Summary: Tidus x Rikku. Yuna x Auron. An alternate take on the story that is Final Fantasy X.
Spoilers: Final Fantasy X
Disclaimer: Square Enix rocks my world. Hopefully, they won't find this or they will...do bad things to me. I'm only playing!
Author's Note: More Tikku. I actually wrote this a while ago, but as Sandra knows, I'm a lazy wench and just...never posted it. So, here you go! Also, I make no apologies if you get cavities reading this. I deliberately made it really sweet and sappy and silly because that's how I see Tidus/Rikku.
I think this scene was inspired by the fact that I was going to physical therapy for a lower back pain thing I was going through at the time. Alas, I had no Tidus to heal me up. *weep*
**
This is My Story by danakate
First Posted: 2004-03-27
Scene 03 - Tidus Teaches Rikku Post-Blitzball-Game TLC
Tidus was quite possibly about to die from sheer boredom, but he dared not step a foot outside. He'd already been scolded by an unnamed Al Bhed for...existing, he didn't want to cause any more problems. A knock sounded on Tidus's door.
"Come in!" he answered, knowing who it would be. She was the only one that visited him, after all.
"Hey, how ya doing?" Rikku asked with a bright-eyed smile.
"Uh, ok, I guess. Bored," Tidus replied truthfully.
"Well...how's your back?" Rikku tried to sound cheerful. There wasn't much she could do for Tidus, even her Pops had told her to keep him out of sight for a while.
"Better, thanks."
Rikku frowned at his tone.
"I brought some more salve if you need it," she said, coming into the room and strolling to the table.
"Are you...limping?" Tidus asked, eyes narrowed as he watched her.
"Oh, it's nothing," Rikku brushed off his comment. "Now that I think about it, having that tether line attached to my waist wasn't such a good idea."
"Ooh, ouch. You got yanked pretty hard," Tidus sympathized.
"Yeah, but it should be fine in a couple days," she assured.
In truth, Rikku was in a lot of pain. Everything seemed to hurt unless she was lying down and even then only if she didn't move too much. She turned and put the jar of salve on the table. And suddenly sucked in a breath as a sharp pain shot through her hip.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Tidus asked, suspicion in his voice.
"..."
"What was that?"
"Well...ok...no. But what can I do other than wait?" Rikku reluctantly admitted.
"Hmm," Tidus thought. "Hey, I know. I used to have pain in my back and hips after a particularly hard blitzball game...I could...show you some things you could do to help it."
"Really?" Rikku asked, curious.
"Sure!" Tidus was getting excited now. Maybe he could finally start repaying Rikku for her kindness. If anything, it would get his mind off his boredom.
"So, does it hurt all the time or just when you do certain motions?" he asked.
"Um..."
Tidus pressed his lips together. "You're gonna have to tell me the truth or I can't help you..."
Rikku gave him an apologetic smile. She hated showing anyone any kind of weakness on her part. But she really, really hurt.
"All the time..." she said in a small voice.
"Oh."
"No good?" she asked, face falling.
"It's not that. We'll just...uh...have to start a little basic."
Rikku eyed Tidus's shiftiness suspiciously. "What are you not telling me?"
"Well..." his voice trailed off. Tidus scratched his head and looked at the floor. "That usually involves, ahem, kind of a massage of sorts."
Rikku raised an eyebrow. "Ok!" she replied, a little too enthusiastically.
"Huh?" Tidus reacted sharply. "I mean, are you sure?"
"It...really hurts," she admitted. "I'm willing to try almost anything, at this point."
"Ok, um," Tidus glanced around.
"Should I lie down?" A little part of Rikku was really enjoying Tidus's awkwardness.
"That would make it...easier..."
"Ok, no problem," she said, smiling sweetly at Tidus. She made a move toward his bunk.
"Be-"
"Ow!" Rikku yelped, doubling over.
"-careful," Tidus cautioned, catching Rikku before she fell to the floor.
"Owie," Rikku moaned. "Stupid hip..."
"You ok?" Tidus asked. "Looks like you're in more pain than you let on."
"Sorry..." Rikku mumbled.
Carefully, Tidus helpled Rikku lie on his bunk.
"Still painful?" he asked.
"If I don't move, it's fine," she said into his pillow.
