Author's note: I'm not dead! Yay! I've finally updated. Studying for my driver's permit, getting a tan, as well as writing my other story, "Bracelet no Chikara" has really taken up my summer vacation. Now that I've finally got around to writing this, I should have it finished soon enough. Then, I have a few more fanfic ideas that I'd like to write. Ok, enough of me talking! Read!

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"Cause when there's you

I feel whole

And there's no better feeling in the world.

But without you, I'm alone.

And I'd rather be in love with you."

~Michelle Branch

'I'd Rather Be In Love With You'

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Auron had spent a majority of the week avoiding Rikku. She, too, seemed to be avoiding him as well, always spending time with Ryo. While she appeared happy all the time, Auron could see it in her eyes. Rikku was downright miserable. Her front wasn't working so well. But she had Ryo fooled, that he knew.

Over the week, the guardian had developed a liking for the clearing in the woods where he had the argument with Rikku. It became his little thinking spot. It was also a way to leave the world of heartache and confusion behind.

"This isn't like me." He thought aloud to himself, twirling a leaf by the stem in his fingers. "Why am I so upset over Rikku? She does have a right to choosing who she wants to date. Or fall in love with. Besides, it was sort of wrong that I was even interested in her. I could be her father for Yevon's sake. Yes, maybe this was for the best. Maybe I should just figure out a way to get back to the Farplane and leave Rikku in peace."

"Oh, come off it Auron. Quit being so melodramatic." A voice Auron recognized as his own spoke from below the tree he was sitting in. Surprised, Auron looked down to find his own body grinning back at him.

"Tidus?"

"Yup, the one and only. And, if I may say so myself, your body, it sucks. I can't see anything, and this darn outfit is too bulky for its own good."

Auron smirked to himself and hopped from the limb of the tree. He had to agree that, while Auron got the better end of the deal by getting to be Tidus for a while, Tidus had to deal with the fact that he was in a body that was almost twice his age. Suddenly, he noticed how Tidus' face glowed as he circled Auron.

"I did not know I looked that good! No wonder all the girls back in Zanarkand wanted to go out with me. Sheesh, I'd go out with myself!" he said arrogantly.

Auron grabbed Tidus by the arm and frowned. "You don't know the situation we're in, do you?"

Tidus suddenly became serious. "Actually, it might be worse than you thought." He replied.

The older guardian raised an eyebrow and brushed a strand of blonde hair from his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you see. Jecht and Braska found out that we only have a limited time on Spira or we'll be transformed into fiends. You know, because we're out of the Farplane? Oh, that, and your predicament with Rikku. As well as mine with Yuna." He stifled a laugh. "The funny thing about all this is . . . Yuna will probably believe me. We could go and tell her now, and she wouldn't mind. Probably be embarrassed because she kissed her boyfriend's mentor and her father's guardian, as well as her own. Other than that, it'd be no problem-o. But then you have Rikku to deal with and she has her boyfriend who she claims to love but I think she's trying to get over you too early which could actually be a bad thing because then she'll-."

"ALRIGHT! I get the picture!! God, will you shut up!?" Auron shouted, quickly becoming annoyed. Tidus sneered and crossed his arms. Silence followed, only interrupted by the chirping of faraway birds.

"So, what do we do, boss?" Tidus mumbled. Auron leaned back against the tree. His blue eyes scanned their surroundings. For the first time in forever, Auron was totally out of ideas.

"I don't know." He whispered. He let a smile escape his lips as he pushed himself off the tree. "Tidus, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. This is, after all, my fault. If I hadn't of jumped-."

"No, don't start. We didn't know this would happen. Besides, what happens happens for a reason. You should never regret anything in life, am I right?"

"Yeah. You're right," he nodded. "Well, I guess the first thing we should do is head back to Besaid Village. Everyone's going to freak now that they think I'm back."

Tidus chuckled. "It's kind of like, 'Oh my gosh! The dead are escaping the Farplane! It's the end of the world!'." He let out a girly scream, impersonating what a girl would do if she, or anyone for that matter, would do if they found out.

Both headed back through the woods, Tidus in awe at being back in Spira. It was almost like he was seeing everything for the first time once more. When they finally reached the entrance to the village, Auron pulled him aside behind the wall. "Tidus, you've got to listen to me. The thing is, I don't think that everyone's ready to find out that we're not each other yet. I've been wanting to give it a little more time before I, or we," he corrected when Tidus gave him a funny look. "Tell them. So, I'm going to need you to act like me for a little while. You got that?" he instructed.

