The party lasted well into the night. Yuna had called everyone she could think of. First she contacted Brother, Nhadala, and Cid at New Home in Sanubia by Commsphere. Since he had a switchboard set up there, he went ahead and sent the word to Gippal, Paine, and Shinra in Djose Temple, Dona and Barthello in Kilika, then Nooj, LeBlanc, Elma and Lucil on Mushroom Rock, Clasko and Calli in the Calm Lands, Issaru in Zanarkand, and finally to Baralai and Shelinda in Bevelle, who had married just weeks before. And of course, Yuna herself told Khimari. Buddy rushed off immediately to pick them all up, likely ecstatic to get away from the over-calm waters of Besaid for a short while. Since the Celcius had become more of a delivery vehicle than an adventure-mobile, he'd been getting exceedingly restless during any harbor stop. A party was just the thing to kick him out of his rut, and he picked everyone up in record time.
Naturally, where there was Gippal, there was alcohol. He'd made a new machine that combined Rikku's snowball machine with the Al Bhed-brewed sugar licquor called rum, and everyone but the new mother and Khimari got completely sloshed. Even Lazarus had a few of the dacquoris, speaking quietly off to the side with Tidus. Their conversation was interrupted only when Elma and Lucil ran past them, tipsy and laughing together, both of their necks covered in dark spots and red bitemarks.
"There go the happiest pair of girls I've ever seen," said Tidus, chuckling into his glass. "They're more obvious about being in love than even Yuna and I are. Elma told me tonight they'd been together since Crusader training," he added, jerking his chin in their direction. "Right in front of Clasko, too. Lucky for him he didn't have a crush on either one. I think all he wants is his Chocobo ranch. Calli's been working for him for a while now, and I think there's some chocobo-based sparks. If they ever breed, the kid's'll come out yellow and warking."
Lazarus chuckled, watching over the crowd to make sure none of the drunken antics got too wild. Lucky for him, none did, and these people were all too happy for Kimi, and too filled with the food Tromell had brought for the occasion, to do anything dangerous. There was plenty of barefoot dancing around the fire, but Lulu was sitting next to Yuna, and kept her mind clear enough to cast Water on anyone who got too close.
"So, you going to take care of Rikku tonight, old man?" asked Tidus, blue eyes glazed over as he gazed at his wife. Things were finally dying down, and she looked tired and happy, holding little Kimi to her heart as Khimari stood guard behind the pair. "I think I'm going to take the missus and baby to bed, and Rikku's pretty wild out there. We won't need you to sleep in the house or anything, since the Celcius stays around here anyway. And I think Khimari wants to stay over."
Lazarus paused with his mouth open. For a moment, he'd thought Tidus meant something funny by "taking care of Rikku." But no. Inwardly, he chastised himself. That was only Laz's lecherous mind twisting the statement. "I'll put her to bed, don't worry."
"I'm sure you will," said his foster son with a sly wink before jogging away. Laz cringed. So the boy had figured it out. Well, there would be enough time to pound some respect into him later. For now, he had some time to rest. A few empty chairs sat a little ways from the commotion, nearer to the woods. He carried his dacquori over to it and sat down to rest, the town's fire dimishing to a bright twinkle a little ways off. He could still see the inebriated dancers moving, hear the drums beating. That was enough. That was all he needed to feel like he was a part of this celebration. His sake jug had been left at Lulu and Wakka's, but no worry, he'd retrieve it in the morning. For now, everything was nice and quiet, a cool ocean breeze blowing over his skin. Life is... good, he decided with a smile, and loosened the strings of his mask so he could drink with greater ease.
But just then, one of the dancers separated from the pack and started making a winding path toward the chairs. He held his hand to his half-covered face, and was just about to tighten the strings when he saw who it was, and so left it to hang loosely from the collar. Clad in only an orange sack-dress, one which hung loosely but nonetheless complimented her curves, Rikku seemed unable to decide between dancing and walking toward him. Truth be told, she didn't dance altogether too well. She could do certain professional-looking moves when she was trying hard, and her hips swayed rather nicely, but she was always so happy whenever she began to dance that it looked silly. Silly, but still an expression of utter joy.
