Note: OMG! I am sooo sorry! Lately, I found myself getting lazier writing this fic! ^^; I apologize for that! Please forgive me! So, we last left off with Kai alive after all, with the help of the caring Yuna, while Tidus is on a verge of losing his cool towards the man. With the gang all set to leave to defeat Sin, what about Kai? Where does he go from here? BWT: I forgot where Cess went so I'll do the best I can to remember, please bare with me…. Oh yes um… There's a little bit of lime in here…So be warned!!!
Chapter 14 – Surrender
She watched her. No matter how hard it was to let go, she knew she had to. Yuna was no longer the child she has watched all these years. She was a young woman now, ready to make her own decisions. However, Lulu is still unsure whether she was making the right ones right now. Was it really okay for Yuna to watch over Kai alone? Sighing, Lulu decided to visit the room where Kai was in, hoping to get answers from there.
When she arrived, she stopped just by the door when she heard voices inside. "Why did you do what you did? I want to know more about you." Lulu immediately recognized Yuna's voice.
"So this was your plan all along?" said Kai's annoyed voice. "It was your plan to take care of me so you can get information out of me?"
Lulu opened the door, suddenly interrupting the conversation between Yuna and Kai. Both of them looked up as she stepped inside the room. "That's exactly what she plans on doing, Kai. Why have you decided to go after me now?" She closed the door behind her and folded her arms across her chest. Lulu looked at Yuna. "Yuna, could I have a moment alone with him?"
Yuna nodded. "Of course," she said, standing up.
When the young woman left, Lulu was finally able to ask the question that has been plaguing her mind ever since she left Presia. "What happened during those years I left, Kai?"
That question must have been painful for him to answer, because he had looked up, his eyes widening in fear. Lulu looked at him, showing the man that she was definitely serious about her question. Kai turned away and said nothing.
Sighing, Lulu sat down in place of Yuna and asked again. "Tell me Kai, what happened those years? What happened to the kind boy I used to know? Why did you-?" Lulu cut off her words when Kai suddenly turned to look at her.
"I have always been here Lulu and you were just too blind to see it. You left me behind. We had a promise that we'd be together… And…" Unable to say anything more, Kai turned his whole body away from her, towards the door so his back was facing her.
Lulu frowned and sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "When will you understand that I do not have the same feelings that you wish me to have towards you?" She looked back at him and saw something that caught her attention. At the back, just below his right shoulder, was a long scar that started from the shoulder blade and down towards the left side of the spine. Curious, she reached down to trace the scar with her finger.
Startled, Kai jerked his head towards Lulu and growled. "What are you doing!?" He quickly turned around to face her. Lulu pulled away, startled by his outburst.
"Where did you get that scar?" she asked, leaning back on the chair.
Suddenly, Kai sat up on his bed and grabbed the shirt sitting on another chair on the other side of the bed. He pulled the shirt over his head and down until she could no longer see the scar on his back. "Why do you care!?"
"So, you're feeling better now?" Lulu asked, standing up.
Kai said nothing and stood up. "I've decided that my welcome is no longer needed in this God-forsaken airship! I'm leaving." He prepared to turn around and head for the door, when Lulu grabbed his arm. He winced and turned around to strike her, but his good arm was still injured, so he was forced to put his arm back down.
Noticing this, Lulu gave him a suspicious look and shook her head. "You're still in no condition to go out on your own. You need to-!" She was interrupted when his left hand suddenly shot up to go around her neck. With all his might, Kai lifted her up off her feet and shoved her against the metallic wall of the room. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" he hissed, gripping his hand tighter.
Lulu had forgotten that he was ambidextrous. She felt the pressure tightening around her neck and she had no choice but to cough to find her breathing. She could feel herself turning blue and there was no way of escape since she was unarmed. Lulu was too stupid to think to bring her weapon with her in case she needed to defend herself from anything or anyone.