Tidus pushed Auron away and smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine! Being you will be easy. Look! 'I'm Auron and I don't have a clue what's going on around me. I date girls that are half my age and I like to drink sake!' How's that?"

Auron narrowed his eyes and pushed Tidus ahead. "Shut up and keep walking."

"No! Really, was that good?" Tidus persisted. Auron found it quite hard to push Tidus in his former body.

"Yes, it was fine. Happy? Now, let's go." He lied.

The older guardian noticed how many people were eyeing the red-clad man who happened to be Tidus. Of course. Auron was Braska's guardian. And Braska was a sort of legend around Spira. So it was only fitting his guardians were legends, too.

Tidus didn't seem to notice, however. Instead, he walked up to Wakka's hut and pushed the curtain door beside. Lulu was holding the baby and shrieked when she saw the silhouette of someone in her doorway. "What the heck!?" she exclaimed.

"Lulu! It's me! Tid- er, I mean, Auron!" Tidus quickly recovered. Auron slapped a hand to his forehead and shook his head in dismay.

"Auron? Oh god, Auron! You nearly gave me a heart attack. How did you get back here? What's going on?" she had managed to calm down enough to finally talk.

"Oh, what am I doing back? I don't know. Ask Tidus over here! He'd be happy to tell you." Tidus replied cheerfully, nothing close to Auron's persona. He then looked down at the baby Lulu was holding and smiled. "Lulu! I didn't know you were a mother!"

Lulu smiled and shifted the child to her other arm, grinning at him softly. "Yeah, after Wakka and I got married, we both wanted a child. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Auron intervened. "Lulu, I'm sorry to interrupt this little reunion, but you don't happen to know where Rikku, Ryo, and Yuna are, do you?"

The Black Mage nodded. "They took a ship over to Luca and are going to stay there for a while. I'm surprised they didn't tell you."

"Luca? Yeah! I can't wait! Do they still play blitzball? Oh, and those nightclubs! I haven't been to one of those in ages!" Tidus blabbered, not even paying attention to the looks that Auron and Lulu had given him.

"Wow . . . Auron . . . you've sure changed." Lulu speculated.

"Yeah . . . Auron. Why would you want to go to nightclubs in the first place? We're here to see our girlfriends. Not take a tour of Spira. Which, by the way, we already toured when we were on our PILGRIMAGE!" Auron reminded through gritted teeth. Tidus looked at him stupidly for a few seconds before he got the hint.

"Oh! That's right! I'm supposed to act like you." Tidus covered his mouth when he realized what he said. "Crap. I've gotta learn how to keep those things to myself."

Lulu had one eyebrow raised. "Guys, what's going on? This is getting a bit out of control . . ."

Both guys were quiet, neither one wanting to admit what really was happening. Tidus spoke first. "Well, you see . . . I'm not Auron . . . and that's not Tidus. We kind of switched bodies."

Lulu's mouth dropped and her eyes widened a little bit. "Wait a minute . . . you're each other? Tidus is in Auron's body and Auron is in Tidus' body?"

"Yes. That's why I can't get near Yuna. Because she'd be with the wrong person." Auron chipped in.

"Why haven't you told the girls yet? I mean, they need to know. Rikku is slowly, but surely, falling in love with Ryo." She then turned to Tidus. "And you! Be grateful Wakka isn't here. Do you realize how sad Yuna was when you left? You promised her and then left her alone for a year!" Lulu was now up in Tidus' face. "You owe her an apology! I don't care what she says about your . . . dilemma . . . but you'd better find a way to make it up to her. Fast!"

"I'm sorry, Lulu. It wasn't my fault. Really! I wouldn't have made those promises if I had known I wouldn't be around much longer." Tidus explained.

"Lulu, you don't happen to know if there's a ship leaving port anytime soon, do you?" Auron asked. He didn't care for these petty arguments. He just wanted to get to Rikku!

"I think there's one leaving tomorrow to go to Kilika and then to Luca. You can stay here for the night if you'd like. There's still a lot of explaining you guys need to do. Wakka will want to hear also. So, maybe you should wait until he gets home. Make yourselves comfortable." She gestured to the room before them. Auron and Tidus gave each other a calming look and both made to the couch.

Lulu had left the hut, leaving the two men alone. Tidus turned to Auron and shrugged. "See, telling everyone isn't that hard. Why would it be so hard to tell Rikku and Yuna?"

"Because, I don't want to push her farther away." Auron whispered, looking down into the palms of his hands.

"Well, you'd better find a way to tell her soon. We've got a limited time. Remember that." The teen reminded, leaning back into the couch and putting his hands behind his head.