Finally she was stopped in front of him, swaying and smelling of mint and chocolate. He smiled, lifting a braid that had fallen into her face. "I think Gippal's made you one too many grasshoppers, vneaht. You seem too pleased with yourself."
"Aww, I'm fun! I mean..." She blinked, holding up a finger as she concentrated on verbal communication. "I'm having fun. Dancin... and, um, boogey-in..." Rikku held her arms at her sides and moved them as if she was turning a big wheel to the right and left, wiggling her butt in a sad attempt at dancing.
"That's the same thing," he replied, chuckling. She nodded voraciously, a big grin plastered on her face, both cheeks very, very red. Then her head tilted to the side, and her jaw dropped, eyes happy and wide. "What is it?" asked Lazarus, raising an eyebrow.
"You promised me! I wanna see now! Who you beeeeeeeeee?" she asked, her voice going into a low grating rasp, like an old woman with very bad grammar.
"No one of consequence," Laz replied, smiling. Might be fun to pretend he wasn't going to show her. She was always a fun drunk to be around, after all. Not like Jecht, who just freaked out at everything. She just let herself go even more than usual, felt fascinated by everything, and hugged people often.
Now her voice translated into a stunningly well-done version of Wakka's, if a bit too high-pitched and squeaky. "But I gotta know, ya?" Rikku jumped up and down, giggling madly. "Ya? Ya! Yayayayayaya!" she sang, jumping up as high as she could on each "ya!" before wearing herself out temporarily and plopping into her friend's lap.
He sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back further, just in case the silly inebriated creature fell off and hurt herself. Or at least, that was the innocent motive behind his action. In any case, she didn't seem to mind. "Get used to disappointment," he murmured, shrugging slightly. But when she turned around and pouted, his breath caught for the second time today. She was so... close. How'd she get so close without him even realizing it? After all, he'd always thought of himself as a moon to her world. Always drawn in closer, ever closer, but never pulling close enough to touch.
"You promised," she mumbled, eyebrows pulling together, lower lip pulled into her mouth. "You promised I could see someday. And I want someday to be now. Nekrd huf." Before Lazarus even got a chance to respond, she lifted her hand to his jaw, and pulled the mask off in one swift motion, eased by his earlier loosening of the strings.
His heartbeat sped, lips parted in surprise as she stared at his pale mouth with the same intense expression as earlier in the day. She'd revealed him without even trying. She had to know now. Surely, she had to know. She'd seen Tidus' spheres of young Auron, on his pilgrimage with Jecht and Braska. She was perfectly aware of what Auron had looked like, and though she was silly and red-cheeked now, surely she was aware enough to make the connection. Surely she--
Lazarus' mind went blank, his thoughts stopped. It took him a moment to realize that her mouth was on his, warm and sweating body pressed in against him, green eyes closed. It took one moment to take in the position of her body, knees on either side of his thighs, her belly pressed to his. And as soon as that realization set in...
His arms went around her back, pressing the girl tighter into him. Blood rushed in his ears, blocking out the sound of the drums until they were a distant muffled thump mixed in with the sound of his own heartbeat. His lips curved around hers, sucking on her bottom lip before he pressed the tip of his tongue in, running along the inside of her upper lip before it stretched out into her mouth, meeting her tongue halfway inside. He let out a moan that came out a growl, deep and low and primal in his throat. One hand trailed up along her spine, feeling the ridges of bone through thin orange fabric, the other hand moving around to her hip, tracing the inward curve, the place where her lowest rib stuck out just a little beneath the skin. And already, with his mouth working hers and her breasts pressed in close to him, there was a second pulse beating between his legs, hot and aching and he was burning for her as they kissed, sweating from the tremendous heat building inside him, and the heat was so real and intense and right, and he wanted to press his entire being into her mouth and her hips and her body because the warmth would be so much better there it wouldbeperfectbecauseshe... was... perfect.
