AUTHOR'S NOTE: WAIII! I'm back ^^ Didja miss me? or was it only the story you missed? XD
Anyway, Gomen nasai for taking so long - though there are two reasons for that. 1) I've been extremely busy & 2) I had to be careful when writng this chapter because ultimately it rested on two different descisions that will most certainly determine some major events to come later on in the story.
As you'll notice, I've been kind to all my readers with this chapter (which means you have to forgive my lateness XD), so I really hope you enjoy it (and all the wonderous Auron & Rikku goodness!! ^^)
I'm currently writing two Draco/Harry (yes - slash/yaoi/harry potter fiction - and with the best coupling EVER!! The only het couple I like from HP is Ron/Hermione, but even they don't match up to DRACO/HARRY!!! ^____^), so you can look out for them in the near future on ff.net.
And as you've probebly guessed aswell - as this story will have sex in it later on, I'll be giving you a link at some point so you can continue to read the R rated chapters that this stoopid site won't allow. Aren't I nice?! ^^
Ok! Thank yous' & Rikku plushies (I gave out Auron ones last time - so if you own one of those you can now act out kissy-kissy scenes with your two plushies XD) to all who reviewed chapter 21 (and all the chappies before that of course). Because of all the reviews I got I decided to skip giving you all a headache with the individual thankyou's, so I'll resume that little ritual next chapter!!
So please.. read,review and most of all ENJOY!! ^^
*****************************************
*****************************************
The Power of Change
A Rikku and Auron romance
*****************************************
Chapter Twenty-two: 'Unbearable Need'
*****************************************
We're on some kind of journey
in this game we call our lives
we're all faking confidence, trying not to lose ourselves
on our way
so if you want some company
in your travel in search of truth
you know two can be stronger than one
and I think we're going the same way...
So if you want me to be there I'll be there
every step of the way...
Baby it can be a mean world out there
there're many sent to confuse and control you
but if we try, we can work it out
in our own way.
So if you want some company
I'd love to share it with you
you know two can be stronger than one
and I think we're going the same way...
~"Kanon" by Sugizo (shortened edit by me!)~ ^.^ v
***********************************************************************
Rikku lay amongst the sea of lavish sheets and blankets that her bed consisted of, staring up at the faded design painted on the roof above her and contemplating what her future in Spira's past could possibly mean now that part of the truth had been revealed.
From time to time she'd turn her head to the side and regard the sliver of red she could see through the gap between the door and wall with a look of extreme nervousness.
Auron was sitting outside... still.
The events of a few hours earlier played again in her mind - beginning from the look of complete shock on the dark guardian's face when she'd had that fated slip-of-the-tongue. At first, after having realized the words that had left her mouth - a million follow-up statements had run through her mind... all the possible excuses she could use to explain her mistake.
All of them useless for the task of convincing a sharp man like Auron.
The elderly Guado priest, although wizened with age, was completely clueless as to what was happening in front of him. He simply stood there with a puzzled look on his face, mute amongst a sea of silence so thick it could have been cleaved with a knife.
Eventually it was Rikku who moved to break the drawn-out moment with a quick decision.
While her mouth had previously been frozen in its half open state, ready to respond, it was now abruptly shut as she turned on her heel and fled without a word.
It only took a moment before Auron was in pursuit - hollering for her to stop and explain her statement all the while. His long strides, even with the hindrance of his injury, covered the space between them quite quickly - but Rikku managed to dodge his one wild grab for her and dart through the open door of her designated sleeping chamber - slamming the door in his face before he could stop her.
For nearly fifteen minutes following that he continued to hammer on the barrier which separated Rikku from him - alternating between fits of extreme annoyance, anger even, to moments of blatant desperation.
Auron was a man who expected answers, and when he didn't get them he wasn't someone you wanted to be stuck with.
He was persistent in the matter - sometimes stopping his verbal entourage just long enough for her to believe he'd given up, before continuing on in a way that would overwhelm her.
Rikku was being worn down too, her ears could hear nothing but his constant demands and pleading - eventually she'd risen from her place sprawled across the freshly-made bed and trudged towards the door in defeat, ready to reveal the secret she was living.
