AN: WOW! You love me! You really love me, don't you?!?! I was really surprised when I checked my account and read all your supportive reviews! I didn't forget this story! I just got side tracked with others…sorry for the ridiculously long delay!

Here it is! Chapter 8!!! Keep reviewing if you want me to keep writing!!! HEARTS AND RAINBOWS!

~sa

Chapter 8: Confrontations and Realizations

It was the roar of the crowd as the blitz teams re-entered the sphere that shook Tidus from his blissful state of unawareness of the real world. He was lying on the floor of the lockerroom with the tiny, perfectly everything he wanted Rikku, basking in the glow of their rushed lovemaking. He had just admitted to loving her, that he would love her forever no matter what happened in the future. And he meant it. All of this made it impossibly hard for him to gather himself, his clothes, and his thoughts to get back into the game. Rikku knelt on the cold floor and watched him with teary eyes as he dressed himself and mumbled under his breath about getting back to the sphere. When Tidus lifted his cerulean eyes to meet her emerald ones, he felt that familiar shock of pain ripple down his spine. She looked so helpless, like he had just ripped the world out from beneath her. He knelt in front of her and gathered her small frame into his arms. "Rikku," He breathed this into her golden hair, taking in the feel of her against his chest, reveling in how right it felt. Tidus was about to say something more, something meaningful, meant to wipe that anguished look off Rikku's face when she jerked away from him. The shock of her sudden absence took Tidus' breath away and he almost pouted.

In one fluid motion, the petite Al Bhed princess scooped up her bikini top off the floor and tied it back around her neck, adjusting herself while facing away from him. She took a visibly deep breath, shoulders shrugging with the evident effort of it, barely looking over her shoulder as she spoke. "Tidus, I hope you and Yunie are happy forever. I really mean that. I want the best for both of you and I know that I'm never going to be the woman for you. I figured I should probably tell you before tomorrow that, well…" Rikku paused and the door to the locker room banged open, revealing a livid Gippal with an apologetic looking Paine behind his shoulder. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF MACHINA IS GOING ON IN HERE?" Gippal roared this, his usually calm voice sounding more than just a little bit peeved. Rikku jumped in front of him, shaking her head and waving her hands, attempting to offer some bogus story for why she and Tidus were all alone in the Aurochs' locker room when the blitzer was supposed to be playing blitzball. But Gippal's eye was fixed on Tidus and Tidus alone and he pushed past Rikku, none-too-gently, and thrust his face close to the blonde blitzer's.

"So, you think you can just come back to life and steal my fiancé, huh? Well I ain't lettin' that happen, bucko! Not this close to her birthday!" Tidus, a little rusty when it came to his Al Bhed skills, raised an eyebrow at the word for fiancé, but caught Gippal's attitude and knew he was being challenged by the leader of the Machine Faction. "Excuse me?" Tidus countered, taking a step back from Gippal and mentally kicking himself for not coming up with something a little more macho-sounding. Tidus' eyes darted to Rikku but she was leaning against the wall, head back, eyes closed, apparently in another world. It looked like she was trying to tune it all out. Paine had stepped into the room, garnet eyes fixed on Gippal's back. Gippal grunted and shoved Tidus against the wall, wasting no more time with words. "I'll say it again, in simpler words for you to better understand. Rikku is going to be my wife as soon as she turns 18, which would be when again, dearest?" He snarled all this, not bothering to sound sweet when he addressed Rikku. She didn't even open her eyes when she responded, voice flat and resigned. "Tomorrow." Not able to bear the tension in the room any longer, Rikku tore past Paine and ran down the hallway, escaping for the moment. Tidus, trapped against the wall, couldn't run after her, but he wanted to. He knew that he should. Paine looked three shades paler than usual and crossed her arms over her chest, eyes falling to the floor. "Tomorrow?" She and Tidus said this at the same time, voices octaves of emotion away from each other, but both carrying the pain of betrayal.

Gippal jumped and turned, not taking his hand off of Tidus' chest where it was firmly holding the shorter blonde guy against the wall. He had seemingly forgotten that Paine was in the room and Tidus swore he saw some sadness flash across his face as he turned to face her. "Uh, yeah. Tomorrow's the wedding all right. Right when we get back to Bikanel from the Unity Council." Despite his bravado, both Paine and Tidus noticed the note of regret in Gippal's voice. The words he spoke opened up a void beneath Tidus and he almost doubled over from the pure shock of it all. Was that why Rikku had rushed in here and leapt on him? Was she just satisfying some carnal desire before she married Gippal? And when Paine narrowed her eyes at the floor, nodding her head once and turning to leave. What Gippal did next surprised Tidus more than his arrival and tirade about being betrothed to Rikku, which still hadn't really sunk in yet. The tall Al Bhed lunged after Paine, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face him. "Paine, I…" She shook her head, eyes still fixed on something on the floor beneath them. She was refusing to meet his eye. Refusing to face the music.