Kai smiled. "This is what it feels like to be powerful, Lulu. That's what I felt when I made love to you…"
Lulu opened her mouth to speak. "You never made love to me. You ruined my life (cough) that's what you did! You took away my happiness!!!" She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst to come. This was just the most horrible time of her life. She was getting weak by the minute and she couldn't afford to do that if she was going to fight Sin.
"Let her go…now…" a stern voice from behind Kai said. He felt something cold and sharp against his neck. He looked down and noticed a familiar long blade. Slowly, he released his grip from around Lulu's neck and cautiously put his arm back down beside him. "Now…slowly turn around and if you try to make any moves, I swear I will kill you." Kai obeyed the man's demands and slowly turned around. Sure enough, it was Auron who was staring at him through his half broken glasses. "Are you all right, Lulu?" Auron asked, glancing quickly at the almost unconscious Black Mage. He kept the blade close to Kai's neck, almost puncturing it because it was so close to his neck.
Lulu nodded, rubbing her neck slowly and stood up. It took her a moment to breath and when she was able to, she walked over to Auron's side and stared into Kai's eyes. "I said you will stay here until you are much better, so that your wish of killing me will come true." After saying those words, she turned and walked away. Auron gave him another hard look, before following Lulu out the door and closed the door behind him. When they were outside, the Black Mage suddenly said, "I didn't hear you come in…but thank you for that." She wanted to say a lot more than just, a 'thank you.'
Both of them walked down the quiet hall and absent-mindedly headed to the deck. Auron didn't know what he was doing, but he followed her anyway. He was counting how many times he almost lost her and if he hadn't come by the room, she would have died for sure. She was definitely the only person he knew who bumped heads with death many times.
Outside, the night was very windy and cold. The airship flew overhead the clouds and made a wide, smooth turn to avoid really large mountains ahead. Lulu didn't need to hold on for dear life, because the airship was safer than any other airships she's been on. When she reached the very tip of the ship, she was suddenly covered with the cold wind and couldn't help but wrap her arms around herself. Once again, she thought about possibly the seventh brush of death that she experienced just now and shivered at that thought. She knew she was always the person to risk everything, but not at the cost of her life. Indeed, she would die for Yuna, but like any other person who wants to live their lives, she was afraid of her own sacrifice for her young Summoner. "Are you all right?" It was the same question that he always asked, despite him knowing that she wasn't all right.
Lulu's teeth chattered but she shook her head and sighed, rubbing her arms vigorously to get warmth started in her body. "You always ask me that."
Without responding, Auron approached her, took off his red coat and place it around her shoulders. "I wasn't asking about that…" He began buttoning the coat around Lulu so that no wind could enter her body to make her even colder.
Surprised, Lulu turned to look at him. Auron was now wearing only a white shirt. Shocked at his appearance, she began unbuttoning the jacket. "You need this more than me."
Auron shook his head. "I insist that you wear that. You need it more than I."
He was so kind. He was so generous. If only he knew how she felt about him, then it would have been very easy to say those words out loud. But…Lulu turned away. He had Cess and that was all that mattered. The thought of Auron and Cess together made her turn away from him. "I…Thank you for this. I think I'm going to sleep now." She removed the jacket from her shoulders and handed them back to him. Without another word, Lulu turned and walked passed him, back towards the ship and to her room. Auron was left standing there, confused.
******************
"It's time to die!"
"Stop!" The sound of metal could be heard.
"Do not stop me from killing him!"
Auron recognized Cess' voice coming from inside Kai's room. The other voice was definitely Yuna's. The door to Lulu's room suddenly opened, revealing Lulu in her modest black nightgown.
"What's going on?" a sleepy Rikku whined, rubbing her eyes as she stepped into the hallway. Tidus came out of his own room after that and ran quickly to Yuna's room and when he noticed she wasn't there, he ran to the room where the noise was coming from.