It seemed a certain someone's timing couldn't have been better, for at that exact moment when she'd given in, the voice of the Guado priest rang clearly outside - instructing Auron to enter the chamber where the healers awaited him with instructions to mend the injuries he'd sustained.
With a grunt he was gone, and Rikku was free to drift off into an exhausted slumber.
On waking she'd felt an extreme pang of guilt. Through the ordeals of earlier she'd forgotten to unlock the door allowing Auron to his bed, therefore after his healing he was forced to sleep propped up against the wall outside - something which didn't seem to strike Rikku as being a particularly comfortable resting place.
On top of it all she truly wanted to reveal her secret to Auron, but there was no doubt in her mind that it would be useless even if she did. After all, who would believe such a thing as someone traveling to the past? Even Rikku herself would not have, had she not experienced it first-hand.
That incident itself never left her mind - not for a moment - it would play over and over whenever there was the briefest silence amongst the arduous journey they had traveled so far, how she'd dove into the Moonflow without a second thought to what it may herald. Action pushed troubling thoughts from having the opportunity to manifest in ones head - at least for Rikku - and at the time said thoughts had been unbearable to tolerate for her.
For so long she'd played Auron's death over and over in her brain, furious and ashamed with herself for being unable to express her feelings for him when there was still the chance - perhaps, and most likely, it wouldn't have made any real difference in the eventual outcome itself, but it would have done a great deal in taming the agonizing nightmares that plagued her sleep for years to follow.
The Moonflow had offered a sort of mysterious welcome, willing her to slip into its cool murky depths to discover whatever it was that lay concealed there. Rikku didn't want to just stand on the shore and feel miserable whilst her friends were having such a nice time in each others company - something which she just couldn't manage in her present state of mind - so she'd gone and done the next best thing: Thrown herself into an unknown situation that disallowed her thoughts to copulate any further.
And somehow... something had brought her here...
The Al Bhed's stomach growled suddenly amongst the whirlwind of reminiscence, tearing her mind back to the present.
Slipping from the crumpled sheets around her, Rikku rose up and stretched leisurely - noting that many of her muscles carried aches that would last for some days to come after yesterdays taxing ordeal. She found that she really was quite ravenous too, and after fixing herself to look somewhat presentable with the aid of an old, partially cracked mirror on the wall - made her way to the door.
As her fingers closed over the cool rounded shape of the doorknob, she stopped for a moment so that the sudden rush of nervousness had a chance to clear and allow her to exit with a certain air of disinterest over her slip-of-the-tongue from the previous day.
Auron was the very first thing to focus into her field of vision... obviously.
'Rikku.' His voice was calm, quiet and subsequently cracked with the usage of her name. He clambered to his feet and lifted a hand up sullenly as if in need to touch her sudden presence, but dropped it in favour of a long, imploring look. 'We... need to talk.'
Stray wisps of silken black hair fell casually around his face, and he brushed them back uneasily, allowing the Al Bhed to finally take note of the confusion written across his beautiful face - a look that was half concealed by the more obvious extreme annoyance that presented itself, and that familiar steely resolve that was so "Auron".
'How did you sleep?' she inquired quietly - not to change the subject but more so because she generally was concerned - and consumed by a measure of guilt too.
'That is not the issue here.' He muttered in reply, shooting her a look that clearly conveyed he was none too happy about her locking of the door.
'I'm sorry....' was all she could manage, before feeling a wave of nervousness rise giddily in her stomach. 'I don't know how to explain it....'
For a moment they both stood in silence - Rikku staring down at the floor, deep in thought, before she slowly turned and headed back into the bedroom with Auron behind her.
'You'll have to tell me sometime if you want me off your back about it, so there's not much use in stalling the inevitable.' His voice was now void of its former annoyance, speaking in a serious matter-of-fact tone.
Rikku would have laughed had she not been so nervous. She really had gotten herself into a predicament... a major one... and seriously regretted re-entering the bedroom as she realised Auron had managed to back her up into a corner made by the furniture against the wall.
'I just can't..' she whispered, feeling her stomach turn as he leaned in towards her now, body language no less then intimidating.
'You have to, Rikku....' She could feel his intense gaze on her face, and subsequently turned her head to avoid the full brunt of his visual confrontation. 'Rikku....'