Auron pursed his lips and looked to the door. Let's hope telling her will be easier said than done.

~*~*~

Auron and Tidus stepped off the ship on the port of Luca four days after leaving Besaid. Tidus was busy jogging up ahead, anxiously looking from one site to the other. Auron, however was too busy with other things on his mind.

After much yelling and scolding made by Wakka and Lulu, everyone figured it was for the best that the two told Yuna and Rikku immediately what happened. And both agreed that it was Yuna they told first. With her on their side, it'd be much easier to convince Rikku who they were.

Ryo was another story.

Even if they did tell her in the short amount of time they had, how could they get her to break up with Ryo? Would she even want to break up with him?

"Auron? Hey Auron! C'mon, let's go! Lulu and Wakka said they were staying in one of Rin's resorts he has set up here! It should be near the Blitzball stadium! C'mon, I want to see Yuna!" he called out to his mentor.

After aimless wandering for over an hour in the large city, they finally stumbled upon a large resort hotel. Many people were bustling through the large, revolving doors, suitcases and all. Cars and such would pull up to the door and brush past the two as if they were nothing.

Tidus crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, are we going to stand here all day?"

Auron turned and raised a single eyebrow at him. "Are you attempting to boss me around? You may have forgotten, but I'm still older than you."

The teen suppressed a giggle. "It's so funny to see you say that . . . in that body."

Auron rolled his eyes and walked through the revolving doors, Tidus in tow. When they walked in through the doors, their jaws dropped to the ground. There were no words to describe just how . . . ornate the lobby was. The ceilings were painted with angels like in a cathedral and the furniture was lovely red velvet trimmed with gold. The marble-tiled floors were cleaned to perfection and every employee wore ironed uniforms.

While both continued to gawk, a tall, blonde man approached them from behind. "Ah, Welcome to Rin's Hotel. How may I help you?"

Tidus turned around and smiled as he recognized the man. "Hey! I know you! You're Rin. Remember me? It's Tidus."

Rin appeared confused. "I'm terribly sorry. But you cannot be Tidus for you are Auron and you," he gestured to Auron, "Are Tidus."

Auron cleared his throat. "Long story made short, we switched bodies."

Rin, still mystified, spoke. "Well, if you say so. Anyway, how may I help you? Would you like to stay for the night, perhaps?"

"Actually, we were wondering. Did Rikku, Yuna, and a man named Ryo come through here?"

"Yes. Just yesterday. The man you are talking about, Ryo, paid for the penthouse at the top of the hotel, of course. Would you like to visit them?"

"That'd be great." Auron agreed, walking toward the elevators and pressing the button to go up. Tidus caught up with the key to the trio's room as well as their own.

"Don't worry about the price. It's on the house." Rin called after them as they made their way onto the crowded elevator.

After numerous stops on the way to the top, Auron and Tidus finally arrived at the penthouse suite. "Maybe Rikku's a gold-digger!" Tidus suggested rather loudly, receiving a cold stare from Auron. "Oh, that's right. You're dead."

"Just give me the key." The guardian retorted. Tidus handed him the key and both proceeded to the door. As they were about to place the key in the door, it flung open.

"Ryo, don't worry about us! We'll be back in-." Rikku was stopped when she was face-to-face with Auron and Tidus. Yuna appeared from around the corner and stopped, too.

"Uh, hey . . . Rikku." Tidus greeted rather awkwardly. His gaze, however, quickly fell upon Yuna who was still standing back shyly. Auron jabbed him in the stomach, bringing him back from his dream world. Rikku was now looking at Tidus (Auron's body) with such surprise.

"Oh my gosh . . . Auron . . . ." she whispered. "Why are you back?"

"Um . . . because I was allowed?" Tidus tried.

Rikku snapped from her trance when Ryo appeared from around the corner as well. "Girls, what's wrong? Are you alr-." He halted when he saw the red-clad guardian in the doorway along with 'Tidus'. "Rikku, who's this?"

Still a bit dazed, she turned to Ryo and spoke faintly. "Ryo, this is Auron. Now, if you'll excuse me, Yuna and I have some shopping to do." She reached for Yuna's hand and pulled her out the door, between Tidus and Auron.

Auron looked behind his shoulder at the girls who were still rushing to get away. I don't understand . . .

~*~*~

Author's note: Ok, I have an explanation for why I've suddenly stopped this chapter. You see, it's almost eight pages long. The thing is, I have a lot more planned for this chapter. So, guess what? You see that little button at the bottom where you can advance to the next chapter? That's part 2 of this chapter! Yay! So, go ahead and read the rest! Maybe someone will find out about the whole ordeal!