Lulu quickly met Auron's eyes and ran to where the commotion was. Tidus opened the door and saw that Cess had climbed on top of Kai's body and was holding her long sword against Kai's neck. Kai was holding the hand that held the sword as far away as he could, while Yuna desperately trying to get Cess off of him, but she was far too strong. The young Summoner looked up desperately to where Tidus, Lulu, Auron and now, Rikku, stood by the door. "Please help me! She's trying to kill him!" She pulled harder, barely managing to stop Cess' sword from cutting his neck further.
Tidus and Auron ran to the bed, rounding up on Cess and each grabbed the woman by the arms and pulled her away from him. Despite Cess' protest, they managed to pin her against the wall. "LET GO OF ME!" Cess said. Tears were suddenly falling from her eyes. Shocked, Auron loosened his grip on her arm, but did not let go. Cess glared at him. "HE KILLED MY FAMILY! HE KILLED MY FAMILY!" she kept repeating.
That was the side of story he's never heard of from his former lover. "What?" Auron questioned, his eyes widening in surprise.
Kai made a move to attack Cess, but Lulu was faster and chanted the sleeping spell. Kai's body became rigid and his eyes suddenly closed. His body fell back on his bed and he was then fast asleep. Yuna even had the courtesy to put the blanket on top of him to keep him warm. Suddenly, there was silence in the air. Cess must've realized what she said because she stopped yelling, only to stare at the fallen body of his enemy. Tidus and Auron knew at this point, that they were finally allowed to release her. Cess stared into Auron's eyes. Auron did the same. Lulu watched them both, but made no sound. The long haired woman looked away and walked towards the door where it waited opened for her to leave. Without another word, Cess left the scene.
"What was that?" a voice suddenly asked in the deadened air.
All four of them looked to see Rikku standing there suddenly aware of what just happened minutes after recognized as 'very' sleepy. No one could answer her question. Even Auron himself had no idea what was going, except he needed to know. Without a second thought, he followed Cess and Lulu did not dare stop him.
***************
"Cess! Stop!" he called, running after her. The woman, who has been known without emotions, did not stop, until Auron reached her and forced her to turn around to face him. She had quickly wiped her tears and was now looking sternly at him with her round, red eyes.
"What do you want, Auron?" she said, frowning and folding her arms across her chest.
"Is it true?" he asked, putting his arm back down at the sides.
Cess turned away and nodded. "You're not the only reason why I was looking for him. My family was killed because of him. I was this close…" She jerked her head back to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed as deep as it could go. "I was THIS close to slitting his throat! But you all stopped me. Even if I was hired to capture him, there was no way I was going to stand there and leave Yuna to take care of him until he was better. He ruined my life…My parents…my sister..." She swallowed hard. "My brother…" Once again, she turned away, forcing herself to hold back her tears. "I left after they died to hunt him down, but it was put on delay when someone hired me to capture him. It was a large amount of money and I couldn't refuse because then I could use that money to rebuild our house in Besaid. But even if I was chosen to capture him, that could not remove my hate towards the man."
Auron took a step forward. "Who hired you?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that he lives somewhere in Presia. Even if I was there, I didn't bother to find out who it was, because it would just be a waste of time. But why do you care anyway?" She scowled at him. "Why don't you just go back to your happy life and-!" She was interrupted when Auron's arms suddenly went around her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I would have come back if I'd known that this happened."
Startled, Cess stood there, not knowing what to do, but she wrapped her arms around him anyway and endured this moment of being with him again. "I wish you never left, Auron. When you did, it was as if half of my heart was taken away from me."
"You already know the answer on why I had to leave. I was a Guardian after all and Braska was my best friend. I couldn't leave him alone. I had to protect him."
Cess closed her eyes. "I know… Now I understand. I still love you, Auron."
Auron sighed. "I know…" he replied. They stood there together in the darkness, wrapped in an embrace, unaware that someone in the darkness was watching them.
Lulu stood there, once again watching Auron and Cess…together. Taking a deep breath, she turned and headed back to her room.