Rikku pulled away, and the kiss ended. Her eyes were wide, shining with a mixture of alcohol and confusion and surprise. "Laz, I..."
He winced. That... was a mistake. He turned his face away from her, breath coming hard and making his chest pulse as if it were a heart itself. She didn't mean that. Of course she didn't. She was drunk, and she was affectionate when she was drunk. Of course she kissed him, hugged him. He was her vneaht. "I'm sorry, Rikku. I crossed the line. I'm an idiot," he mumbled, hands halfway to his face, eyes closed so he couldn't see the expression on her face. Probably disgust. Probably she'd be running to tell someone of his lechery in seconds. Running from him and his stupidity and his hormones and heat.
"You're not an idiot, and you didn't cross the line," she said, grabbing his wrists so that he couldn't fix the mask back on. When he looked at her, her eyes held neither disgust nor fear, and she set his hands down at his sides so that she could throw her arms around his neck. "I just... didn't know you wanted me." A smile. "I never would have guessed, you know?"
He shook his head. But with her arms around him, her face still so near, he was starting to feel a bit better about his... well, what he considered a fuck-up. "I did my best not to let you know, I think. I'm very much used to keeping control." He looked over her shoulder to make sure they were still alone, and the party had almost entirely dispersed. "We should get back to the Celcius. We can talk there. I, ahh, have something to... throw away."
"I can tell," she said with a grin, looking down between them. When Lazarus followed her gaze, he flushed noticeably and looked away again. Rikku laughed. "No, it's okay. I'm flattered, you know? Really. I've never had a guy get that turned on just from a kiss. For that matter, I've never been kissed with that much... fervor."
Lazarus relaxed a little, but it still embarassed him. He shook his head. "We should go. Go ahead and get up, Rikku." Funny. Now, she didn't sound drunk at all. And for that matter, she hadn't tasted of alcohol, though her cheeks were still red. Maybe she hadn't been as drunk as he'd thought. Just tipsy and happy and willing to let go of herself more than the drink's affect would have.
"But I don't want to move," she whined, tightening her grip on his neck and pressing her face in towards his shoulder, where the tunic ended and the starched black collar began. But he could tell she was smiling.
Lazarus sighed and put his arms back around her, one hand on her back and one on her butt, before he stood up. "If you're going to make me carry you, at least fix my mask back in case someone is still alive around here." The girl laughingly complied, and they weren't interrupted or harassed on the way to the Celcius. Paine and Gippal were sharing a bed in the mens' quarters, as were Brother and Nhadala, so Rikku and Auron had two beds in the Cabin all to themselves. Buddy, for some reason, had taken to sleeping on the Bridge. In the midst of so many others pairing up with members of the opposite (or same) sex, he was the closest to the Celius. None could come between him and his ship. And of course, no one knew where Barkeep and Darling went at night. Probably to some big fishtank Brother had rigged for them years ago.
Once they'd gotten to the Cabin, Rikku locked the door behind them and started taking out her braids, heading toward the upper level to get to bed. "Don't forget you're staying here, tonight. The couples have the other room, so we won't be bothered or anything. You can have the bed next to mine."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he responded with a slight smirk, doffing his mask and belt, as he trailed her. Luckily, his arousal had flagged as quickly as it had sprung, so he didn't have to "throw something away" before bed. He was sure he'd have to at some point soon, especially after sharing the same bedroom with the object of his affection, but somehow everything was so natural and easy with her that he could put it off without any pain.
But instead of responding to his joke in kind, Rikku turned to look at him, still undoing her hair. "Who are you, Lazarus? I can see your face, and I recognize you a little, but I can't place it. So who are you?"
"...shit." He sighed, sitting down on the bed next to hers with a muffled "whumph" sound. "Excuse my language. It's just that I knew this moment would come. And frankly, I didn't think it would be after you found out about my... feelings for you. I'm afraid it will rather dimish any affection you hold for me." He looked up at her to judge her reaction so far, his eyes squinted with worry and doubt. But she only smiled a little, sat across from him and patted his knee. Which, he'd finally decided, was a good feeling.
