~*~ Heylo all my people! Sorry for the very long time of updating, but I have been doing so much these past couple of months that have drawn me away from the story! I haven't forgotten about it though ;) Well, thanks a lot for all the reviews that I got. I hope you like this chappy, it has a little sumthin sumthin for me being away for so long. Well, enjoy!~*~

My back was facing the red clad, knowing that his attention dwelling only upon me. The young Blitzer finally made the decision to depart from our conversation and enter the mysterious Farplanes. Now, with the boy gone, it left me open like a fresh wound, ready for the intake of bacteria. I closed my emerald eyes to the world and let a long and relieved sigh escape my lips.  His cold stare was upon me, the piercing sensation of suspicion stabbing me straight in the back. Gripping the wall beneath me tightly, I could not bare to take a glance at him, for if I did, I knew right then and there I would be under his spell.

"Rikku," he called out from the grey collar that was separating his face from the world.

My eyes popped open quickly, as if an arrow had been shot in my stomach. I clenched the stone wall tighter, almost bearing white knuckles from my freight. I couldn't say that I was so much scarred of him, but more on the lines of being mad at him. I gritted my teeth for a second, pondering to myself what he could possibly want now from me.

Auron watched the young Al Bhed shift her head to the side as if she didn't want to answer him. He closed his good eye and sighed, knowing how difficult this was going to be to get her to talk.

As his rugged voice spoke out my name from his dry and tired lips, I could only feel his invisible drug seep into my skin. He was taunting me; taunting me in a way in which I knew I could not ignore. I tried my best to fight off the irresistible urge to look at him, but no matter how hard I tried, it didn't work.

The red clad began to shut his eye again after calling out her name with no success in the end. Then, at the last second, he caught movement within the air and he suddenly peered open his eye to find her turning and facing him slowly. A small, yet gentle, smirk fell on his lips as he watched the young guardian face him.

His gloved hand, the one in which was used to help support his sturdy sword had fell beside him on the wall and bounced several times, indicating for Rikku to join his side. The Al Bhed gasped silently to herself, not quite possibly sure is she should approach the elder. Seeing no harm, one foot was placed in front of the other and she made her way to where he was.

A russet eye disappeared from the world as a small smirk replaced it for the time being. He felt her presence sit beside him, her scent floating around his own body, lifting his hopes, and lifting his senses. The ex-monk kept his face away from Rikku's as she finally settled herself next to him.

I was a bit terrified, I have to say. I wasn't quite sure on what to do when he called me over. My mind was screaming for me to just throw this here apple at his big noggin, but when his gentle voice had reached his lips and uncovered into the air, I couldn't help but feel something, different, from within. I found myself seconds later, unwillingly moving closer to him, as if he had place a magic spell over my body and pulled me with strings. Strange….

I placed my hands upon my lap and cleared my throat once I was seated next to him. A bit uncomfortable was how I felt then. I tried not to lock in with his face, but a question already began to rise inside my little head.

"So, I guess, your not mad at me huh?" I asked, a bit insecure with what the outcome may be.

The legendary man closed his eye and let out a gentle "Hmph". His head slightly turned to mine as his left hand started to scratch his chin. "It appears not."

That would do, I assumed. After traveling with Auron for a couple of days, I began to realize that he only spoke the truth, no matter what the situation or question may be. So now, after hearing his answer to my question, I was pleased to know that I wasn't on his hit list.

The minutes passed, the sun was growing tired, and yet we still sat there…in utter silence. Strange enough though, it felt, well, good to be here next to him. Being next to him made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore. All my anger towards him was also gone now, and just spending some good old, well, quiet time with Auron wasn't so bad after all.

I'm not gonna lie, I wanted to stay like this forever. It was definitely an eternal bliss I was experiencing right now, and boy, did I not want it to end. I turned my head up towards him again and poked his arm gently, hoping that I wasn't becoming a pain to him. The man faced his eye to me and looked into my eyes.

"Yes?" he spoke softly.

I froze. Oh god, did my body tense up at that very moment. It felt like I couldn't breathe, or blink for that matter! My lips trembled from freight, trying ever so hard to spit out the mans famous name. My voice cracked and I covered my mouth quickly once the sound had left my mouth.

The warrior couldn't help but release a small smile from his face as she watched the Al Bhed cover her mouth and do other sorts of strange gestures to discipline her mistake.