*****************
She sat there, engulfed underneath the bright light of the moon. She sat on her bed, thinking what to do next. She couldn't sleep. Her thoughts kept coming back to Auron and Cess, both their arms wrapped around each other. What was she doing? She wasn't supposed to feel this way. Auron was just her fellow Guardian and Cess was his former lover so there was no point in stopping them if Auron felt the same way about her. Then again, Cess had tears in her eyes so Auron, being the gentleman he was, had the duty to comfort her because he knew her more than anyone here in the ship.
Sighing deeply, Lulu decided to do some reading, but as she looked around…there WAS nothing to read. Frustrated, she stood up and headed for the window, maybe look out there and find something that could put her to sleep. Still…there was none.
Tap! Tap!
The sound of someone knocking on the door startled her, but as calmly as she did before, she glanced at the door and quietly said, "Come in."
The door slowly opened and a pair of black boots was the first thing Lulu noticed when the figure entered the room. It was Auron, though Lulu was quite surprised at his presence, wondering what brought him in the room in the first place. "What is it, Sir Auron?" she asked, turning around to face him. Him standing there, with the light illuminating above him, casting a shadow, made him look like a God. Lulu felt her heart skip a bit. Afraid that he would hear her heart, she clasped a hand over it and took a deep breath.
Auron thought for a moment on what to say. He took a step forward, but stopped only just an inch, afraid that he was doing something wrong. Before he had a chance to talk, Lulu moved further away from him towards the window and said, "How is she?"
It took him a moment to realize that the question she was asking was about Cess. He nodded finally after. "She's fine. She's gone to bed now."
"I see… She must be tired from all that crying…"
There was something odd about the way Lulu said those words and Auron couldn't help noticing it. He dared to take another step, but stopped again. "Are you all right?"
The question again…She could never get tired of that though. Lulu took a deep breath. What was wrong with her? Is she jealous now? "I'm fine… Really, I'm fine…" She gritted her teeth. Lulu could feel her fists clenching at her sides. She couldn't stop…Why wasn't she stopping?
"Lulu?" He took several more steps, making him almost just a foot away from where she stood. "You don't sound well."
She forced herself to stop shaking with anger, but the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't stop herself. Lulu felt a large hand on her shoulder and she suddenly paused to turn her head around at him. "What is it? Why did you come here, Sir Auron? Tell me now."
Auron removed his hand from her shoulder and it immediately went behind his neck to rub the nervousness from his whole body. "I…I don't know why I'm here. Actually, I don't know why I feel this way."
Confused, Lulu lifted up an eyebrow. "What?"
"Please don't push me away. I want to show you something and if you don't feel the same way, then you can just shove me out of this room." He took one more step until he was close enough. Auron placed a hand under her chin and lifted up her head so she was looking into his eyes. Lulu did not move. She was too confused and too shocked. Auron leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.
Lulu closed her eyes, allowing his lips to explore over hers.
They were suddenly aware of the fiery passion they have been holding on for so long. The war between head and heart was no longer there. The heart was surrendering. They BOTH surrender to their feelings and with the kisses they exchanged with each other, they allowed each other to hold on to that feeling without any interruptions.
Lulu wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to kiss him back. She felt Auron tightening his embrace around her waist. "Auron…" she whispered. Suddenly, she pulled away from the kiss, allowing both of them to breathe. "No, I can't do this." What were they doing? They were kissing… What about Cess? Doesn't Cess feel the same way about Auron? She didn't want to be the one to ruin her love for him. She shook her head and backed away. "I don't want to do this."
Disappointed, Auron nodded. "You're right. You miss Chappu. I can see that. I apologize for jumping so quickly like this. Good night." He turned and left, without giving Lulu a chance to stop him from going.
Lulu stood there, still feeling the tingle of Auron's kisses on her lips. She placed a hand on top of her lips and frowned. Was she doing the right thing? If she was, why wasn't she happy?
