A/N: An idea that came to me. Warning: This will be an Auron x Lulu fic, with past Lulu x Chappu. I'll probably add hints of other pairings as well.
Disclaimer: I don't own FFX or any of its characters. Shucks.
"Join Me, My Love"
Lulu sighed in contentment, leaning back and resting against a hard, warm, and inviting chest. Chappu held the woman against him with tenacious arms, resting his chin against the top of her head and inhaling the scent of her hair. His lips turned upward in an easy smile of contentment. Around the pair, white sand stretched out for miles, broken only by the coast of beautiful, sea-green waters. The salty smell of the ocean filtered through on small gusts of wind.
The Black Mage sighed as she felt her lover rub his hands up and down her bare arms, sending a pleasant tingling sensation up and down her spine. His hands were gentle, handling her almost delicately, as if she were easily breakable. And priceless.
"I love you," he whispered into her ear, his breath disturbing the hair that rested lightly over her ear. Lulu smiled happily and leaned back even further into his embrace. Her nose was filled with his warm, piquant scent, combined with the bitter, salty smell of the sea.
The hands moving up and down her arms suddenly stopped, and the woman frowned at the abrupt loss, sensing a feeling of discontent behind her. The warmth that filled her became cold and chilling, and she was plagued by an emotion foreign to her. Fear.
"Chappu?" she whispered inquisitively, shouting out in surprise when his fingers suddenly gripped tightly into her arms, his grasp bruising against her pale skin. "Chappu, stop!" She tried to pull away, but only managed to twist around so she was facing him. The face that looked back at her wasn't of her lover…the face was of a demon, distorted and mangled. In short, it was hideous.
She wrenched away from the beast, running away as quickly as she could, her bare feet kicking up sand that hindered her flight. The insistent patter of feet behind her told her she was being pursued. Up ahead, she saw a still body lying prone; blood pooled around the carcass, the red staining the surrounding ground crimson. The body was lying face down, and she turned it over slowly, gasping as she recognized the face.
"Chappu!" she cried, growing desperate at the fiend chasing her, and her dead lover resting in her arms. His tanned body and scarlet blood made a stark contrast against the white sands. She stared down into the man's still face, his eyes closed in an uneasy death.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
Lulu screamed.
His mouth contorted into a sinister smirk, and he reached up and wrapped his hands around the woman's neck, squeezing the air from her throat. His eyes glowed a bright red, and his pupils narrowed into angry slits. Lulu choked against his hold, fear shocking her nerves all up and down her body. She could feel her heart thudding violently in her chest.
His voice was unusually deep and menacing as he said, "Join me, my love."
Lulu's body flew forward as she sat up in bed, her hand immediately covering her mouth in order to stifle her screams. Her chest heaved up and down with her heavy breathing; perspiration dotted her forehead, and she ran the back of her hand over it, swiping away the moist droplets. The silence out in the hallway informed her that she hadn't awoken any of her fellow companions, and for that she was quite grateful.
The dream had been so intense…so real. The emotions she had felt, laced within her unconsciousness, had honestly led her to believe the faux reality was real. A wry, completely humourless chuckle escaped her lips. She knew it couldn't be real; Chappu was dead.
She hung her head in her hands wearily, feeling the need to allow her eyelids to droop. She was so tired, but didn't want to go to sleep. The dreams were there…
True, Lulu had always suffered nightmares of Chappu's death. She hadn't actually witnessed the occurrence, but thoughts of it haunted her all the same. And lately her nightmares had been…bad. To the point that she would wake up sobbing, clutching her blankets tightly to her chest. Not only was revisiting Chappu's death a sorrowful, morose feeling…but the terror she felt…it was incomparable. It was like the emotions in the dream…they were just…so real.
And when she woke up it was just as horrible. The dreams left her weak and drained, no matter how long she slept. Her sleep was just too restless, accompanied by something else…
The Black Mage rose from the bed slowly, feeling the springs creak beneath her. The lack of rest she was suffering from might be compromising Yuna's pilgrimage, but there was nothing that could be done to stop it. So Lulu could only hope that the others would fail to notice her frequent stumbling, and the bags that were forming under her eyes. It wouldn't be easy, considering the sharpness of some of her fellow guardians. But Lulu had become quiet effective in hiding her emotions. That was a point she prided herself on, and she hoped she could live up to her own expectations.
But that was never an easy task.
