Ahoy, mateys! Here be another chapter fer ye! I'm still a little ify about the Blitz scene, seeing as I have no idea how sports are viewed or played. I don't do the sports thing. Oh, and I'm entirely too lazy to translate all of the Al Bhed words, so anything in quotes and italics is spoken in Al Bhed. That way you don't have to scroll down to the ending to fine out what they are saying.

I don't own FF X-2 or any of her characters. I just use them with no profit for little me.

"Are you ready to leave?" Braska was standing with Auron and Rikku on the pier, waiting to board the ship. Rikku nodded, her bag sitting on the wooden planks where she had dropped it. Only the handle was still in her hand.

"Yes. We should go before Rikku melts." The sound of a metal object hitting Auron's head resounded, making Braska and several others turn to look. Rikku was glowering at Auron, the gold staff held threateningly. It was ridiculous for a mage, which she was dressed as once again, to attack anything. Auron was absentmindedly rubbing the back of his head as he returned her glower. "What was that for?"

"For you being mean." She was half pouting when she said it. Auron tried not to smile at the sight, but he failed. "What's so funny? You want some more?" She moved the staff, but Auron caught it and held it still. Rikku glared at him, attempting to pull it from his grasp. She was pulling and tugging, even bracing her legs against one of Auron's. Nothing worked, however. "You're so mean, Auron."

He responded by plucking the staff from her hands and shouldering her bag along with his, carrying it onto the ship destined for Luca. Braska gave him an amused smile, then followed him on board. Rikku went last, grumbling to herself.

"Why didn't you just take the bag in the first place, Auron?"

"It would not have been nearly as amusing, Lord Braska."

"True, but I fear she is upset with you now."

"I'll make it up to her."

Rikku did not speak to him again until they were half way to Luca. She had wandered to the second level deck, watching the sun set over the ocean waves. Auron came up behind her, loosely wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Are you still angry with me?"

"Slightly annoyed." He chuckled, pulling her closer. "Hey, how does that mean you have permission to cuddle me?"

"Cuddle? Men do not 'cuddle' in public."

"Then what do you call it?"

"A tender embrace." Auron bent slightly to kiss her neck below the ear. "Come to our cabin and I'll do more than cuddle with you." Rikku snorted softly but opened her neck for more kisses. "Or will you make me sleep by myself?"

"Like I'd make you do that, silly man." He smiled slightly, then started gently biting her neck instead of kissing it. "I was in the middle of watching the sunset, you know."

"It's already over. Come back with me."

"I don't get a say in it?"

"Come back with me."

"Alright."

-----------------------

"Did we sleep well?" Braska asked over a cup of tea with a straight face.

"Great, thanks!" Rikku said, smiling with her usual glee. Auron nodded, slightly red faced. Braska smiled, pointedly not saying anything about it. That made him blush more than he already was. "When will we get to Luca, Braska?"

"Soon, I think. The winds picked up last night, which accounts for the rough ride we had."

"It's more fun when it's rough." Auron dropped his face into a palm, trying to keep it from getting any redder.

"It does add a bit of excitement, doesn't it Rikku?"

"Yep, yep! A smooth, gentle ride is great and all, but having it rough is so stimulating!"

"The two of you enjoy embarrassing me, don't you?"

"Yes." They said in unison. Auron closed his eyes and sighed.

It was a relief for Auron when the docked at Luca. Rikku was happily looking around and chatting with him and Braska about Blitzball. They were considering going to a game and asked his opinion.

"We should head out as soon as possible." Rikku pouted slightly at him. "I said 'should'. The match between the Goers and the Psyches starts in two hours if we can get tickets."

"YAY! There's the ticket counter! Let's see if there are any left!" Rikku bounced ahead of them, her hat nearly falling off. She was talking with the woman at the counter, who laughed along with her several times. Rikku came bouncing back, landing right in front of them. "I got us tickets! They're good seats, too!"

"Indeed. How did you manage to get these? Box seats sell out first for nearly every game." Auron asked.