'Don't make me... please don't make me....' Tears sprung to her eyes and she began to feel a little sickly at the image that popped into her head of Auron's eyes blazing with disbelief and anger after she finally confessed. He wouldn't believe her... He would accuse her of being a liar... of lying to him... he'd be furious... and... He'd turn unbearably cold towards her again. She didn't want that... oh, she really did NOT want that...
But Rikku didn't notice the change that transformed the dark guardian's features as she trembled in front of him with closed eyes, didn't see that he was no longer staring at her with that demanding look.. But more so with one of quiet contemplation.
So when she felt a slightly tingling sensation as Auron's fingers gently brushing across her cheek, her misty eyes blinked open with shock.
Turning back around to face him, she immediately noticed that he'd moved closer to her - his face mere inches away - causing Rikku's pulse to quicken and legs feel weak, her breath to catch in her throat and her hands to tremble as she supported herself against the cool wall behind her.
As Auron's breath caressed her face, cooler in the places where tears had left a trail in their wake, her eyes flickered shut again - not daring to see what was happening from fear that it would be all a dream. A dream she'd had once... and had waited far too long to experience again.
Rikku had seriously been considering whether the first intimate moment they'd shared - a meeting of chance at a time when emotions were running high, back in the agency on the Thunder Plains - had merely been a certain release for all the pent-up frustration Auron was feeling at the time. She'd even come to wonder if, despite the undeniable love she harbored toward the dark guardian, she should save herself the heartache and really try to be 'just friends'.
But all doubt and consideration of such thoughts was immediately erased as she felt the fleeting contact of his lips against hers, moving up to softly brush across her closed lids and kissing away the salty moisture that still remained there.
Rikku reached out blindly for him, the need she'd banished for what she'd thought may well have been eternity returning stronger then ever, finally finding relief as her arms wrapped urgently around his neck.
Moments before his lips once again found hers, her sparkling green oculars met his dark ones, reveling in the beauty that resided in them... revelling in wonder as Auron looked apon her with a love that threatened to make her heart burst with joy - before she was caught in a whirlwind of warm, yearning lips and urgent, seeking tongues.
Rikku gave in to her desire and murmured with unbound delight then, strong arms pulling her close and cradling her as gently as if she were made of the finest, most fragile china.
She found herself stumbling back blindly, pulling Auron with her until she felt the soft comfort of a mattress cushioning her as she pulled the dark guardian down - fiercely kissing him, running her tongue softly over the sensitive area behind his upper teeth with a feather-soft flourish. He tasted of dusk and faint spices, mixed with a soft sweetness that must have been left behind after his usual alcohol consumption. His mouth was a drug, and even as she crushed her lips against his in attempt to be closer then was even possible in a kiss and feeling Auron return the urgent caress with identical fervor, she longed for more.
The slightest contact of a hand brushing against Rikku's breast drew a sharp gasp of sensation from the petit Al Bhed, delicate fingers had slipped to entangle themselves amidst the dark silken strands that had come loose from the tightly bound ponytail at the nape of Auron's neck grasping forcefully with an unbearable need.
His lips were softly nuzzling a tender area amidst the curve of her neck, teasing the flesh with a fleeting contact that was occasionally broken by the cool sensation of his flickering tongue.
It seemed all too soon that the lavish array of sensations was abruptly halted to the sound of voices outside the room they lounged in. Auron climbed to his feet shakily, unable to regain the proper orientation from the quick movement - and scarcely had he done so then he stood in front of the cracked mirror on the wall, trying to regulate his appearance as best as he could.
Rikku still lay on the bed, breathing softly with a far-away look in her eyes. Faintly she heard the same voices that had broken the spell; she picked out joy and relief in the speakers tones... it sounding oddly familiar.
'JECHT! BRASKA!!' The pretty Al Bhed jumped to her feet as the realization dawned on her shortly after, scaring the preoccupied guardian by the mirror and causing him to mumble a few quiet curses as he willed his heart-rate to return to normal. It took but a moment before the words themselves dawned on Auron, but when they did he was right behind Rikku - rushing out to greet his friends.
The sight that met both guardians' eyes, however, almost stopped them dead in their tracks.
***********************************************************************
©Erica Runge, 7th of November, 2003. All characters, etc ©Squaresoft and FFX. Song words ©Sugizo.