It was just so sudden…
GoodGurl: OOOOOOOOOHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh man has it EVER been a long time since I've updated! ^^; Sorry! Hey hey so Auron and Lulu FINALLY kissed eh? But… the question at the end…what do you guys think? Stay tuned! ;)
Chapter 14 – Surrender
She watched her. No matter how hard it was to let go, she knew she had to. Yuna was no longer the child she has watched all these years. She was a young woman now, ready to make her own decisions. However, Lulu is still unsure whether she was making the right ones right now. Was it really okay for Yuna to watch over Kai alone? Sighing, Lulu decided to visit the room where Kai was in, hoping to get answers from there.
When she arrived, she stopped just by the door when she heard voices inside. "Why did you do what you did? I want to know more about you." Lulu immediately recognized Yuna's voice.
"So this was your plan all along?" said Kai's annoyed voice. "It was your plan to take care of me so you can get information out of me?"
Lulu opened the door, suddenly interrupting the conversation between Yuna and Kai. Both of them looked up as she stepped inside the room. "That's exactly what she plans on doing, Kai. Why have you decided to go after me now?" She closed the door behind her and folded her arms across her chest. Lulu looked at Yuna. "Yuna, could I have a moment alone with him?"
Yuna nodded. "Of course," she said, standing up.
When the young woman left, Lulu was finally able to ask the question that has been plaguing her mind ever since she left Presia. "What happened during those years I left, Kai?"
That question must have been painful for him to answer, because he had looked up, his eyes widening in fear. Lulu looked at him, showing the man that she was definitely serious about her question. Kai turned away and said nothing.
Sighing, Lulu sat down in place of Yuna and asked again. "Tell me Kai, what happened those years? What happened to the kind boy I used to know? Why did you-?" Lulu cut off her words when Kai suddenly turned to look at her.
"I have always been here Lulu and you were just too blind to see it. You left me behind. We had a promise that we'd be together… And…" Unable to say anything more, Kai turned his whole body away from her, towards the door so his back was facing her.
Lulu frowned and sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "When will you understand that I do not have the same feelings that you wish me to have towards you?" She looked back at him and saw something that caught her attention. At the back, just below his right shoulder, was a long scar that started from the shoulder blade and down towards the left side of the spine. Curious, she reached down to trace the scar with her finger.
Startled, Kai jerked his head towards Lulu and growled. "What are you doing!?" He quickly turned around to face her. Lulu pulled away, startled by his outburst.
"Where did you get that scar?" she asked, leaning back on the chair.
Suddenly, Kai sat up on his bed and grabbed the shirt sitting on another chair on the other side of the bed. He pulled the shirt over his head and down until she could no longer see the scar on his back. "Why do you care!?"
"So, you're feeling better now?" Lulu asked, standing up.
Kai said nothing and stood up. "I've decided that my welcome is no longer needed in this God-forsaken airship! I'm leaving." He prepared to turn around and head for the door, when Lulu grabbed his arm. He winced and turned around to strike her, but his good arm was still injured, so he was forced to put his arm back down.
Noticing this, Lulu gave him a suspicious look and shook her head. "You're still in no condition to go out on your own. You need to-!" She was interrupted when his left hand suddenly shot up to go around her neck. With all his might, Kai lifted her up off her feet and shoved her against the metallic wall of the room. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" he hissed, gripping his hand tighter.
Lulu had forgotten that he was ambidextrous. She felt the pressure tightening around her neck and she had no choice but to cough to find her breathing. She could feel herself turning blue and there was no way of escape since she was unarmed. Lulu was too stupid to think to bring her weapon with her in case she needed to defend herself from anything or anyone.
Kai smiled. "This is what it feels like to be powerful, Lulu. That's what I felt when I made love to you…"
Lulu opened her mouth to speak. "You never made love to me. You ruined my life (cough) that's what you did! You took away my happiness!!!" She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst to come. This was just the most horrible time of her life. She was getting weak by the minute and she couldn't afford to do that if she was going to fight Sin.