Although thoroughly intrigued by this new development, Tidus knew his place wasn't with Gippal and Paine. He needed to find Rikku and hear her side of things. Most brides-to-be would be gushing about their wedding if it was only a day away. If she were happy about it, that is. As the drama unfolded between the stoic Paine and the shaken up Gippal, Tidus sidled around them both and prayed neither of them saw him escape. The last thing he heard before he dodged out the door was Paine's rushed words, tinged with tears, cutting like the edge of a knife. "I guess we both missed our chance at true love then." Tidus didn't wait around to hear Gippal's reply. He broke into a sprint down the hallway, barreling for the stairs that led up into the lobby of the stadium. All he could do was run as fast as he could and if he knew Rikku as well as he knew he did, he knew where she was going. He just had to get there first.

Rikku plunged into the crowd just outside the stadium filled with people watching the game on the sphere screens set up all over the place. She was running, pushing past the thickly clustered people with little regard. The shouts and cries of the excited crowd did something to ease the new pain blossoming inside her. It was her own fault, ripping open her heart's barely healing wounds by going to him like that. By kissing him again, by letting herself get caught up in his touch again; all it did was make her hurt more. It certainly didn't help matters that he had pledged his love for her forever. Forever. The word echoed in her mind and Rikku slowed down, letting her fast breaths slow with her pace. "Forever." She murmured the word aloud, disliking the way it felt leaving her mouth. The next day marked the beginning of a new forever for her. A forever that didn't include Tidus in any capacity and the thought made her feel empty and hollow. But it didn't hurt either. Furrowing her brow, Rikku waited for the crushing pain to come back and steal her breath. She waited for the tears, but none came. Casting her green eyes up to the clear blue sky, Rikku nearly shouted her surprise to the birds flying overhead. Sure, she would have to learn to love Gippal, learn to get used to him and his mannerisms, but her future suddenly held the promise of no more pain. Just a numb certainty that she wouldn't have to see Tidus anymore, that she wouldn't have to pine over him anymore. It would all be over the very next day.

Nodding as if to finalize her silent realization, Rikku turned and made her way towards the docks through the crowd of rowdy blitz-fans. The game was almost over and she and the other Al Bhed would be leaving for Bevelle as soon as it was over. The Unity Council was later that night and Rikku had prepare herself for the final act of her dramatic tragedy, her almost-romance with Tidus. She would have to see him with Yuna later and she needed time to steel herself against any sort of emotions that would accompany that. Suddenly filled with a purpose, Rikku quickened her pace when the Celsius came into sight, docked at one of Luca's warfs. She could survive one more night of watching the one she let get away with her beloved cousin. She would have to survive a lifetime of emotionless, meaningless love with Gippal anyway, so why not start early? Rikku spotted her father's bald head shining in the sunlight near the airship and Brother's mowhawk beside it and she called out to them, waving her arms above her head. "Heeey!" Amazed at her own perky-sounding voice, Rikku slowed to a stop in front of her mismatched family, smiling ear to ear despite the numbness she felt in her heart.

"Rikku, where is Gippal? We'll be late if we don't leave right now." Cid's accented Al Bhed words were laced with impatience and at the mention of Gippal Brother snorted and crossed his tattooed arms over his bare chest. "Let's just leave him. He's probably off with some hussy right now, hurting the Al Bhed name even more." Rikku giggled at Brother's tirade, but didn't feel any laughter in her heart. Her mind just told her giggling would be appropriate. Brother smirked and took hold of her tan shoulder, guiding her into the airship, leaving Cid to vent outside. Buddy was already inside the ship, tinkering with something just inside the bay doors. He stood up and nodded a stern greeting to both of them, swinging into step with them as they reached the lift. Rikku felt nothing standing behind them; they were talking about Gippal and the wedding and all that that meant for Rikku and the future of the Al Bhed. Rikku tried to listen, nodding when appropriate, but she couldn't grasp what they were saying at all. Her mind was somewhere else, drifting in the quite of the darkness of deep water. The peace and silence of being miles below the surface suddenly sounded better than anything Buddy or Brother could've offered her. They cared about her, but they couldn't save her.

