Author's note: Hey everyone! Well, now that I finished the 'Tidus and Wakka Show' (a new episode may be in progress), I decided to write another FFX fanfic, despite the fact that I have yet to finish the game. You know I don't own FFX or the characters. Not even the song! Hope you enjoy the first chapter!

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"Say Goodnight

Don't be afraid.

Calling me Calling me

As you fade to black"

~ One Last Breath

 Evanescence

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Auron let one leg dangle over the edge of a cliff as a gentle breeze ruffled his hair. The sun was just beginning to set and was slowly forming shadows across the Farplane. Many pyreflies danced around and met up with their loved ones whom they hadn't seen in forever. The waterfall formed mist at its base and left it swirling upwards to where Auron was sitting.

Strange. No matter how many times he'd sit down here and gaze at his surroundings, the thought of being here was still foreign to him. And even though he was among his former friends, Jecht and Braska, a small part of him ached to be back among the living. Among the land of Spira.

And, most of all, among Rikku.

Auron cleared his throat and shook his head. He wondered what she was doing right now. Was she with Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka, having a good time? Or was she sitting on her bed, her pillow hugged to her chest and crying?

Auron chose the happier version of his thoughts. While Rikku was unpredictable, Auron seriously doubted she'd still be upset that both he and Tidus were gone now. After all, it's only been a year since the Pilgrimage. She should have been able to heal by now, right?

Almost suddenly, he remembered the pained looked upon her face as his body slowly became nonexistent. Nobody knew about their secret relationship during the final chapters to the Pilgrimage. So it was a bit of a surprise when Auron calmly strode to Rikku's side and brought his hand up to her face and smiled.

"C'mon Rikku. I don't want my last image of you to be such a sad face."

Rikku sniffled. "I can't help it. You're the . . . the best thing that's happened to me. Please don't leave me."

Auron looked back at the rest of the group and pursed his lips. It was now or never. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed Rikku on the lips quickly, but passionately. It only succeeded in making her sob more.

"I'm sorry Rikku." Were the last words he could get in before he completely faded in a crowd of pyreflies.

A hand on Auron's shoulder jerked him back to reality. He saw out of the corner of his one good eye a younger boy around the age of eighteen. Auron grunted a greeting and moved over a little bit for the teen to sit beside him.

The teen ruffled his messy, blonde hair and hugged his knees to his chest. "Whatcha thinking of?" he asked curiously.

"Is that your only conversation starter, Tidus?" Auron replied with his own question.

Tidus shrugged and smiled. "When you don't have much else to talk about and you're bored, it's really the only conversation starter there is." When he saw the melancholy look on his former-guardian's face, Tidus tilted his head in confusion. "Something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong."

Suddenly bored, Tidus stood up and stretched. "Remember when you told me I was a bad liar?"

Auron thought about it for a moment. He nodded and smirked. He knew where this was going.

"Well, the same applies to you. You're as transparent as a ghost," Tidus saw the face on his guardian. "I mean, well, you know . . . oh nevermind. You know what I mean."

Auron shook his head. "No, I don't. And I'd appreciate it if you left me alone." His voice barely rose above a whisper. Tidus shrugged and rested his hands behind his head. It wasn't exactly a surprise coming from Auron. He was, after all, quite the enigma.

"Suit yourself. I'll catch you later." Tidus hung around for a few more seconds, waiting for a possible, yet questionable answer. Sighing, he kicked the ground and walked away, leaving Auron back in his own thoughts.

"This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so stupid to allow my walls to come down and let her into my life. How could I?" Auron removed his glasses and wiped them with the hem of his scarlet robe. When he replaced them on the bridge of his nose, he sighed for what was possibly the hundredth time since he'd sat there.

In his mind, he was constantly questioning his relationship with Rikku. It wasn't until after the Thunder Plains that he truly developed feelings for her. At first, it was a very loose friendship, growing tighter with every waking moment. Finally, during the time spent in the ruins of Zanarkand, after everyone had fallen asleep, Rikku and Auron snuck up onto a nearby hill and stared up at the stars.

"Auron, after all this is done, will we still be together?" she questioned while resting her head on his muscular forearm. It was his instinct to pull away at the contact, but he resisted and soon enjoyed her presence.

"Well . . . I don't really know."

Rikku smirked. "You're the great, almighty, all-knowing Sir Auron. You have the answers to every question."

Auron's face quickly contorted to one of emotional pain. He wanted so badly to take her by the shoulders and scream 'I'm an unsent! I don't belong here! I'm not real!'. Instead, he reached out and placed his hand atop hers, easily enclosing it in his rough palm. Rikku squeezed it, almost as if she were reassuring him. It still didn't take his mind off of the fact that, just like Tidus, he'd leave as well.