"Let her go…now…" a stern voice from behind Kai said. He felt something cold and sharp against his neck. He looked down and noticed a familiar long blade. Slowly, he released his grip from around Lulu's neck and cautiously put his arm back down beside him. "Now…slowly turn around and if you try to make any moves, I swear I will kill you." Kai obeyed the man's demands and slowly turned around. Sure enough, it was Auron who was staring at him through his half broken glasses. "Are you all right, Lulu?" Auron asked, glancing quickly at the almost unconscious Black Mage. He kept the blade close to Kai's neck, almost puncturing it because it was so close to his neck.
Lulu nodded, rubbing her neck slowly and stood up. It took her a moment to breath and when she was able to, she walked over to Auron's side and stared into Kai's eyes. "I said you will stay here until you are much better, so that your wish of killing me will come true." After saying those words, she turned and walked away. Auron gave him another hard look, before following Lulu out the door and closed the door behind him. When they were outside, the Black Mage suddenly said, "I didn't hear you come in…but thank you for that." She wanted to say a lot more than just, a 'thank you.'
Both of them walked down the quiet hall and absent-mindedly headed to the deck. Auron didn't know what he was doing, but he followed her anyway. He was counting how many times he almost lost her and if he hadn't come by the room, she would have died for sure. She was definitely the only person he knew who bumped heads with death many times.
Outside, the night was very windy and cold. The airship flew overhead the clouds and made a wide, smooth turn to avoid really large mountains ahead. Lulu didn't need to hold on for dear life, because the airship was safer than any other airships she's been on. When she reached the very tip of the ship, she was suddenly covered with the cold wind and couldn't help but wrap her arms around herself. Once again, she thought about possibly the seventh brush of death that she experienced just now and shivered at that thought. She knew she was always the person to risk everything, but not at the cost of her life. Indeed, she would die for Yuna, but like any other person who wants to live their lives, she was afraid of her own sacrifice for her young Summoner. "Are you all right?" It was the same question that he always asked, despite him knowing that she wasn't all right.
Lulu's teeth chattered but she shook her head and sighed, rubbing her arms vigorously to get warmth started in her body. "You always ask me that."
Without responding, Auron approached her, took off his red coat and place it around her shoulders. "I wasn't asking about that…" He began buttoning the coat around Lulu so that no wind could enter her body to make her even colder.
Surprised, Lulu turned to look at him. Auron was now wearing only a white shirt. Shocked at his appearance, she began unbuttoning the jacket. "You need this more than me."
Auron shook his head. "I insist that you wear that. You need it more than I."
He was so kind. He was so generous. If only he knew how she felt about him, then it would have been very easy to say those words out loud. But…Lulu turned away. He had Cess and that was all that mattered. The thought of Auron and Cess together made her turn away from him. "I…Thank you for this. I think I'm going to sleep now." She removed the jacket from her shoulders and handed them back to him. Without another word, Lulu turned and walked passed him, back towards the ship and to her room. Auron was left standing there, confused.
******************
"It's time to die!"
"Stop!" The sound of metal could be heard.
"Do not stop me from killing him!"
Auron recognized Cess' voice coming from inside Kai's room. The other voice was definitely Yuna's. The door to Lulu's room suddenly opened, revealing Lulu in her modest black nightgown.
"What's going on?" a sleepy Rikku whined, rubbing her eyes as she stepped into the hallway. Tidus came out of his own room after that and ran quickly to Yuna's room and when he noticed she wasn't there, he ran to the room where the noise was coming from.
Lulu quickly met Auron's eyes and ran to where the commotion was. Tidus opened the door and saw that Cess had climbed on top of Kai's body and was holding her long sword against Kai's neck. Kai was holding the hand that held the sword as far away as he could, while Yuna desperately trying to get Cess off of him, but she was far too strong. The young Summoner looked up desperately to where Tidus, Lulu, Auron and now, Rikku, stood by the door. "Please help me! She's trying to kill him!" She pulled harder, barely managing to stop Cess' sword from cutting his neck further.