"Nah, they just say that to make you buy them ahead of time. If you know what to say you can get them any time."

"Well then, this ought to be enjoyable. Let's go to the inn first."

"Yeah!" Rikku jumped up slightly clapping her hands. "And let's go to the souvenir shop too! I want a Psyches foam finger and a hat!"

The match turned out to be a good one. The first half of the game went by with neither team scoring. The Goers had faster and stronger forwards than the Psyches, but the Psyches had a nearly impenetrable defense. The Luca team was getting upset at the lack of points and had started to take it out on the opposing team. Several times there were slights the referee missed. Rikku, and many of the other fans, became upset, yelling at the calls the referee made.

Rikku was up on her feet several times, waving the foam finger she had bought like it ought to be making an obscene gesture at the Goers. Her bag of popcorn nearly spilled several times when she jumped up in her excitement.

"BOOOOO! The ref is BLIND! That's cause for a penalty shot and you KNOW IT!" Her enthusiasm was remarkable. Their neighbors noticed and smiled at the two calm men she was with in understanding. "YES! THE PSYCHES GET THE PENALTY SHOT! That's what I thought!" Rikku sat back down, accepting the bag of peanuts offered to her by Braska. The summoner was between Auron and Rikku, with Braska catching her popcorn every time she jumped.

"Rikku," Braska asked once she finished chewing a handful of peanuts. "Are you such an avid Psyches fan as this at every game?"

"Kinda. I hate the Goers on principle, so I'd be rooting for any team going against them. But the Psyches are a GREAT team. The old roster is so awesome. They could use some stronger forwards, but hey, no team is perfect. Cept for the Gullwings, of course. There hasn't been a team that can even score two points against us."

"The Gullwings?"

"It's a team me and Yunie made back home with a bunch of other people. Beat the Goers into the groundwater lots of times. See we have- THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT YOU PANSY! DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON THE OTHER TEAM CAUSE YOU SUCK!" The entire crowd had gotten to their feet to see one of the Psyches unconscious and bleeding while one of the Goers was being pulled back by his teammates. "Oh no! He's hurt bad!" Braska and Auron were already on their feet, Auron reaching out and pulling Rikku along with them.

"Come on. The white mages on staff here can't cure an injury that severe." Rikku nodded and ran alongside her companions to the emergency clinic in the stadium. It was between the locker rooms for both teams. The mage there looked relieved when Braska walked in. He got up and let Braska take over, watching with an air of admiration at the high level cure spell the summoner used.

"He'll recover, but it will take time. Keep him strapped to the bed until he regains consciousness and then it's bed rest and a low cure spell every other day until he is well." The other mage nodded and began shooing everyone out of the room. The rest of the Psyches team were standing outside, eagerly awaiting news of their teammate.

"Well he is, Summoner?" The captain asked in broken Spiran. Braska nodded and the man sagged with relief. "Thank you, Summoner." The other Psyches began talking at once. Auron only caught a few words of it, mostly about the game being over.

"Like hell it's over! You're just going to let them get away with that?" Rikku said, speaking Al Bhed.

"Trais was our best forward. We can't win without him."

"I'll play!"

"You're not on the team roster to be eligible, even if you COULD play."

"Two things. One, I can whip your ass in Blitzball. Two, the rules state that players may be replaced during times of severe injury. It doesn't say anything about having to be on the roster." The captain looked doubtful about Rikku's prowess in the game.

"She speaks the truth." Braska put in, gaining the team's attention. "I would not turn down the offer of her assistance."

"Summoner, you saw what was done to Trais. The same could happen to this mage."

"She would not be my guardian if she was easily defeated." The captain blinked, then once again looked at Rikku. He leaned down slightly to peer under her hat. His eyes widened with shock and he took a step back. He nodded, and someone ran off to find the referee.

"Auron?" Rikku turned to him holding out her foam finger. "Will you hold onto this until I get back?" Auron nodded, taking it silently. "What's wrong?"

