of their party.

It was Auron, stalking by with a death-grip on the handle of his weapon. The profile they saw looked irate, and he did not even slide his gaze to look through the doorway as he passed. They watched, curious, as he walked by and listened closely to his footsteps. The tread made its way to the inn's exit, and they heard the door slam open. They had no time to scurry to the window as they heard a muffled yell, a loud thump!, and then the inn's door slamming back into place. Auron's footsteps echoed into hearing, and again he came upon their room. This time, however, he took the time to pause and check on them.

Or, to be accurate, Rikku thought to herself, on Yuna.

"Is everything well, Lady Yuna?" he asked. The women heard the buckles snapping in place on his temper.

"Everything is fine," Yuna assured him, then cocked her head to the side. "Sir Auron, are you alright? What were you doing out there?"

"Anger management," he replied simply before resuming his stride to the men's room above them.

"Sounds like Tidus and Wakka are working a number on Auron's nerves," Rikku confided to her roommates.

Yuna nodded as Lulu shut their door. "I had wondered if it was wise to leave Tidus and Wakka in the same room," the black mage said as she sat down elegantly. "With those two, everything eventually leads to blitzball, and we all know Auron's. . . dislike, of the sport."

The two other women nodded, and the conversation continued on, covering topics like weapon choices (Yuna, unsurprisingly, preferred swordsmen), astrological signs (Rikku felt the sign was a very important part of a relationship; her man just had to be a Leo for the best compatibility), and went so far as top or bottom in the bedroom (Lulu blushingly confessed top).

A soft knock on their door, almost indecisive, nearly went unheard over their laughter. Yuna called, "Come in!"

The door, like the knock, was hesitant in opening. Auron peered around the doorway, frames pushed high on his nose. The women sobered; when the frames were that high, it meant Auron was trying to hide, and therefore embarrassed.

He shifted from foot to foot, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably, and looked nowhere close to spitting out what he wanted to say. Yuna tried her hand at goading him into speaking, "Sir Auron? Did you require anything?"

Rikku mentally rolled her eyes. Yep, that's the best way to go with Auron. Make it sound like a needed task; it's not as embarrassing for him if it's a necessity.

"I realize, Lady Summoner, that it would be. . . indecent and. . . people would talk. . . but I was hoping if. . . perhaps I could. . . sleep here for the night?" The frames slipped down the bridge of his nose; he left them there as he peered over them, his one eye sparkling in hope and (Rikku was shocked to say) humiliation.

As the Al Bhed was about to dismiss that notion (no way can the great and mighty Sir Auron feel something so humane as humility!), Auron's timidity became further pronounced by his desperate, "Please?"

Yuna blinked. "O-of course, Sir Auron. That one isn't being used," she pointed to the one across from hers and bedside Lulu's.

"Thank you," was the quick, grateful reply; so quick, it seemed as though he were snatching up the invitation before Yuna changed her mind. He went straight to the bed, sprawled out, and by all appearances went to sleep.

"We'll just speak quieter," Yuna whispered to her companions, watching Auron's prone form. "So he won't hear us talk."

As if rebutting the statement, Auron snored. Lulu quirked a smile. "That won't be necessary. He's sleeping soundly."

They talked for a little while longer before they, too, felt sleep nibble at their consciousness. They settled themselves for sleep and were about to shut off the dim lamp when another knock came to the door. "Yes?" Yuna called softly.

This time Kimahri opened the door, looking quite bedraggled. "Kimahri sleep here tonight?" the Ronso asked pitifully. "Like Auron? Please?"

Kimahri looked like a child left out of playing at his own birthday. They could never turn him away without being cruel. Rikku jumped off the bed, saying, "Sure, Kimahri, you can have my bed."

In other circumstances, the Ronso might have argued, preferring to sleep on the floor than to disturb someone else's rest. But he took the bed and fell asleep immediately; Tidus and Wakka seemed to be even more of a handful tonight, if Kimahri was tired.

Rikku placed her hands on her hips, surveying the situation. Kimahri took up the entire bed; joining him was out of the question. The Moomba doll made her uncomfortable; Rikku was still positive the doll talked. Yuna deserved her rest, being the summoner and all.