Tidus and Auron ran to the bed, rounding up on Cess and each grabbed the woman by the arms and pulled her away from him. Despite Cess' protest, they managed to pin her against the wall. "LET GO OF ME!" Cess said. Tears were suddenly falling from her eyes. Shocked, Auron loosened his grip on her arm, but did not let go. Cess glared at him. "HE KILLED MY FAMILY! HE KILLED MY FAMILY!" she kept repeating.
That was the side of story he's never heard of from his former lover. "What?" Auron questioned, his eyes widening in surprise.
Kai made a move to attack Cess, but Lulu was faster and chanted the sleeping spell. Kai's body became rigid and his eyes suddenly closed. His body fell back on his bed and he was then fast asleep. Yuna even had the courtesy to put the blanket on top of him to keep him warm. Suddenly, there was silence in the air. Cess must've realized what she said because she stopped yelling, only to stare at the fallen body of his enemy. Tidus and Auron knew at this point, that they were finally allowed to release her. Cess stared into Auron's eyes. Auron did the same. Lulu watched them both, but made no sound. The long haired woman looked away and walked towards the door where it waited opened for her to leave. Without another word, Cess left the scene.
"What was that?" a voice suddenly asked in the deadened air.
All four of them looked to see Rikku standing there suddenly aware of what just happened minutes after recognized as 'very' sleepy. No one could answer her question. Even Auron himself had no idea what was going, except he needed to know. Without a second thought, he followed Cess and Lulu did not dare stop him.
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"Cess! Stop!" he called, running after her. The woman, who has been known without emotions, did not stop, until Auron reached her and forced her to turn around to face him. She had quickly wiped her tears and was now looking sternly at him with her round, red eyes.
"What do you want, Auron?" she said, frowning and folding her arms across her chest.
"Is it true?" he asked, putting his arm back down at the sides.
Cess turned away and nodded. "You're not the only reason why I was looking for him. My family was killed because of him. I was this close…" She jerked her head back to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed as deep as it could go. "I was THIS close to slitting his throat! But you all stopped me. Even if I was hired to capture him, there was no way I was going to stand there and leave Yuna to take care of him until he was better. He ruined my life…My parents…my sister..." She swallowed hard. "My brother…" Once again, she turned away, forcing herself to hold back her tears. "I left after they died to hunt him down, but it was put on delay when someone hired me to capture him. It was a large amount of money and I couldn't refuse because then I could use that money to rebuild our house in Besaid. But even if I was chosen to capture him, that could not remove my hate towards the man."
Auron took a step forward. "Who hired you?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that he lives somewhere in Presia. Even if I was there, I didn't bother to find out who it was, because it would just be a waste of time. But why do you care anyway?" She scowled at him. "Why don't you just go back to your happy life and-!" She was interrupted when Auron's arms suddenly went around her into a tight hug.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I would have come back if I'd known that this happened."
Startled, Cess stood there, not knowing what to do, but she wrapped her arms around him anyway and endured this moment of being with him again. "I wish you never left, Auron. When you did, it was as if half of my heart was taken away from me."
"You already know the answer on why I had to leave. I was a Guardian after all and Braska was my best friend. I couldn't leave him alone. I had to protect him."
Cess closed her eyes. "I know… Now I understand. I still love you, Auron."
Auron sighed. "I know…" he replied. They stood there together in the darkness, wrapped in an embrace, unaware that someone in the darkness was watching them.
Lulu stood there, once again watching Auron and Cess…together. Taking a deep breath, she turned and headed back to her room.
*****************
She sat there, engulfed underneath the bright light of the moon. She sat on her bed, thinking what to do next. She couldn't sleep. Her thoughts kept coming back to Auron and Cess, both their arms wrapped around each other. What was she doing? She wasn't supposed to feel this way. Auron was just her fellow Guardian and Cess was his former lover so there was no point in stopping them if Auron felt the same way about her. Then again, Cess had tears in her eyes so Auron, being the gentleman he was, had the duty to comfort her because he knew her more than anyone here in the ship.