"So, where does it hurt?" Tidus asked.
"Everywhere," Rikku replied miserably.
"Uh huh."
"Well, it does..."
"Ok, how about this. I'm going to...press my fingers along your back and you tell me if it hurts," Tidus explained.
"Ok," Rikku answered.
Tidus contemplated for a moment on the best way to begin. In the end, he decided to kneel on the bunk and hope he didn't fall on her. Gently, he used the pads of his index and middle fingers on both hands to press along Rikku's spine, starting at her neck.
"Let me know if I'm pressing too hard," Tidus asked.
"'K," Rikku responded.
Slowly, Tidus moved his fingers across and down Rikku's back, pressing and holding for a couple seconds.
"Anything?" he asked.
"Uh uh."
At the small of her back, Rikku made a noise as Tidus hit a tender spot. "Ow, ok, that's tender."
"Sorry," he apologized and eased up. Carefully, he moved his fingers in a wide arc around her lower back and hips, guessing at where her area of pain was located. Judging from how tense she was, his guess was correct. "So, around here?"
"Oh, yeah," Rikku replied.
"Ok, I hope you're not ticklish," Tidus said lightly, trying to ease the tension in the air.
"Nope," Rikku lied and almost squealed a moment later when Tidus pressed his fingers into the muscles around her hips.
"Just...try to relax," Tidus said.
"Trying!" Rikku managed. She was also trying not to break out into giggles. But it really did feel good.
Tidus expertly moved his fingers around Rikku's lower back, coaxing the muscles into relaxing.
"Wow," Rikku murmured lazily. "That feels really good."
Tidus smirked. "We learned a lot about what our bodies could do while training," he explained. "And how we could fix them if we got hurt."
Rikku made a non-committal noise.
Tidus continued in silence, making sure to evenly massage Rikku's lower back. He smiled when she sighed and could tell that she was finally, really relaxing. It would help ease the pain much faster, for sure.
"Ok," Tidus said. "You'll still be sore, but it shouldn't hurt too much. And if you have some medicine for muscle pain, that would be good, too."
Rikku didn't answer.
"Rikku?" Tidus leaned to the side to see her face.
She was fast asleep.
*
Rikku awoke with a frown. Her pillow smelled different. And then she remembered. Her eyes popped open and her green eyes met blue ones.
"Hi," Tidus said. He'd been sitting on the floor beside the bunk, dozing a little.
"Hi," Rikku said with an embarrassed smile.
"I take it you're feeling better?" he grinned at her.
"Lots, thanks!" she said and tried to sit up.
"Whoa, whoa," Tidus said and pressed his hand to her back. "Easy there. Don't go undoing what I just did."
"Oh, sorry," Rikku apologized.
"You're gonna have to move a little slower now. And don't try to twist too much, at least for a little while," he instructed.
"Yes, sir!"
Tidus ducked his head. Now he was embarrassed. "Sorry, didn't mean to break out in a lecture."
"No, no!" Rikku placated. "It's really good information. Thanks. Really."
Slowly, Rikku sat back and, with Tidus's help, sat up on the bunk without aggravating her strained muscles.
"Feel ok?" Tidus asked.
Rikku felt herself start to blush when she felt Tidus's breath on her cheek.
"A-ok!" she said with a smile.
And was again caught staring at his clear, blue eyes.
Tidus was mesmerized, too, and it seemed like he was falling with every turn of the swirls in her eyes. And before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning forward, getting closer and closer to her. Their lips whispered across each other's and that slight touch seemed to jolt both of them.
Tidus sat back quickly, "Uh, you should take some muscle pain medicine if you have some."
"Right, ok. I gotta go..." Rikku said, standing as quickly as she dared, her cheeks burned so hot she thought she'd catch on fire.
She left a moment later and Tidus flopped down on the bunk.
"That...was really stupid..." he moaned aloud. He slapped a hand across his eyes and wondered just what he had been thinking.
*
A nameless Al Bhed dropped off his meal that evening and Tidus's heart sank.
"Smooth move, Tidus," he chided himself. "You've probably driven away the one person in this weird place that was even a little nice to you."
*
Tidus was lounging on his back the next day, not caring that he felt a little discomfort, when he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in," he answered emotionlessly. It was probably some random Al Bhed again.