Anyway, Gomen nasai for taking so long - though there are two reasons for that. 1) I've been extremely busy & 2) I had to be careful when writng this chapter because ultimately it rested on two different descisions that will most certainly determine some major events to come later on in the story.
As you'll notice, I've been kind to all my readers with this chapter (which means you have to forgive my lateness XD), so I really hope you enjoy it (and all the wonderous Auron & Rikku goodness!! ^^)
I'm currently writing two Draco/Harry (yes - slash/yaoi/harry potter fiction - and with the best coupling EVER!! The only het couple I like from HP is Ron/Hermione, but even they don't match up to DRACO/HARRY!!! ^____^), so you can look out for them in the near future on ff.net.
And as you've probebly guessed aswell - as this story will have sex in it later on, I'll be giving you a link at some point so you can continue to read the R rated chapters that this stoopid site won't allow. Aren't I nice?! ^^
Ok! Thank yous' & Rikku plushies (I gave out Auron ones last time - so if you own one of those you can now act out kissy-kissy scenes with your two plushies XD) to all who reviewed chapter 21 (and all the chappies before that of course). Because of all the reviews I got I decided to skip giving you all a headache with the individual thankyou's, so I'll resume that little ritual next chapter!!
So please.. read,review and most of all ENJOY!! ^^
*****************************************
*****************************************
The Power of Change
A Rikku and Auron romance
*****************************************
Chapter Twenty-two: 'Unbearable Need'
*****************************************
We're on some kind of journey
in this game we call our lives
we're all faking confidence, trying not to lose ourselves
on our way
so if you want some company
in your travel in search of truth
you know two can be stronger than one
and I think we're going the same way...
So if you want me to be there I'll be there
every step of the way...
Baby it can be a mean world out there
there're many sent to confuse and control you
but if we try, we can work it out
in our own way.
So if you want some company
I'd love to share it with you
you know two can be stronger than one
and I think we're going the same way...
~"Kanon" by Sugizo (shortened edit by me!)~ ^.^ v
***********************************************************************
Rikku lay amongst the sea of lavish sheets and blankets that her bed consisted of, staring up at the faded design painted on the roof above her and contemplating what her future in Spira's past could possibly mean now that part of the truth had been revealed.
From time to time she'd turn her head to the side and regard the sliver of red she could see through the gap between the door and wall with a look of extreme nervousness.
Auron was sitting outside... still.
The events of a few hours earlier played again in her mind - beginning from the look of complete shock on the dark guardian's face when she'd had that fated slip-of-the-tongue. At first, after having realized the words that had left her mouth - a million follow-up statements had run through her mind... all the possible excuses she could use to explain her mistake.
All of them useless for the task of convincing a sharp man like Auron.
The elderly Guado priest, although wizened with age, was completely clueless as to what was happening in front of him. He simply stood there with a puzzled look on his face, mute amongst a sea of silence so thick it could have been cleaved with a knife.
Eventually it was Rikku who moved to break the drawn-out moment with a quick decision.
While her mouth had previously been frozen in its half open state, ready to respond, it was now abruptly shut as she turned on her heel and fled without a word.
It only took a moment before Auron was in pursuit - hollering for her to stop and explain her statement all the while. His long strides, even with the hindrance of his injury, covered the space between them quite quickly - but Rikku managed to dodge his one wild grab for her and dart through the open door of her designated sleeping chamber - slamming the door in his face before he could stop her.
For nearly fifteen minutes following that he continued to hammer on the barrier which separated Rikku from him - alternating between fits of extreme annoyance, anger even, to moments of blatant desperation.
Auron was a man who expected answers, and when he didn't get them he wasn't someone you wanted to be stuck with.
He was persistent in the matter - sometimes stopping his verbal entourage just long enough for her to believe he'd given up, before continuing on in a way that would overwhelm her.
Rikku was being worn down too, her ears could hear nothing but his constant demands and pleading - eventually she'd risen from her place sprawled across the freshly-made bed and trudged towards the door in defeat, ready to reveal the secret she was living.
It seemed a certain someone's timing couldn't have been better, for at that exact moment when she'd given in, the voice of the Guado priest rang clearly outside - instructing Auron to enter the chamber where the healers awaited him with instructions to mend the injuries he'd sustained.
