Author's note: Gah, I feel so bad! I noticed I haven't put a disclaimer on this story since the beginning. So, lemme start of by saying I don't own any of this except the plotline and for Ryo (whom I wanna crush to pieces . . . Or maybe I can make him help me with my story.) So don't steal. Stealing's bad! :-P

Not much else to say. So, you can start reading now.

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"Will you walk me

To the edge again?

Shaking, lonely

And I am drinking again.

Woke up tonight and no one's here

With me

I'm giving in to you."

~Giving In

Adema

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Rikku and Ryo sat in a booth in a fancy restaurant overlooking the waters off the coast of Luca. Rikku kept looking down at her new engagement ring and couldn't help but feel guilty at wearing it. Ryo noticed her uneasiness and reached across the table to hold her hand. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Are you having some doubts? Listen, everything's going to be fine, don't worry."

She shook her head. "It's not that, Ryo. Its just . . . remember how I was telling you about Auron, and how he was just a friend?" she started.

Ryo laughed. "Oh, that blonde-haired dimwit? Don't tell me he's got anything to do with you having-."

"Listen to me! No, Auron's the one who just appeared the other day. The one in the red coat? The other guy you're talking about is Tidus. But that's not the point. Look, this is really hard to say, so I'm going to say it. During Yuna's pilgrimage, when I met Auron, we started seeing each other secretly during the journey. Well, when he died, of course I had to let go of him and that's when I met you. I guess you could say I'm a little guilty about wearing this ring and then seeing Auron come back." When she looked up, she gasped. Ryo's face was contorted to express such anger and jealousy that Rikku had never seen before.

"Auron's twice your age, Rikku." He tried to keep his cool but it wasn't working.

"I realize that. And it was just a silly little crush. Can we just drop it now? I told you what I was feeling-."

Ryo had stood up and knocked everything off the table. The commotion drew everyone's eyes to the couple. "I forbid you to see him again, under any circumstances," he shouted. He reached out for her hand but missed when she pulled away. He tried again but failed. So he pulled her hair and finally grabbed hold of her wrist. "We're leaving."

Rikku winced as she was dragged through the maze of tables, everyone avoiding her eyes. Nobody would help her. Ryo was the richest guy in Luca. Why would they want to mess with him? When they finally came outside, Ryo pushed her away from him and glared down upon her. She tried hard to hold the tears of embarrassment and shame back. "It's not what you think. I love you, Ryo. Please, you've got to believe me. Auron's just a thing of the past. Would you stop being so jealous and possessive?" she pleaded.

When he saw just how hurt she was, all anger faded from his face, replaced with fear. "Oh god, Rikku. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean . . . I wasn't thinking, I . . . Rikku I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" he repeated.

The Al-Bhed immediately looked up at her fiancée. How had it been that, less than ten seconds ago, Ryo was pulling her hair and yelling in her face to being all gentle and apologetic? She pulled away from his hand which was resting on her cheek and shook her head. "What are you trying to pull?" she hissed.

"What are you talking about? Sweetie, I didn't mean to hurt you and I promise not to do it again. I was just a little jealous, that's all. C'mon, don't be all cold towards me. Let's go back to the hotel and order some wine and forget about tonight," he suggested. Rikku looked back at his face and couldn't help but smile. Ryo's face was just so adorable when he wanted his way. She nodded and linked her arm through Ryo's when he offered it.

"I promise I won't pull your hair like that again. Nor will I embarrass you in front of a whole restaurant either," Ryo whispered in her ear, though Rikku could detect a hint of playfulness in his voice, almost as if he didn't mean it at all. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and figured it was her mind playing tricks on her and leaned closer to Ryo's muscular arm. She breathed in his cologne and sighed. How could she not forgive him, either? He was everything she wanted.

He was everything she wanted . . .

Right?

~*~*~

Yuna was lying in Tidus' bed, Auron sitting in a chair in the corner and Tidus standing against the wall. When Yuna had found out about the whole ordeal, she came back with Tidus and agreed to help them with getting Rikku back with Auron, even though she thought it was a bit wrong on all levels.

"Yuna, how long has Rikku been with this Ryo character?" Tidus spat, almost disgusted with the name.

"Well, they met about two months after the Pilgrimage, so . . . I'd say about eight months."

"Why would he want to get married to her so soon? Only eight months after they'd started dating?" Auron raised one eyebrow.

"I heard him talking to his father on the phone last night after he proposed to her and he said that he was a bit jealous of this 'Auron' guy. He knows she still a bit attached to you, Sir Auron. So, to erase you from her mind, he wants to marry her as soon as possible."

"So, you're saying he really didn't want to propose to her out of love? He's jealous?" the blitzball star inquired.

Yuna looked at the ground and thought of what to say. "Well, I didn't say that. He does love her. She's practically his whole world. But, yes. His jealousy is a bit of the reason that he proposed to her. I'm worried for Rikku. Sometimes I'm worried he'll hurt her, the way he gets jealous."

Auron snapped his head up at Yuna at this comment. "What do you mean you're worried he'll hurt her?"

"I'm afraid he'll go overboard with this whole engagement and jealousy thing that he'll do something drastic. I could be wrong, though."

"Are you saying he's abusive?" Auron persisted, leaning farther and farther off the chair.