"Just tell me, okay? I'll do my best to understand. I promise." Wise woman, to promise only to try.
Lazarus gritted his teeth and nodded in response, folding his hands in his lap, his tunic falling open before him from lack of the belt. "Rikku... you've seen Tidus' spheres before, right? There's a man in several of those spheres. A young man, only about twenty-six. He's foolish and hot-blooded and self-righteous. He's dedicated to Yevon and its teachings... everything that's caused you pain. And he's... overzealous sometimes, but I like to think his heart was in the right place. Fourteen years ago, that young man died in a desperate rebellion, after watching his two best friends, the only friends he'd kept long enough to consider true, sacrifice themselves to save Spira. And that young man held his pyreflies together. He refused to die. He would live the half-life of the undead, in order to fight against the thing that killed his friends, and in order to protect the children of those two men. He rode Sin into a dream, in order to become foster father to a dream child. Ten years after that, he journeyed with Lady Yuna and became her guardian. When they defeated Sin, she sent him. And he hasn't been seen snce." He bent over to take off his boots, trying to delay looking at Rikku's face for as long as possible as he spoke. "Then six months ago, he was brought back to life at the behest of the Fayth, in order to do a job that, apparently, only he could accomplish. And this life he was brought to would be permanent, until he died a natural death again." Boots off. Nothing much left to do. Lazarus put his hands back in his lap, staring down at them, listening to the silence of the room, the soft white-noise whir of machines the used onboard the ship when it was docked. Her breath, coming soft and steady. "Rikku, I am Lazarus. I wasn't lying. I'm a new person, in a body that's exactly like my old one. But I was dead. I was Sir Auron, legendary guardian. You can ask Tidus, or Khimari, both of whom recognized me as the person I was. But... um." He sighed, and looked up at her. Thankfully, her face looked no different. She wasn't crying, she wasn't running. She was just studying him, looking at him. He tried to form his next words, but he couldn't. Not while he was looking at her. Not while she was looking at him like that. He looked down again, at his hands. "That's why I've been holding back. That's why I've been trying to hold back. I knew if I lost control like I did tonight, it would... complicate things. You have my apologies. It was not my intention to deceive you into a relationship with one... so old and lost."
As he stared at his feet, black socks marked by the indentations of his boots, he heard a creak next to him, felt the weight shift the mattress beneath him. "You aren't old," she said. "Not when you can kiss like that. And I admit, it is kind of... well frankly Laz, it's weird. Even now that I know, I can't look at you and think of you as Auron. You're Lazarus. You're my vneaht. And, well... this."
When he turned to look at her, she kissed him for the second time that night. Just a soft kiss, warm lips to lips, eyes open so that she could look into his. He could only move his mouth a little before it ended, and he found that her hand was on his chin, supporting him. Holding him. "You didn't deceive me," she murmured. "But now that I know who you are, and I know that my feelings haven't changed, I want to ask you something. And it isn't just a simple request. It's complicated and huge and life-changing, and it'll probably be a bit of a surprise to everyone. The fact that I want to ask it of you comes as a surprise even to me."
Lazarus blinked, found himself nodding. "I don't care. Anything. Name it."
"I want you to speak to my father in the morning, and ask for me in Luindcreb. I'd ask your parents as well, but... they're gone, right?" She smiled a little, brushing her blonde hair behind her ears, running her fingers over the tight curls that had fallen from her braids, breaking up the sheet of straight hair that fell over her shoulders and down her back. "I know it's sudden. I mean, one kiss and I want to get hitched. But it seems right, is all. We've been so close for so long, it seems like such an easy next step."
He blinked, reaching out a tentative hand to touch her shoulder. When she didn't jump, he brushed the rough callous of his thumb over her birthmark, painted his hand down to her elbow as he had when she'd been sleeping. "You'll have to explain this Luindcreb to me. I'm not sure what you mean by getting hitched. After all, it's courtship, not marriage, right?"