With a grunt he was gone, and Rikku was free to drift off into an exhausted slumber.
On waking she'd felt an extreme pang of guilt. Through the ordeals of earlier she'd forgotten to unlock the door allowing Auron to his bed, therefore after his healing he was forced to sleep propped up against the wall outside - something which didn't seem to strike Rikku as being a particularly comfortable resting place.
On top of it all she truly wanted to reveal her secret to Auron, but there was no doubt in her mind that it would be useless even if she did. After all, who would believe such a thing as someone traveling to the past? Even Rikku herself would not have, had she not experienced it first-hand.
That incident itself never left her mind - not for a moment - it would play over and over whenever there was the briefest silence amongst the arduous journey they had traveled so far, how she'd dove into the Moonflow without a second thought to what it may herald. Action pushed troubling thoughts from having the opportunity to manifest in ones head - at least for Rikku - and at the time said thoughts had been unbearable to tolerate for her.
For so long she'd played Auron's death over and over in her brain, furious and ashamed with herself for being unable to express her feelings for him when there was still the chance - perhaps, and most likely, it wouldn't have made any real difference in the eventual outcome itself, but it would have done a great deal in taming the agonizing nightmares that plagued her sleep for years to follow.
The Moonflow had offered a sort of mysterious welcome, willing her to slip into its cool murky depths to discover whatever it was that lay concealed there. Rikku didn't want to just stand on the shore and feel miserable whilst her friends were having such a nice time in each others company - something which she just couldn't manage in her present state of mind - so she'd gone and done the next best thing: Thrown herself into an unknown situation that disallowed her thoughts to copulate any further.
And somehow... something had brought her here...
The Al Bhed's stomach growled suddenly amongst the whirlwind of reminiscence, tearing her mind back to the present.
Slipping from the crumpled sheets around her, Rikku rose up and stretched leisurely - noting that many of her muscles carried aches that would last for some days to come after yesterdays taxing ordeal. She found that she really was quite ravenous too, and after fixing herself to look somewhat presentable with the aid of an old, partially cracked mirror on the wall - made her way to the door.
As her fingers closed over the cool rounded shape of the doorknob, she stopped for a moment so that the sudden rush of nervousness had a chance to clear and allow her to exit with a certain air of disinterest over her slip-of-the-tongue from the previous day.
Auron was the very first thing to focus into her field of vision... obviously.
'Rikku.' His voice was calm, quiet and subsequently cracked with the usage of her name. He clambered to his feet and lifted a hand up sullenly as if in need to touch her sudden presence, but dropped it in favour of a long, imploring look. 'We... need to talk.'
Stray wisps of silken black hair fell casually around his face, and he brushed them back uneasily, allowing the Al Bhed to finally take note of the confusion written across his beautiful face - a look that was half concealed by the more obvious extreme annoyance that presented itself, and that familiar steely resolve that was so "Auron".
'How did you sleep?' she inquired quietly - not to change the subject but more so because she generally was concerned - and consumed by a measure of guilt too.
'That is not the issue here.' He muttered in reply, shooting her a look that clearly conveyed he was none too happy about her locking of the door.
'I'm sorry....' was all she could manage, before feeling a wave of nervousness rise giddily in her stomach. 'I don't know how to explain it....'
For a moment they both stood in silence - Rikku staring down at the floor, deep in thought, before she slowly turned and headed back into the bedroom with Auron behind her.
'You'll have to tell me sometime if you want me off your back about it, so there's not much use in stalling the inevitable.' His voice was now void of its former annoyance, speaking in a serious matter-of-fact tone.
Rikku would have laughed had she not been so nervous. She really had gotten herself into a predicament... a major one... and seriously regretted re-entering the bedroom as she realised Auron had managed to back her up into a corner made by the furniture against the wall.
'I just can't..' she whispered, feeling her stomach turn as he leaned in towards her now, body language no less then intimidating.
'You have to, Rikku....' She could feel his intense gaze on her face, and subsequently turned her head to avoid the full brunt of his visual confrontation. 'Rikku....'