Sighing deeply, Lulu decided to do some reading, but as she looked around…there WAS nothing to read. Frustrated, she stood up and headed for the window, maybe look out there and find something that could put her to sleep. Still…there was none.
Tap! Tap!
The sound of someone knocking on the door startled her, but as calmly as she did before, she glanced at the door and quietly said, "Come in."
The door slowly opened and a pair of black boots was the first thing Lulu noticed when the figure entered the room. It was Auron, though Lulu was quite surprised at his presence, wondering what brought him in the room in the first place. "What is it, Sir Auron?" she asked, turning around to face him. Him standing there, with the light illuminating above him, casting a shadow, made him look like a God. Lulu felt her heart skip a bit. Afraid that he would hear her heart, she clasped a hand over it and took a deep breath.
Auron thought for a moment on what to say. He took a step forward, but stopped only just an inch, afraid that he was doing something wrong. Before he had a chance to talk, Lulu moved further away from him towards the window and said, "How is she?"
It took him a moment to realize that the question she was asking was about Cess. He nodded finally after. "She's fine. She's gone to bed now."
"I see… She must be tired from all that crying…"
There was something odd about the way Lulu said those words and Auron couldn't help noticing it. He dared to take another step, but stopped again. "Are you all right?"
The question again…She could never get tired of that though. Lulu took a deep breath. What was wrong with her? Is she jealous now? "I'm fine… Really, I'm fine…" She gritted her teeth. Lulu could feel her fists clenching at her sides. She couldn't stop…Why wasn't she stopping?
"Lulu?" He took several more steps, making him almost just a foot away from where she stood. "You don't sound well."
She forced herself to stop shaking with anger, but the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't stop herself. Lulu felt a large hand on her shoulder and she suddenly paused to turn her head around at him. "What is it? Why did you come here, Sir Auron? Tell me now."
Auron removed his hand from her shoulder and it immediately went behind his neck to rub the nervousness from his whole body. "I…I don't know why I'm here. Actually, I don't know why I feel this way."
Confused, Lulu lifted up an eyebrow. "What?"
"Please don't push me away. I want to show you something and if you don't feel the same way, then you can just shove me out of this room." He took one more step until he was close enough. Auron placed a hand under her chin and lifted up her head so she was looking into his eyes. Lulu did not move. She was too confused and too shocked. Auron leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.
Lulu closed her eyes, allowing his lips to explore over hers.
They were suddenly aware of the fiery passion they have been holding on for so long. The war between head and heart was no longer there. The heart was surrendering. They BOTH surrender to their feelings and with the kisses they exchanged with each other, they allowed each other to hold on to that feeling without any interruptions.
Lulu wrapped her arms around his neck and continued to kiss him back. She felt Auron tightening his embrace around her waist. "Auron…" she whispered. Suddenly, she pulled away from the kiss, allowing both of them to breathe. "No, I can't do this." What were they doing? They were kissing… What about Cess? Doesn't Cess feel the same way about Auron? She didn't want to be the one to ruin her love for him. She shook her head and backed away. "I don't want to do this."
Disappointed, Auron nodded. "You're right. You miss Chappu. I can see that. I apologize for jumping so quickly like this. Good night." He turned and left, without giving Lulu a chance to stop him from going.
Lulu stood there, still feeling the tingle of Auron's kisses on her lips. She placed a hand on top of her lips and frowned. Was she doing the right thing? If she was, why wasn't she happy?
It was just so sudden…
GoodGurl: OOOOOOOOOHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh man has it EVER been a long time since I've updated! ^^; Sorry! Hey hey so Auron and Lulu FINALLY kissed eh? But… the question at the end…what do you guys think? Stay tuned! ;)