Rikku blinked when she realized they had both stopped talking and were stepping off the lift into the cockpit. Rikku made her way to her seat, making as if to leap into it as always. But Buddy stepped in front of her, expression serious and despite the way his goggles hid his eyes, Rikku felt them boring into her. Brother was leaning towards them, anxiously awaiting the next thing Buddy was going to say. They had obviously talked about this exchange a lot. "Rikku, Brother and I have been talking about a way to save you from a lifetime with that womanizing jerk since we found out about the arranged marriage a couple weeks ago. We both know he isn't going to be good to you." Rikku felt his gaze rake across her arms where handprint-bruises screamed of the previous night's encounter with Gippal. Rikku looked at her brother who was shaking with rage and wanted to cry, but she didn't feel sad. She had no tears left. Buddy continued and the words sounded muffled and meaningless to her, like the proclamation of a cure to a disease after it had already killed her. "Rikku, I'll talk to Cid if you say it's ok. I'll ask for your hand and you, Brother, and me can take the Celsius and go do whatever we want. We won't really get married of course. It'll just be a way to get you out of marrying Gippal, y'know? Whaddya think Rikku?"

Rikku shook her head twice and placed her hand on Buddy's uber tan cheek. She looked into his goggle-invisible eyes and smiled weakly, feeling light and empty, but sure of herself. "Buddy, I know you would do anything to help me. You too, Brother. But I have to do this, guys. The honor of our family name depends on it. Besides, I don't want to pretend I'm anything I'm not anymore. I'm through with lying to myself and everyone else." She dropped her hand from Buddy's warm cheek and climbed into her seat, awaiting their takeoff. Surprised by her suddenly serious nature, Buddy and Brother traded defeated looks before also assuming their positions, waiting for Cid and Gippal so that they could take off. They had to get to the Unity Council and back to Bikanel. They had an ill-fated wedding to prepare for.

Tidus ignored the pointed fingers and shouts as he barreled through the crowd of angry blitz fans. They were yelling at him, telling him to get back in the sphere; that the Aurochs were helpless were without him. Heaving in deep breaths and lowering his head, Tidus sidestepped them all and plunged ahead towards the docks. That's where they always docked the crimson airship that had carried the Gullwings all across Spira in search of a way to bring him back from the Farplane. Something about the strangeness of that fact still made Tidus cringe a little, but he pushed aside that thought for the moment. All that mattered now was catching Rikku before she left. If his guess was correct, the Al Bhed had just stopped off to watch the game before heading to Bevelle for the Unity Council. They would probably be getting ready to leave even as he ran. But if they were waiting on Gippal, maybe he could get onboard and talk to Rikku. He needed to hear her explain why Gippal seemed to think they were getting married the next day. Tidus could've laughed at him when he said that if it hadn't been for Rikku and Paine's reactions. There were a lot of things that needed to be cleared up between him and Rikku, but he knew one thing for sure. He wanted to be with her and he had meant it when he said forever.

Heart soaring at the thought of being with Rikku for the rest of his life, Tidus rounded the final turn that would bring him to the dock where the Celsius would be with all his hopes and his head held high. The whoosh and boom of the engines of the airship kicking into gear to soar off into the sky brought everything crashing right back down around him. Skidding to a halt, Tidus watched the mammoth red airship roar off into the distance, trailing glowing white clouds behind it as if taunting him, daring him to follow. Tidus gritted his teeth and quelled the urge to cry. He was too late. The thought thundered into his mind louder than the engines of the airship, more real than the hot tears gathering in his eyes. He really was too late. He had hurt Rikku by staying with Yuna and now Yuna had broken things off and he had turned back to Rikku. But he was too late. Tomorrow, on her eighteenth birthday, Rikku would marry Gippal and that was the end of that. Tidus felt a single tear slip down his cheek and watched it splatter against the stones at his feet. The world was dark around him and he could only focus on the hollow realization that he could never be with Rikku. Somehow he had always held her as his back-up; no matter what, he'd always have Rikku! Right? But now that was gone. Yuna was gone and now so was Rikku and he was alone.