The woman walked over to the window of her inn room, watching the half-light coming through the window. It was the precise moment of the night when it is no longer blackened out, but the sun has not yet risen. This left an oddly chilling light in its wake, making the morning seem brisk and uninviting.
There was no sense in trying to sleep once more, especially with dawn soon coming. So Lulu rearranged her room, grabbed her moogle doll, and headed out the door. The inn was quiet and peaceful; it appeared everyone was still sleeping. Slipping quietly through the hallways, the Black Mage stepped out into the early morning air, listening dispassionately as birds twittered above her head cheerily.
To her left, Lulu observed an overgrown, lush forest. The very air around the trees appeared damp and hot, which left her feeling very uneasy about this whole trip. Humidity could be a real downer. Especially with the lack of sleep she had been suffering from. Turning from the sight of the forest, the dark-haired woman discovered a brisk stream, meandering from behind the inn. Its soft trickling was barely discernible above the loud songs of the birds.
The stream somehow reminded Lulu of her dream, and the soft sounds that the waves had made. It was so strange, how she could vividly recall exact details from each and every dream she'd had. Was it because they seemed so real?…like she was actually experiencing each and every emotion?
She was so caught up in her musings, that she didn't see the figure resting on the other side of the creek until she had drawn up on the bank across from him. Even if she hadn't recognized his face, the telltale red coat would have given it away. He looked up at her carefully as she caught sight of him. She tried to read his expression, but she could only see her own reflection, visible in his ever-present sunglasses.
"Our travels today will be hard," Auron told her, his deep-set voice cutting through the high-pitched noises of the birds. "You should be sleeping." He didn't seem condescending…more like he was just stating a fact. Somehow this annoyed her even more.
"I could say the same of you," Lulu replied flippantly, sitting down across from him, her claret eyes studying him from across the stream. She used her sarcasm to curb her anger. It usually worked, too. Auron didn't reply right away, instead choosing to gaze past her (or so she assumed) towards the inn.
"All of the guardians need to be in top shape," he told her after a short silence. One of his legs was resting on the ground, and the other was propped up, supporting his free arm.
Lulu frowned, her raven eyebrows drawing together while her tone took on a slight icy quality. "I am as ready now as I would be if I slept three extra hours, I assure you, Sir Auron."
"Hn."
Lulu turned away from Auron, gazing back towards the inn. Her demeanor changed, turning more reflective and contemplative, rather than angry.
"I care about Yuna, and about the ideal of her pilgrimage," she stated slowly, still staring at the inn. "And I promise you, that I will do everything in my power to make sure our mission succeeds." With that she finally turned her gaze back to her fellow guardian. "Believe me, if there was a problem that would jeopardize Yuna's pilgrimage, I would take care of it."
"But what if you couldn't take care of it?" Auron queried, almost rhetorically. "What if the problem was so big that you couldn't handle it alone. Would you ask someone to aid you?" He paused. "Or would you allow your own foolishness to be your downfall?"
Filled to the brim with rightful indignation, Lulu could only manage to grind out, "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"I don't know," he told her, which wasn't the response she had been expecting. "Why don't you tell me? What's going on, Lulu?" Auron's keen questioning caught the mage off guard, and she had to fight for control within herself. She wanted to tell him about her dreams…she wanted to so badly! Maybe Auron could take away the pain…maybe she could finally sleep peacefully…
"Nothing is going on," Lulu said sternly, but was able to maintain a calm, controlled tone. "The sooner you learn that, the sooner I'll be able to sleep peacefully once more!" Not realizing her slip-up, the young woman stood and trudged back towards the inn, somehow able to preserve her grace and dignity, although the term "trudged" was definitely an adequate verb.
The Black Mage slipped back into her room, sitting on the bed after shutting the door softly behind her. Even through the thick glass on the window, the birds' cheerful chirpings could be heard.
'It's none of Auron's business,' she thought to herself, claret eyes gazing at the floor vacantly. She had almost told him…and that was unacceptable. They were only dreams, after all. There was no need to get everyone worked up in a panic because Lulu couldn't handle a few nightmares. That would be embarrassing…not to mention unnecessary.
'No,' Lulu decided firmly, 'I will get through this alone, like I have so many times before. After all, they're only dreams. Nothing dangerous or deadly.'
She would soon discover just how wrong she was.
@-^--- To Be Continued ---^-@
A/N: Please review! Comments mean so much to me!