"Actually, for us, it's kind of like... temporary marriage. A trial basis-ish. We can do anything we'd normally do if we were married by Yevon standards, but it only lasts one year. You can end it at any time if there are problems, and people can even enter into a series of Luindcrebc. Though then you'll get a bad reputation if you luind too many people, and no one'll even date you afterwards." Rikku smiled and leaned into his touch, then moved closer so that she could be a little more comfortable. Leaning into him felt good. Felt right. "Luindcreb turns into marriage when it's been successful for a full year, or when a baby is conceived, whichever comes first. The only rules are, you have to be of marriagable age, and you have to be a virgin outside of Luindcreb, or else you're branded a slut and you can only get married in a Yevonite ceremony. But since it's so easy to do, no Al Bhed disobey that rule. And Yevonites that want to marry in, well, they just have to, you know... be virgins too." She shrugged. "But since you said you'd never... well... yeah. It should be fine."
"You want to marry me...?" He was flattered, but aghast at her decision. And after she'd found out who he was! It didn't seem to make sense. But then, she wasn't talking about the same thing, quite, he supposed. Still, it was rather a shock. And he'd thought... he'd thought his attraction was entirely one-sided.
She shifted in her seat, hands spread out on her knees, rubbing nervously at the skin beneath the dress. "We don't have do do anything serious. Just, you know, the option's at least there. If you don't want to--"
"I do," he said quickly, grabbing for her hand. Then he chuckled, realizing his ironic choice of words. "But Rikku, are you sure you want this? I mean, you loved Gippal for so long. And... we haven't even spoken about... becoming romantic before. I want to be with you, truly I do, but I don't understand how you could enter into something like this so easily. What you're talking about, it may not be marriage, but it's serious."
"I know that. But I honestly feel that it's right. I'm..." she bit her lower lip and rubbed a thumb over his palm, eyes tracing the curve of muscle barely visible beneath the open tunic. "I'm comfortable with you. More comfortable than I've been with any man before. Moreso even than with Gippal. You don't make me nervous or creeped out or sick to my stomach like he did sometimes." She smiled, and leaned closer, breathing in his scent. It was warm, masculine. He smelled like sake and sweat and fruit and his earlier arousal. "You're just you. And I want to be with you. The only reason I've never considered starting a relationship with you is, well... you seemed so untouchable before. Like a god or an aeon or something far away. The fact that you wanted to be friends, much less close friends, was kind of... neat, you know?" She smiled again, and reached up to run a finger over his jaw, trailing up to the tan line. Just exploring him. But when his gaze shifted to hers, pinning her down, she had to wonder: where had all this passion come from? How was this man anything like the Auron she'd known four years before? "How is it that you restrain yourself like that, Laz?"
He grunted. "Years of practice. And if I did not restrain myself, did not hold back at this moment..." He stood up and lifted Rikku easily from the bed, then turned and laid her own in her own. "I'm afraid we'd have to fall back on a Yevonite ceremony. Cid would not be pleased."
Rikku giggled and slipped her arms into the dress, shifting around a bit before shoving her arms back through, bra crumpled in one hand and tossed to the side of the bed. When she looked back up at her... what was he now, her lover? Her best friend? Some close combination of the two? Well, when she looked back at Lazarus, his mouth was gaping, as if to say, How do women bloody do that? Rikku laughed and shook her head, flicking off the desk lamp and getting beneath the covers. "Good night, Lazarus. Or should I call you Aruon?"
"Auron is dead," he murmured. "But call me what you like. Call me Lazarus, lover, human, or slave, I care not. It's all one to me, as long as the words come from your mouth and no one else's." He winced, shaking his head as he crawled beneath the covers of his own bed. "Or call me what I am: an over-dramatic, sappy fool. Good night, Rikku."
Soft lips curled into a smile, and spoke into the darkness. "Good night.... kuut hekrd. Ujan-tnysydel, cybbo vuum fru E muja."
Vneaht = Friend
Nekrd huf. = Right now.
Luindcreb = Courtship
Kuut hekrd. Ujan-tnysydel, cybbo vuum fru E muja. = Good night. Over-dramatic, sappy fool who I love.