The door squeaked open and he didn't bother looking to see who it was, just continued to stare at the bottom of the bunk above his.
"You know, your back is never gonna get better if you keep doing that."
Tidus's eyes widened at the sound of the one voice he didn't think he'd hear again.
"Rikku!" he exclaimed. He sat up quickly...and rammed his head on the underside of the top bunk.
"Hey! Don't break your head, too!" she gasped, hands flying to her mouth in shock.
"Ohhhh, ow," Tidus moaned, sitting heavily on his bunk, clutching at his forehead.
"Here, let me see," she said, coming into the room and standing in front of him.
"Come on," she coaxed. "Move your hands."
Tidus did as he was told, although reluctantly. His face was still the picture of pain and Rikku couldn't help but sympathize with him.
"Well, you're not bleeding, but you'll probably have a nasty bruise," she proclaimed.
"Great," Tidus complained.
"Sorry I couldn't come by last night," Rikku said. "Pops had me moving crates around to make room for parts for his precious airship." She rolled her eyes.
"You didn't tell him about your back?" Tidus asked.
"Oh, no way. He'd overreact and make me see all the Al Bhed doctors...at the same time," she replied. "Besides, I wasn't actually doing the lifting. More like, overseeing it."
"Ok..." Tidus said, slowly.
"But, um, I'm back to hurting again," Rikku continued, sheepish. She was wringing her hands together as if she was nervous. "So, um..."
Tidus inclined his head, trying to figure out what Rikku was saying.
"Could you, um..." she tried, unsure why she couldn't just come out and ask for his help.
And then Tidus got it.
"Oh!" he said, a little loudly. "Yeah, sure. I'd be glad to help."
"Thanks!" Rikku said and gave him a big smile. "So..."
"Be my guest," Tidus said, gesturing to the bunk. "I'm glad you came back. I was getting really bored," he said, but he knew it wasn't the only reason.
"Pops said we should reach Luca in a couple days," Rikku remarked. "You'll be able to do lots of stuff, there."
"Oh, ok," Tidus answered.
He took a moment to reflect as he set to work on Rikku's back. What, exactly, was he going to do in Luca? If it really was 1,000 years from his time, who was going to know who he was? So, that brought him back to the question of what he would do. Try and join a blitzball team and start a life there? The thought seemed oddly depressing despite his love for blitzball.
"Tidus?"
"Hmm?" he answered, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.
"What's up?" Rikku asked.
"Just thinkin' about what I'll do in Luca," he said.
"Ahh..."
"Hey, is the pain still localized here?" he asked, changing the subject and drawing his fingers in a large circle around Rikku's back and hips.
"Yup," she replied, resisting the urge to shiver.
"Hasn't spread, I hope?"
"Nope!"
"Good," Tidus said, somewhat relieved.
"You wanna go topside later tonight?" she asked, trying to think of things Tidus could do.
"Uh, sure, if that's ok."
"It should be. The night shift is usually light...less people to yell at us for no reason."
He could hear the grin in her voice and couldn't help but smile.
"Thanks, that'd be great," he replied. Tidus rested his hand on Rikku's back. "How does that feel?"
"Good as new!" Rikku replied, wiggling a bit. "I gotta go back, now, though. Pops wants me to get some stuff ready for later."
"Ok," Tidus said, helping her to her feet. "Hey, listen, about yesterday...I'm sorry."
Rikku looked up at Tidus and searched his eyes. She'd been thinking a lot about the previous day, too.
"It's ok," she said.
"No, it's not...I...crossed the line. I mean, we hardly know each other," Tidus continued.
"It's really ok," Rikku restated, and she meant it.
"I...are you sure?" Tidus asked, a disbelieving look on his face.
Rikku stared at him.
"I mean..." Tidus started, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. "I...dunno, it's just-"
Tidus was abruptly cut off by Rikku's lips on his.
Rikku broke off quickly, cheeks burning slightly. "I said, it was ok. And I meant it." She gave him a sweet smile.
Tidus just stared.
"I'll come by and get you later, 'k?"
"Ok..." he managed.
"See ya!" she waved before leaving.
Tidus continued to stand where he was for long moments after Rikku left.
"Whoa."
--
TBC