There was only one choice left. Before she could come up with any arguments against it, Rikku stalked to the bed and eyed Auron. He had placed himself in the middle, unaware that another comrade might come to spend the night in the women's room. The bed was quite narrow; there would be no way she could sneak onto the mattress.

She poked the small of his back, stirring him to wakefulness. "Could you move over a little?" she whispered softly as the dark eye trained on her blearily. "Kimahri came in, same as you; Yuna needs the sleep more than I do, and. . ." Rikku trailed, knowing her reasons for not sleeping with the mage would be unsatisfactory to him. It was the only reason she had, though. "I swear the doll talks at night."

Auron blinked, then shifted, offering one side of the bed. Apparently he was much more agreeable half-asleep. She laid down and sighed. He had warmed the bed quite nicely. He shifted again, lying on his side with his front facing her own. He threw an arm over her. The limb offered her warmth and security. The eye closed, delaying sleep no longer than necessary.

"Try not to snore," Rikku told him softly, half-joking.

The eye peeled open slowly, regarding her tiredly. "Don't drool," he mumbled back, nearly inaudible, as the eye closed again. "Had enough drooling for the night."

Rikku wondered if she really wanted to know what he was talking about. She settled for asking him tomorrow.

They stopped to rest the next day, having made good time. They were retracing their steps back to Luca for the benefit of Tidus and his blitzball tournament. Rikku sat herself next to Auron as she ate, watching him from the corner of her eye.

"What is it?" He was aware of the scrutiny.

"What did you mean, last night?" He lifted his brow slightly. "When you said that you had enough drooling for the night, what did you mean?"

Auron scowled across the fire at the oblivious Tidus and Wakka. "Those two decided they wanted to try drinking," Auron muttered, jabbing his fork into his lunch with more force than necessary. "They passed out, and drooled all over the floor."

Rikku nodded in understanding. That was why the innkeeper demanded damage payments. "If they were unconscious, why did Kimahri come in, I wonder?" Rikku said aloud.

"Because they threw up in the room beforehand," Auron supplied. "Vomit is not something you want to smell as you fall asleep."

"Ew." Rikku watched him eat, curiosity raging at her. "Um, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

He turned his one eye at her warily. "Keep in mind that curiosity killed the blitzer."

Well, he wasn't outright denying her the question. "How old are you?"

It was not as personal as he thought it would be. Still, did he want to answer? "Why do you want to know that?"

"Comparisons," Rikku answered unhelpfully.

He weighed his choices. "I'll be thirty-six next August," he replied.

Rikku blinked. Thirty-six, that's not too bad. I suppose. Younger than Pops, at least. And August? "Early or late August?" she asked lightly.

"Early."

He's a Leo. Oh my god, he's tall, dark, physically fit, smart, and a Leo. Crap, he's my ideal guy. Bet he can't dance, though. "You can't dance, can you?"

Auron wondered where in the name of everything holy the questions were coming from. "Warriors learn to dance for balance and agility. Not to mention good manners. May I ask, what is with all the questions?"

Shoot. He's turning out to be my perfect guy. If only he were actually nicer to me. "You don't want to know."

"If I did not want to know, I would not have asked."

"Fine, let me correct myself: You won't like the answer."

Auron frowned, doing some detective work in his head. "Your ideal man." At her startled gaze, he smiled to himself. "Unlike what Lulu implies, I can be awoken by small talk. You three were talking about men and your. . . preferences. . . during sex when I woke up."

Rikku blushed. She remember that part of the conversation well. She hoped he didn't. "Well, yeah, we were."

Auron did not press the issue further, instead getting up and telling everyone to pack. Rikku sighed in both relief and disappointment. She had wondered whether Auron would inquire how he rated on her scale. And she wondered if she would have lied to save her dignity or. . . told the truth.

Anyone still out there? Did I scare anyone off with the terrible, horrible, no-good, very badaurikku-ness? Let me know if I should stop here and save the story before itbecomes spectacularly bador post the last portion that I wrote because the beep plot bunnies wouldn't let me be.