Author's note: Hello! Sorry I haven't updated in a week. I was on vacation for the weekend and I really hadn't felt like writing the story. Instead, I finished FFVIII! Squall and Rinoa forever!! ^.^ Now, all I have to do is finish FFVII and .Hack//Infection and Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and I finish the games that I've gotten over the past six months!
If you ever want to know about any future stories I may write, just look at my profile under Story Stats! You may find something interesting.
Well, enough talking! Have fun reading!
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"And stay there as
I whisper.
How I love your peaceful eyes
On me.
Did you ever know
That I had mine on you?"
~Eyes on Me
Faye Wong
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It was early the next morning and Yuna couldn't feel anymore happier. Humming to herself as she bustled around the hotel room, she almost missed the glare Rikku kept throwing at her. It looked like a mixture of disgust and hatred. In mid-tune, Yuna turned to her cousin and tilted her head. "Is there something wrong?"
"Don't talk to me, Yuna. You know what you did. Last night, with Auron?" she hissed almost dangerously.
Yuna raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was with Tidus all night, except for the time when we were all in their hotel room . . ." she brought a hand to her mouth when she finally realized what Rikku was talking about. "Wait! Are you talking about last night, on the ledge of the stairs by the Mi'hen Highroad?"
"Wow, you're quick," the Al-Bhed retorted, breezing past Yuna and walking to her room that she shared with Ryo.
"Rikku! Wait, it's not what you-." The door slammed behind Rikku, leaving Yuna alone in the living room area. Her heart was pounding and she held onto the sofa for support.
Wow, what a great way to find out . . .
It was then she realized just how much deeper the problem was slowly becoming. If Rikku thought that it was Auron that Yuna was kissing, how great were the chances that she would take him back if and when he switched bodies back with Tidus? Slim to none, she supposed.
Yuna took a deep breath and proceeded to knock on Rikku's door. When she received no reply, she gently cracked it open and wasn't too surprised to see the blonde curled in a ball, sniffling. She walked across the room and sat on the bed, her back to Rikku.
"If you'd only let me explain. I have an excuse-."
Rikku's laugh came out higher than usual. "An excuse? To kiss my ex-boyfriend? To kiss your father's guardian? TO KISS YOUR GUARDIAN?!"
Yuna closed her eyes. "No, that's not it. You see-."
"No, you know, I don't even want to hear your excuse. I saw what happened with my own eyes, Yuna. I'm not blind," she sat up and stared her cousin in the eyes. "The thing that sickens me the most isn't the fact that you kissed him. No, the thing that totally gets to me is that you're kissing him while Tidus is here. You're a little whore."
Yuna was totally taken aback. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Alright Rikku. I see where you're coming from. I'll just leave. I'll stay in Tidus and Auron's hotel room for the time being."
Rikku laughed again. "Oh, ok. So you can screw both of them at the same time?"
The brunette ignored the comment and simply walked away. Before she reached the door, however, Rikku called her back. "Yuna, I forgot to mention. The wedding's been moved to two weeks from now. And as for you and me looking for a wedding dress together, you can forget it. I'll have Ryo hire someone to help me. Don't bother coming either or I'll have you kicked out. Auron too."
Nodding, Yuna gathered her luggage and trudged the flights down to Tidus and Auron's room. She knocked at the door and waited with her head down. While she pretended to not care that what Rikku said hadn't hurt her, in truth, the words had hit her hard.
Tidus opened the door and sized Yuna up and down. "What's wrong? Why do you have all your stuff with you?"
She raised her head. "Tidus . . . ." she whispered and jumped into his arms, clutching the red coat tightly as she cried into his chest.
"Woah . . . wait a minute. You didn't answer my question. What's with the luggage? Does Rikku know about this?"
"She saw us last night! She saw us kissing and thinks that I was kissing Auron! She was really mad so I left and told her I was staying here for a while."
"Rikku saw us kissing? I thought she was at dinner with Ryo."