'Don't make me... please don't make me....' Tears sprung to her eyes and she began to feel a little sickly at the image that popped into her head of Auron's eyes blazing with disbelief and anger after she finally confessed. He wouldn't believe her... He would accuse her of being a liar... of lying to him... he'd be furious... and... He'd turn unbearably cold towards her again. She didn't want that... oh, she really did NOT want that...
But Rikku didn't notice the change that transformed the dark guardian's features as she trembled in front of him with closed eyes, didn't see that he was no longer staring at her with that demanding look.. But more so with one of quiet contemplation.
So when she felt a slightly tingling sensation as Auron's fingers gently brushing across her cheek, her misty eyes blinked open with shock.
Turning back around to face him, she immediately noticed that he'd moved closer to her - his face mere inches away - causing Rikku's pulse to quicken and legs feel weak, her breath to catch in her throat and her hands to tremble as she supported herself against the cool wall behind her.
As Auron's breath caressed her face, cooler in the places where tears had left a trail in their wake, her eyes flickered shut again - not daring to see what was happening from fear that it would be all a dream. A dream she'd had once... and had waited far too long to experience again.
Rikku had seriously been considering whether the first intimate moment they'd shared - a meeting of chance at a time when emotions were running high, back in the agency on the Thunder Plains - had merely been a certain release for all the pent-up frustration Auron was feeling at the time. She'd even come to wonder if, despite the undeniable love she harbored toward the dark guardian, she should save herself the heartache and really try to be 'just friends'.
But all doubt and consideration of such thoughts was immediately erased as she felt the fleeting contact of his lips against hers, moving up to softly brush across her closed lids and kissing away the salty moisture that still remained there.
Rikku reached out blindly for him, the need she'd banished for what she'd thought may well have been eternity returning stronger then ever, finally finding relief as her arms wrapped urgently around his neck.
Moments before his lips once again found hers, her sparkling green oculars met his dark ones, reveling in the beauty that resided in them... revelling in wonder as Auron looked apon her with a love that threatened to make her heart burst with joy - before she was caught in a whirlwind of warm, yearning lips and urgent, seeking tongues.
Rikku gave in to her desire and murmured with unbound delight then, strong arms pulling her close and cradling her as gently as if she were made of the finest, most fragile china.
She found herself stumbling back blindly, pulling Auron with her until she felt the soft comfort of a mattress cushioning her as she pulled the dark guardian down - fiercely kissing him, running her tongue softly over the sensitive area behind his upper teeth with a feather-soft flourish. He tasted of dusk and faint spices, mixed with a soft sweetness that must have been left behind after his usual alcohol consumption. His mouth was a drug, and even as she crushed her lips against his in attempt to be closer then was even possible in a kiss and feeling Auron return the urgent caress with identical fervor, she longed for more.
The slightest contact of a hand brushing against Rikku's breast drew a sharp gasp of sensation from the petit Al Bhed, delicate fingers had slipped to entangle themselves amidst the dark silken strands that had come loose from the tightly bound ponytail at the nape of Auron's neck grasping forcefully with an unbearable need.
His lips were softly nuzzling a tender area amidst the curve of her neck, teasing the flesh with a fleeting contact that was occasionally broken by the cool sensation of his flickering tongue.
It seemed all too soon that the lavish array of sensations was abruptly halted to the sound of voices outside the room they lounged in. Auron climbed to his feet shakily, unable to regain the proper orientation from the quick movement - and scarcely had he done so then he stood in front of the cracked mirror on the wall, trying to regulate his appearance as best as he could.
Rikku still lay on the bed, breathing softly with a far-away look in her eyes. Faintly she heard the same voices that had broken the spell; she picked out joy and relief in the speakers tones... it sounding oddly familiar.
'JECHT! BRASKA!!' The pretty Al Bhed jumped to her feet as the realization dawned on her shortly after, scaring the preoccupied guardian by the mirror and causing him to mumble a few quiet curses as he willed his heart-rate to return to normal. It took but a moment before the words themselves dawned on Auron, but when they did he was right behind Rikku - rushing out to greet his friends.
The sight that met both guardians' eyes, however, almost stopped them dead in their tracks.
***********************************************************************
©Erica Runge, 7th of November, 2003. All characters, etc ©Squaresoft and FFX. Song words ©Sugizo.