Rikku noticed that he wasn't really focused on her and she snapped her fingers in his face. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

Auron tore his gaze away from the distant ruins and faced Rikku. If he wasn't wearing his collar, she could see that he was forcing a smile to get her to forget it. His smile (or lack thereof) quickly faded when he noticed she searched his face with her swirled green Al-Bhed eyes.

That next moment would definitely be one not to forget. For what seemed like eternity, Rikku and Auron shared together a single kiss. Definitely longer than both expected, but nonetheless one of those perfect kisses under the stars of heaven. With both eyes closed, they lay down on the dirt, entangled in each other's arms. He felt her hand trace along the sides of his face and weave its way into his own hand.

Suddenly panicked, Auron pulled away and stood up. He straightened his overcoat out and bit his lower lip. "Rikku, I'm sorry. I can't keep this charade up. I can't have feelings for you. I just can't. You understand?"

Tears sprung to her eyes but she shyed away, hiding her face. When she turned back, her tears were now flowing freely but when she spoke it sounded so harsh and stark. "No Auron, I don't understand. You're scared, but led me on to believe that we had something. Or maybe you're not scared. Maybe you just don't want to ruin your reputation. 'Sir Auron. Having an affair with a fellow guardian of Lady Yuna.' Is that it?"

"No, it's not like that. But if I explained, you wouldn't understand. Can't you see that?" he replied in a tone just as harsh yet hushed as to not disturb the others still sleeping.

Rikku stood up and wiped her lips with the back of a gloved hand. She approached him, standing only up to his chest. With all the strength she could muster, she slapped Auron across the face. Unfazed, he reached out and grasped her arm, gripping it tighter than he wanted to.

"Rikku, you don't get it. I can't love you. I . . . I . . . ." he faltered and released her from his grip. Without another word, he sauntered away, farther from the campsite.

He opened his eye and looked around. Auron found himself back in the Farplane, the orange tint still slowly fading. The thought still bothered him, even after a year. The only reason being that, the rest of the time through the Pilgrimage, both made it a point to avoid each other's presence. It was only when he was leaving for good that they finally realized the whole thing was petty.

"But it was too late." He said aloud. He rose and strolled away, not taking a look back at the cliff. When he passed a boulder, a hand reached out and stopped him.

"I'm sure Rikku forgives you." Tidus affirmed.

Auron didn't bother to acknowledge the question, only jerking his arm away and continued to amble away.

"I know how you feel." Breathed Tidus.

~*~*~

Auron lay in a bed, covers pushed to the bottom. No matter how hard he tried, for him, sleep wasn't an option. From across the room he heard Jecht mutter in his sleep and Braska pull the covers higher over his head. Tidus was sprawled on the floor from an earlier incident of falling out of his own bed.

Growling deep in his throat, Auron sat up and put his feet on the cold, wooden floor, sending an unwelcome shiver up his spine. He pushed himself up and crept out of the room, careful not to make any noise.

Auron had no clue where he was headed. Wherever his thoughts told him to go, that's where he went. He didn't stop until he was back on the cliff of the Farplane, overlooking everything there was to see.

Suddenly, without any rhyme or reason, he dived over the cliff, wind screaming past him as he was falling closer to the ground. Strangely, he felt no panic; only the pure pleasure and thrill of the free-fall.

As soon as he was going to crash into the field below, black overtook him and he was alone in a cold abyss.

~*~*~

When Auron awoke again, he was expecting to find himself back in his bed in the room. But the bright light that bore heavily on his skin begged to differ. Groggily, he opened his eye and immediately shut it when it met the sun's glare. When he tried to move, he found his movement hindered by a sort of liquid. He didn't remember putting his overcoat on before he left the room, which could explain why he wasn't at the bottom of wherever he was at the moment.

Finally gathering the courage, he pried open his eye again, only to find that, miraculously, he was able to open both eyes. Confused, he held his hand in front of his face and waved it slowly back in forth in front of him. His eyesight was perfect. Frowning, he raised his head and gasped at what awaited him.

Auron was floating in the middle of the ocean off the coast of Besaid. He sputtered to himself when something else of a shock hit him.

Looking down at his body, he stifled a scream. Somehow he wasn't in his own body at all which could quite possibly explain his perfect twenty-twenty vision.

He was in the body of a younger teen. The body of Tidus!

Author's note: Did you like? If you did, please review! Since I don't technically have a beta reader, your reviews are needed. Thx!