"I don't know what happened or anything. All she told me was that she saw us on the stairs. I tried to explain but she wouldn't even listen to me. I don't think she wants anything to do with Sir Auron anymore all because of us."
"Well, this is certainly looking up." Tidus replied dryly. He grabbed the heavy suitcase and dropped it inside. Yuna placed her two other smaller bags beside it and sat in an empty chair. "Did anything else happen?" he asked.
"Rikku told me that the wedding is in two weeks. They changed it. She told me that neither 'Auron' nor I could come either."
Tidus grinned. "This is perfect!"
"Excuse me?" Yuna replied flatly.
"Don't you see? She still thinks that I'm Auron and Auron is me. That means Auron can go to the wedding no problem! He can stop it from happening!"
"Oh my gosh . . . Tidus you're right! He can stop the wedding and still confess his love for her in the amount of time you guys have before you have . . . to go . . . ."
"Don't worry about that right now. We're going to stay and we're going to get everything sorted out. This time, I promise."
Yuna shook her head. "Why can't I just believe that?" she whispered.
Tidus opened his mouth to reply but clamped it shut quickly. She was right. There was no guarantee that they could find a way to stay. But they had to try. The door to the room opened and both Yuna and Tidus looked up to see Auron holding something in his hand, trying to hide it from their view. "Hey."
"Whatcha got there, Auron?" Tidus cocked his head to the side in curiosity.
"It's nothing. Just something I picked up on my way back from the bar."
Tidus began to grin evilly. "It looks like you've got a ring there."
The older guardian laughed. "Oh, you can only wish," and placed the item in the nearby safe, locking it up after closing it. He pocketed the key and left the room. Immediately after his departure, Tidus scrambled from his spot and tried to open the safe with no prevail.
"What do you think he has, Tidus?" Yuna questioned, kneeling beside the safe.
"I'll bet you anything it's something for Rikku. Do you think he took what I said about him not doing anything to get Rikku back to heart?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe . . . ."
~*~*~
Rikku flipped through a catalogue of bridal dresses, trying to find the perfect one. Although she appeared to be looking at the catalogue, in truth, her mind was somewhere else. The argument still played itself in her mind. Every so often she was tempted to call Yuna at Tidus and Auron's room and apologize. Yet, the other part of her brain told her she had a right to remain mad at her cousin. Why should she be the one apologizing?
"Rikku! Sweetie, where are you?" Ryo called out from the other end of the suite. Sighing, she tumbled off the bed and proceeded to Ryo. When she appeared by him, he smiled happily. "Have you been out with Yuna looking for anymore dresses?"
"Yuna won't be helping me look for dresses anymore. We got in a fight earlier and I forbade her and Auron to come to the wedding, if that's alright with you."
"Of course it's alright. But . . . why did you tell Yuna to get lost, so to speak?"
"I saw her kissing Auron last night. That's why I came home hysterical last night," she explained. Strangely, Rikku felt tears prick her eyes and blurring her vision. Just why was this bugging her so much?
Ryo pulled her into an embrace and stroked her hair gingerly. "Shh . . . don't worry about them. We're together now. There's no reason to be upset that . . . Auron kissed your cousin. You were right in not letting them come to the wedding."
"Then why do I feel so horrible?" she sobbed.
"You know, you shouldn't be feeling so bad about this. You're not still stuck on him, are you?" his voice came out cold.
"No, Ryo. I love you. Auron means nothing to me." That was what she always said to his questions now. It felt so automated now whenever it was spoken.
Ryo lifted her head up and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "He was stupid to let you go. You're too good for him," he smiled. "If it makes you feel any better, the date of the wedding has officially been set to two weeks from today. C'mon. Let's go out and go get you a dress. Will that make you feel better?"
"You do love me, right?" Rikku suddenly blurted out, catching Ryo by surprise.
"Of course, baby. Why?"