"Its alright." He said to her as he hand reached out and grabbed her own.

I froze again. His hand was now upon mine. Oh, cred, what to do, what to do! Meh! Someone, anyone, give me a soft potion!

He felt her tremble under his leather glove. His mind wondered why she could be so nervous. Poor child, he thought, she so afraid. Auron was not sure if this was something that Rikku had experienced before, or if this was an everyday thing for her. Well, there was a possibility that this could be a normal routine for her if she ever found herself this afraid. His mouth released a gentle chuckle from the thought and he glanced to look at the teenagers face.

Oh no, he's looking at me again! Oh cred, he's, he's…he's smiling? This couldn't be. Wait, why could Auron be smiling right now?

"Hey," I spoke out and broke my petrifaction, "what's so funny?"

"Not funny," he replied, "but beautiful."

The green eyes
Yeah the spotlight
Shines upon you

And how could
Anybody

Deny you

Those words. No one, not in all my life, had said anything more beautiful than that to me…ever. My mouth dropped, my stomach placed a sign reading "Butterflies Welcome", my heart grew. All these new emotions triggered my emerald eyes to spin, spinning in a fashion which Auron had been waiting for.

"Ahh, the infamous swirling eyes." Auron whispered.

And how could anyone deny you, Auron thought. Watching her, a small smile rising like the gentle Kilika sun, had made him feel wanted. The warrior had been wondering Spira for so long, ignoring the call of the Farplane, as well as the call of love. His feelings had surpassed, love was something he knew not of. The cruel haunting of Jecht had chased his cravings away, making him into this stone, headstrong warrior.

"Nobody said it was easy," Jecht had said to him during one rainy afternoon. It was the dreaded afternoon when he felt the cravings to be with someone.

Auron had remembered this night well. They were with his Summoner, Braska, venturing up the long roads of Macalania one late afternoon. It started out to be a horrible day from the time he rose from his sleeping bag consisting of his red overcoat. It was only a week into his journeys and he already felt the longing to be held by someone, for his arms to be wrapped around someone he had loved. Jecht constantly teased him, seeing that Auron was never this vulnerable before. Jecht was winning this round, Auron remembered.


"No one ever said it would be so hard." Auron had replied to Jecht's taunt. He was sitting on a rock, head in hands as the rain poured down on him. Jecht remained inside the tent, not wanting to comfort his friend's problem; not even in the rain. Auron remained outside, the degree's dropping and the rain continuing to fall.

He felt so alone.

I'm going back to the start, Auron decided.

The arm which was extended out to Rikku's own had tensed. The Al Bhed cocked her head to the side, wondering what in the world could Auron be doing. Her eyes locked with his own, watching every move the ex-monk had made. She watched as Auron bit his lower lip, obviously concentrating on something very important. Auron's face had scrunched and contorted into a pile of torment, giving off the impression that he was trying to fight off a deadly disease from inside his old body.

Seeing Auron in this type of situation was something I did not want to witness. I lifted my body off of the ledge while still tightly holding on to Auron's gloved hand. Placing one foot in front of another, I made my way in front of the warrior, slowly approaching the time bomb.

"Auron," I pushed out with no volume, "are you alright?" I watched as the man slowly came to his senses, his expression had changed from a confused and frighten look to a more, relaxed state.

He wanted to open his eyes, but he was afraid to face Jecht's taunts and laughter. A grown man like he was still afraid of a deceased man's taunts. God, what would Braska think of him now?

"Open up your eyes."

He heard the oh-so gentle voice from outside his nightmares. The girl's voice was like a mother's whisper, something Auron had always adored. The voice traveled inside of him and conquered Jecht's jeering, and had completely banished the horrible man's voice from his head. A russet eye, finally open, had relieved the worried Rikku.

What happened?, Auron had thought. He looked up to find his savior, his savior of something so small and adolescent for the past 2 minutes.

The blonde smiled, her star white teeth shinning brightly in the cryptic man view. "Oh Auron," she hugged him unexpectedly, "you're alright!"

Auron took a deep breath and let the girl hold him. Boy, he admitted, did this feel good. He took his own arm and wrapped it around the teenagers back, letting her know that what she had done was appreciated.

I felt his arm wrap around me and for a quick second, I felt insecure. Then, after realizing that Auron needed me, I smiled and let him continue to hold me.

"What happened?" I asked while his arm was bound to my back.

"It does not matter." he said silently. "But thank you."

