for wingsyouburn for a tumblr writing meme prompt: a massage
The magical blue light washed over Lulu amidst her sewing. Where the rest of the group resided was unknown to her; so long as they could hide in the Macalania Woods, that was all that mattered. Yuna wandered off at one point with a defeated gaze. Lulu insisted that the girl was to be left alone, but that did little to stop Tidus. After that, Lulu shook her head and tended to patch up her dolls. Poor things. Some literally had the stuffing knocked out of them from myriad battles. Lulu was no white mage, but she was daft with a needle and thread. The rest lied in her innate magic.
Even with her newfound solitude and the quiet state of the forest, her mind was as chaotic as the events from the days leading up to that night. She paused often in her stitches, every hesitation throwing the consistent pattern in her sewing askew. And when she settled her work into her lap to gaze up at the endless trees in the depths of nighttime, the same thoughts plagued her.
What was the point in refurbishing her dolls if Yuna chose to end her pilgrimage for good?
Footsteps neared her, breaking Lulu free from the self-inflicted, mental torture. She dove back into her work, never bothering to inspect who trespassed onto her private space. Instead, a slight smirk lined her lips, for she memorized the distinct thumps of those particular steps.
"You're not one for subtlety," Lulu spoke with a cold softness.
The steps halted and a slight hmph sounded behind her. "Wasn't attempting to do so."
Lulu tugged at her needle and thread before tying it off. "Good. Was beginning to worry you had a change of heart when it came to your expertise." With the doll patched up to the best of her ability, she placed it to the side and tilted her head up. "I can't picture you in a rogue's garb, anyways."
Auron loomed over her, donning his usual attire sans katana. From her vantage point, all but his eyes were hidden, though she imagined him smirking back.
"No change of heart," he responded, his voice as calm as the forest itself. "Was only checking up on you."
A scoff left her lips as she dropped her head. "No need for that, either." Lulu rummaged through her pile of battle-worn dolls to pluck out a new one to fix on. "Keeping myself occupied, per usual, until we start moving again."
"Morale is low," Auron continued.
Lulu hummed in agreement with a needle between her lips while she examined her thread options. "You'd have to be blind to not notice that."
There was a pause before Auron responded. "And?"
In the middle of threading her needle, Lulu hesitated and blinked. "And what?"
"Are you suggesting that you're not fairing well?"
She bit back her tongue, praying her sigh wasn't audible enough for him to catch onto. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
Lulu furrowed her brow and stabbed the needle into her Cactuar plushie. "I don't say things just to hear myself talk, Auron. Perhaps you're better off checking up on the children, like Wakka or Rikku. They're in more need of parenting than I am."
Silence fell between them. She waited for those booted feet to pivot and tread away. What Lulu didn't expect was a pair of gloved hands meeting her bare shoulders.
She hitched her breath. A tremble overcame her hands. Twists and knots flooded her stomach while her heart raced.
Auron kneaded into her surprisingly rigid shoulders. The slow, yet methodical action washed over Lulu and forced her to gradually release the layers of tension living in her upper back.
"You're stressed." His lips brushed along her ear and his breath tickled the skin there.
"I am not," Lulu rushed out.
"Relax."
"Why?"
"Because you need it."
"I don't need—"
"Please, Lulu. I want to."
But the truth was she didn't even want to say no to him to begin with. She yearned to release more than the muscles clinging to her body. She wished to strip away the figurative armor she wore so the whole world couldn't dent her soul. But she couldn't. For so long, she refused to allow herself the luxury. No one was ever there to support her when she, the guardian who forever supported others, needed a moment to be anything but that.
For what am I if I'm not a guardian? Lulu wondered far too often in recent times.
It wasn't until Auron's skilled hands sunk into her flesh that she was able to find a reason to let go.
And when she did, the Cactuar plushie and needle fell from her grasps to splay out along the ground. Her arms enveloped her form to prevent herself from splintering into a million shards, yet she continued to shiver.
"Are you cold?" Auron whispered and Lulu shook her head. "...Does it hurt—"
"No." She shut her eyes and prayed whatever lingered behind them didn't surface.
The massage stopped. She didn't want it to, but before she could protest, Auron slid his arms around her body. Lulu inhaled deeply, taking in his scent within the embrace. Feeble hands clung onto his muscled arms. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck and Lulu lowered her head.
As soon as it all started, his arms loosened and began to slip away. "I can let you be," Auron said.
But Lulu couldn't stop herself from clinging onto him. Her, of all people, desperate for more than a fleeting touch.
"Don't leave," she breathed out.
And he didn't. Auron resumed his position behind her, pulling Lulu further into him and she didn't hesitate to turn into Auron to bury her face into his chest.
She only wished she had a spell powerful enough to freeze all of Spira to ensure he never let her go.