She lowered her head. "Auron never told me he loved me. He just left." Rikku felt a sting across her cheek and gasped. When she looked up, she saw Ryo, his face turning a dark shade of red.
"Dammit Rikku! I told you never to talk about him in front of me! Get over him! You've got me!" he hollered.
Rikku whimpered and started to walk backwards towards the door, her eyes never leaving her fiancée. She knew her cheek was probably a tinge of pink and this startled her. She reached for the doorknob but was stopped when he pulled her back. Try as she might, she couldn't pull away from his grip.
"You listen to me. This moment never happened. It was an accident. Pure accident," he ran a finger down the cheek he had slapped and exhaled shakily. "I care about you, alright? I don't want you to hurt anymore. Auron didn't care about you. I didn't want to hurt you, but I want you to know I truly love you. Please believe me," he said.
It took a few moments for the Al-Bhed to register all this. If Ryo did love her, why would he want to hit her? This didn't seem like the Ryo she fell in love with. This one seemed harsher now that they were engaged. Nonetheless, she signaled her awareness by planting a kiss on his lips quickly. "I'm sorry. It's just . . . nothing. I'll try not to talk about him anymore."
"That's my girl," he smiled and kissed the top of her head. "So, do you still want to go shopping? Or do you want to stay here?"
"I'll come with you. Maybe some shopping will clear my head."
On the way out, Ryo sent Rikku ahead, telling her he'd meet her by the blitzball stadium. When she was completely out of view, he moved toward the desk where a young woman stood. She smiled at Ryo. "Anything I can help you with, sir?"
"I'd like to check out of here. My fiancée and I would like to leave tonight, if possible."
"But, we have you booked for another three weeks," she differed, looking at her computer
"I realize that. But there's a change in plans. Have our bags packed and put aboard the ship leaving for Bevelle as soon as possible. And if anyone asks where we are, pretend you haven't the slightest idea."
The woman stared for a moment, confused. Yet she obeyed. "Alright. I'll send someone up to your suite within an hour. Would that be alright?"
"Excellent. You've been very helpful," Ryo smirked, handing her a twenty out of spite, and left to catch up with Rikku.
~*~*~
Author's note: Grrr!! Who else wants Ryo dead? ^_^ Speaking of Ryo, I was rereading this story and was reading where Auron first meets Ryo. Well, if you look, his name was originally Kyo. Funny, ne? Another interesting tidbit about this story. When I was still in the midst of planning it, I was originally going to have Auron be in a girl's body instead of having him switch bodies with Tidus. But my sister begged me not to. -_-' It would have been kind of sick . . . so I guess this was for the better. ^_^
Since I'm in such a good mood, I'm gonna do Review Replies. If time permits, I may continue to do it until this story's finished.
Aidrianna: I know, it sux, doesn't it? I finally get Tidus to tell Yuna what's going on, and this happens to Rikku. *tsk, tsk* Hopefully everything will work out in the end! ^_^
Auron's Biggest Fan: Yeah, I wasn't too fond of having Tidus kissing Yuna while in Auron's body. It kinda sickens me. As Rikku said, it's her father's guardian, her own guardian, and her boyfriend's mentor. Kinda wrong, dontcha think?
Jay: I'm hoping Auron can do something about all this, if he ever finds out. I have the whole ending planned out (I just added a new twist to it in my mind today), so I think it's all good. I hope . . . -_-'
MaxMyu: Thanks! ^_^
Angelus: Was this a fast enough update? *cowers* Don't hurt me!!
Cool-Kitsune: If I ever get around to writing my 'Walk to Remember-FFX Style' fic, I know exactly how Auron'll fit in. I might take a break from FFX and write FFVIII or Inuyasha. You never know!
Rinny Leonheart/ Rikku: I love your name!! I don't like Ryo . . . . I hope Rikku breaks up with him, too. Hey, wait. I'm writing the story! Of course I know whether Rikku'll break it off with Ryo or not! ^_^