I smiled again and finally leaned back from our embrace. My mind pondered a quick and silly thought and as an effect, my lips created a giggle.

"What is so funny?" he asked gently.

"Well, if you wanted a hug, you coulda just asked me, you silly goon." I smiled.

Auron was amazed…simply amazed. He thought that now should be the best time to tell her what he has always been wanted to tell her.

"Do you know why I asked you to sit beside me?" he asked her.

Still holding his hand, I took my other hand and placed my forefinger into my mouth, biting the end of it. "Uhhhhh…." I had no clue what to answer. "No?"

Auron smirked. "Have a seat." He gestured.

I sat beside him and let go of his hand. As I did, he placed his arms on his legs and starred down to the ground. Deep breath. This was it. Another deep breath.

"I…I came up to meet you, to tell you I'm sorry." He spitted out, his voice jagged and unsure. Hearing him talk like this was something unusual for such a man like him. Yet I still sat there, in silence, waiting for him to finish what he had to say. Subconsciously though, I began to take my finger and twirl my hair.

He turned his head to me, and then quickly starred back to the ground like he was originally doing. "You don't know how…" he choked up then.

I stopped twirling my hair and leaned in closer to him, wondering if he was ok. I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Auron? It's alright. You can tell good ol' Rikku."

He closed his eye again, and I sat there and watched as he mouthed the words he was going to say. Another deep breath and he opened his eye. "You don't know how lovely you are."

My mouth dropped. Wait, he couldn't have just said that, no way. This is Auron were talking about! I took the hand that was on his shoulder and placed it over my mouth. He glanced over to me, "I had to find you, to tell you I need you. To tell you that I set you apart. "

"A-Apart from what?" I said to him shocked.

He looked at me through his dark shades, "Apart from the others."

My eyes swirled quickly, and I think that's all Auron wanted. He took my hand that was over my mouth and gently placed his inside. I smiled; still totally shocked that he said what I had always wanted to hear.

A small tug was all it took and his arms wrapped around me. His huge kimono jacket shielded me from the cruel Spira that we were undergoing. Inside, the two of us, seemed to be connected finally, cutting out all our differences for this one moment, cutting out all the fiends and ghouls for this one opportunity. His hand lifted my chin up to his eye level letting me star deep into that mysterious russet eye. His hand then surfed the area of my small cheek, memorizing my jaw line and messaging my lip with his thumb.

"How-how did you know?" I asked with a small smile on my face.

"I was just guessing, at numbers and figures." He replied in a whisper.

His whispered voice sent shivers down my spine. Oh how exhilarating his deep voice was. I looked to him again, my eyes still swirling form his words, even more so from this experience. "But-" I began.

"Shh." He placed a finger over my lips and leaned in closer. "Don't speak as loud as my heart."

I was spellbound. I finally knew he felt the same way I did and it made the largest smile on my face appear. I wanted to see if he was smiling too so I reached out and lowered his grey collar. Once down, I saw the small smirk that I was expecting to see. Auron inched closer to my face, his nose gently brushing up against my cheek. I was so nervous then and everything was happening so quickly and unexpectedly that all I could do was smile and close my eyes. Auron leaned in closer to my body, wrapping his arms around my back, messaging my shoulders.

Then, it happened.

I opened my eyes and saw Auron's own eye watching me. This was it, now was the perfect time and I wasn't going to let it slip away from me again. I placed a hand around the back of his head and let my little Al Bhed nose touch with his. With our eyes closing and opening like a person on the verge of being unconscious, our lips had guided themselves blindly to each others.

Lips pressed against lips, hands wrapped around any body part that was in range, we connected. I continued kissing him, feeling his warm and soft lips touch my own. If this is what the Farplane feels like, then let me stay in this part of it forever. I opened my mouth a little wider, letting him know to deepen the kiss. He followed, and our link was finally made.

Two mussels, dancing and gliding between each other so gracefully inside two people that thought it would never be. I wasn't caring about anything right now; not about Yuna, not about Spira, about anything. This was what I have been craving for the past couple of days. I didn't care if I knew him or not, all I knew was what I felt, and what I felt was true. That's all a person should worry about, what they feel. And what I felt at this moment, was someone who finally cared about me.

~*~Hehehe, hoped ya liked it. Hey, write back n let me know! Don't worry, more to come more to come!!!! Hehe go get some orange sorbet too, it's really good!!!~*~