"Calm down, Auron. She didn't say that. All she said was-."

"No, Tidus," Yuna interrupted. "I think that, if he was pushed enough, Ryo might actually become abusive."

Tidus let out a nervous laugh. "But Rikku's always going on and on about how perfect Ryo is. It doesn't make sense."

"Why didn't you stop her, Yuna?" the older guardian's knuckles were white from gripping the sides of the chairs tightly.

"I tried. But she was so convinced that she was really in love with him. So, when he proposed, it was such a blessing for her. She could forget about you and go on with her life."

Auron stood up and paced the room. "This is my entire fault."

"Oh, shut up Auron! Please stop with the dramatics. Look, just go tell her right now how you feel. Tell her everything. I can't stand much of your moping anymore!"

"Tidus!" Yuna scolded.

"No, I'm serious. I told Yuna about how I felt. I told her about our problem. You? What have you accomplished these past weeks? Absolutely nothing."

"Shut up!" Auron screamed, throwing a phone book at the teen, hitting him in the chest. "I'm sorry that I have no clue what to do. I'm sorry that I'm absolutely scared of rejection. Well, Tidus? What more do you want me to say? I've exploited my weakness to you. What more do you want?" he continued to pace the room. "God, Tidus. You just don't know when to quit. Not everyone is as brave as you, alright? I know you mean well when you motivate someone, but sometimes enough is enough."

The tension was thick enough to cut through. Tidus nodded and pushed himself off the wall. "C'mon Yuna. Let's go," he muttered, opening the door for Yuna and leaving after her.

Immediately, Auron pulled a handful of gil out of his pocket and counted it. Just enough for a drink down at the bar. But before he left, another idea hit him. One that involved Rikku. One that she would love.

~*~*~

Tidus and Yuna wandered the streets of Luca, looking at the displays in the shop windows. Tidus was so glad to be next to Yuna again and to be next to her without a constant worry about her being a summoner and him being a dream. It was then he felt like he was dropped into a tub of ice, cold water. Up until now he had completely forgotten about how he had a limited time on Spira.

He grasped her wrist and pulled her back to him. Her multi-colored eyes, bright with happiness, fell upon his. "What's wrong?"

"I . . . uh . . . I forgot to tell you something. Well, you see . . . oh this is going to be hard," he looked around and frowned. "Here, come with me. Let's go over there so we won't be bothered." He pointed to a staircase leading up to the Mi'hen Highroad. Both climbed to the top where a ledge at the top of the stairs overlooked the whole of Luca. The Blitzball stadium shone the brightest of all the buildings and rose above all.

"Tidus," she spoke in her gentle voice. "Is something wrong?"

"Actually Yuna . . . I have to tell you this or you'll never forgive me. Well, you know how those who refuse to go to the Farplane become fiends?" he started, not one looking over at Yuna. "Well, since Auron and I are technically from the Farplane, we don't have long on Spira. If we don't finish what we came here to do, then we'll certainly become fiends." He finally faced Yuna who had a pained look on her face. "I'm sorry."

She smiled sadly. "It's alright. I should have known there was a catch."

Tidus pulled her closer to him, a bit annoyed that Auron was a bit taller than himself. Cursed body switching thing. "You're sad," he whispered.

"No, I'm fine," she lied.

He pulled back a little and lifted her face so he could see it. She was, indeed, holding back tears. "Why do you continue to hold back your feelings? It's not a sin you know."

She lowered her head, a single tear falling down her face. "I'm sorry."

Seeing his girlfriend cry, Tidus couldn't take it anymore. He did the one thing he would have done if he was in his own body. He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. Yuna gasped and pulled back. "Tidus, what if people see us? I mean, they think you're Auron."

"No one's up here. It's late anyway. Everyone's asleep or out partying."

Convinced, Yuna nodded. Both leaned in and kissed each other under the shining moon and glittering stars. Nothing could have been more perfect.

Except one Al-Bhed happened to be walking up the stairs after her ordeal with her fiancée. When she saw the couple kissing on the ledge, she had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. Auron . . . was kissing her cousin Yunie! Frantic, she rushed down the stairs, unnoticed.

Moments later, she found herself in the arms of Ryo. He tilted his head and frowned. "Rikku, why are you so upset?"

"Let's not wait to get married two months from now. I want to get married sooner," she sobbed.

Ryo felt a smirk plant on his face. "Sweetie, whatever you want. We'll get married in two weeks, how's that sound?"

Rikku nodded, wiping a tear from her face. "Perfect."

~*~*~

Ha! Long live OOC-ness! ^_^ I'm sorry everyone's so out of character. I haven't played the game since I wrote that last chapter almost two months ago. So, I'm still a bit rusty. Forgive me!

And what's this? Ryo is jealous? Oooohhhh, and they moved the wedding . . . cursed Ryo . . . *teehee* I couldn't stop laughing when I imagined what 'Auron' would look like kissing Yuna . . . eww . . . images images images . . . .Then again, Rikku and Auron kissing is worse.

I'm hoping to get this done soon. We're going on vacation Thursday through Monday, so I won't be able to update. Darn . . . what a shame . . . ^_^

LOVE AND PEACE!

~Vash the Stampede