"I have no wish to see you get hurt." She smiled and pulled his face down to her for a soft kiss. "Be careful."

"I will. Promise."

The referee came up to them at this point, and agreed with their plan. Rikku bounced off to the locker room to change with one of the female Psyches while the roster was reposted with Rikku listed as 'Guest'. When the rest of the team was invited back inside, Braska and Auron were left to themselves.

"Shall we go back to our seats, Auron?"

"Why did you allow her to do this?"

"Because she would do so anyway and you know that. Besides, I can not believe the Goers would stoop so low as to injure an opponent so severely. He could have died."

"That is my point! The same could happen to her!"

"You're angry with me, then."

"Yes. But more at myself."

"You told me yourself that I would have better luck stopping a stampede of chocobos than of changing that woman's mind."

"Logic does not make me feel any better about this." Braska patted his shoulder. It made Auron sigh.

"I understand. I felt the same way when Mari had to help with the Sand Dragon infestation on Bikanel."

The game resumed, with Rikku playing forward. Her hair was still blond, but it was in a looped ponytail to stay out of the way. The Psyches took their penalty shot, and the game went back to normal. The Goers took the ball first, but the Psyches defense stole it, passing it to Rikku. She was off through the water like a fish, dodging and tackling her opponents. She got close to the goal, then passed it to Rias, the Psyches captain. The ball went through two lines of the Goers defense with enough momentum to allow it to break free of the water barrier behind the goal after Rias' kick.

The crowd went wild, leaping to their feet and cheering loudly. Braska grinned and grabbed the hand Auron was using to hold Rikku's foam finger and waved it about. Auron gave his summoner an incredulous look before yanking his hand away. Braska kept on grinning, clapping as the teams faced off again. This time the Psyches managed to get the ball. They surprised the Goers, and the crowd, when one of the highest defensive players came up front and was passed the ball. He burst through the Goers defense and passed it to another Psyche who got within scoring distance but lost the ball to the Goers. They managed to score a goal, taunting the Psyches before going back to their goal.

Once again, the Goers got the ball at face off, only to have it stolen by Rias and passed around until it got to Rikku. There were only thirty seconds left in the game, and she was quickly surrounded by the Goers defensive line. The sphere screen showed a close up view of her, and she was grinning.

Rikku bounced the ball off of one defensive head, kicked it against the chest of one and kneed it up and out of the water barrier at the top. After executing a backward flip in the air after the ball went up, she kicked it back in. It streaked through the water, knocking the goalie's hand aside and into the goal.

The buzzer sounded, marking the end of the game. The entire stadium was on its feet, cheering the Psyches victory. The Goers sulked back to their locker room as the Psyches celebrated in the arena. The minute they went back to the locker room, Auron was out of his seat, followed by Braska. They made their way through security and to the locker room. Auron was about to knock on the door when Rikku burst out of it, once again dressed as a mage, and knocked him over. She was grinning ear to ear as she landed on him, her legs on either side of his torso.

"Did you see that! I hope they keep their tails between their legs from now on! YEAH!" Auron sat up, making Rikku slide down and land on his lap with a surprised squeak. She hugged his neck tightly, whispering in his ear so that no one else heard.

"Thanks for letting me play."

"You speak as though I had a choice in the matter." There was a hint of a smile in his voice, even if he was keeping a straight face.

"Hehe. You could have told me no and I would have listened to you." Rikku got up, somewhat to his disappointment, and offered him a hand up. He took it, finding not only Braska smiling at him but the entire Psyches team as well. Rias walked up to him after Rikku went to talk to them.

"Lucky you are for such a woman to have."

"Yes, but I have worry with luck."

"I would think she is well worth it."

"She is worth more than worry." Rias smiled and slapped his back companionably before walking back to his team. Auron thought about the words he just spoke. She is worth more than anything else to me. I wonder why?

Gee, lets wonder why, Auron. You really are thick headed, aren't you? Oh well. Review if you liked it. I might change the Blitz part, so be aware of that.

Cap'n Tagg