"Tidus?" The sad alto of Paine's voice brought Tidus back to the moment. Jerking his head up, tears now falling freely from his blue eyes, Tidus watched as the black-clad warrior made her way across the dock towards him. The sounds of the waves and the seagulls crying out seemed amplified to his ears; they sounded like they were mourning with him, dismayed at his depressing state of being. Paine stopped directly in front of him and fixed her penetrating garnet gaze on him. Unashamed of his tears, Tidus met her stare and whimpered a little. Without saying anything or needing to hear anything, Paine nodded sadly. "I know, Tidus. I know how you feel." A tear escaped her deep eyes and Tidus felt the depth of the moment they were sharing. Two people, as different as they come, alone in love and loss, but brought together by their sadness. Wiping his tears away, Tidus tried to speak, but a sob silenced him. Paine nodded again, more tears falling from her eyes. She was usually so reserved, stoic, emotionless; seeing her break made Tidus feel even more estranged from the reality he had known. After a silent eternity of weeping and staring each other down in sadness, Paine started telling her story. It was a sad story, so Tidus didn't have to feel weird about crying through most of it. He knew she understood.

"Gippal and I met two years ago during the training and testing exercises to select an elite group of warriors for Yevon. I met Baralai and Nooj at the same time. I wasn't actually participating though; I was just recording their efforts for proof of their prowess in battle. We spent a lot of time travelling together, but there was a lot of down time too. Gippal started teaching me Al Bhed and we spent a lot of time together, more time than I spent with either of the others. Soon the friendship Gippal and I shared turned into something more. I figured it didn't mean anything because he was a reckless thrill-seeker who led a dangerous life and an Al Bhed to boot. I wasn't looking for love or anything like that. But isn't that how it always goes?" Paine paused, wiping the tears from her face and turning to watch the waves beat against the stone dock. Tidus sniffled, feeling suddenly very aware of his weakness, but caring very little. He wanted to hear Paine's story, though. He wanted to understand her better because he felt like she understood his pain. After a moment's pause, Paine continued, the sadness in her voice reverberating deep within Tidus' aching heart.

"We would sneak around, meeting each other late at night to make love and hold each other through the night. There was a depth to our coming together that I had never felt with any other man and I think he felt it too. Like there was something much more important right beneath the surface of our fling. I fell in love with him so fast that I didn't have a chance to think about it. He told me he loved me right before the final training exercise in the Cave of Woes. After that, everything changed and we all parted ways. I guess it was better that we did since Gippal has been betrothed to Rikku since she was born. I always knew deep down that Gippal was holding back from me, almost like he was afraid to love me fully. Now I know he was afraid. Afraid of being hurt by losing me, losing love needlessly." Tidus swallowed his tears and shook his head fiercely. "Paine, I know this is going to sound crazy and almost impossible but we have to stop this wedding!" Raising an eyebrow at this comment, Paine turned to stare blankly at her blue companion in loss. "You can't be serious." The flat monotone of her comment only served to fuel Tidus' resolve.

"No, I couldn't be more serious! Listen to me, Paine. We both know what it's like to love and lose that love, but we deserve to be honest with ourselves. We deserve that love and they deserve us! How ashamed of yourself will you be in ten years when Gippal and Rikku are so miserable they can't even bear to see each other anymore if you know you could've done something to stop it? To save them from their unhappy future and make sure we get what we deserve in love we have got to find a way to stop that wedding!" Still skeptical, Paine crossed her arms and shook her head. Her doubt was plastered on her pale face, but Tidus was going to give up. He took her shoulders and shook her gently as he continued his uplifting speech. "Think about how good it felt to hold Gippal, to watch him sleep. Think about how warm and good he made you feel. Now think about the rest of your life without that. Not a pretty image is it? That's exactly what I see when I think about my life without Rikku. She means everything to me, Paine, and I know Gippal means the same to you. So what are we waiting for?"

Tidus finished his tirade, released Paine's shoulders, and waited eagerly for her response. She watched him warily for a moment, the wheels in her head almost visibly turning as she weighed the situation before her. He nearly gave up on her and turned away when she grabbed his arm, looping hers through it and led him back towards the city center. "Know any good airship pilots? We've got a desert island wedding to stop!" Tidus whooped excitedly at her characteristically sarcastic response. As far as he was concerned, he had just made an intense bond with someone who would stand by him no matter what. And they were back in business! Next stop, Bikanel!

AN: ACK!!! AN UPDATE!!!! I know, I know. The tone is complete spectrums of different, but I hope it flows with the rest of the story well enough. It has been a loooong time since I worked on this one, but I feel good about where I'm taking it. I've got a couple more chappies up my sleeves so if you want to read them, REVIEW!!!!!

Kisses!

~sa