AN: Yeah. I just finished FFX for the second time, and man did I cry my eyes out! lol, Does that make me pathetic in some way? Probably... Oh well.
I came to a decision on my song dilema... I'll just have Rikku sing it or Auron write it. I figure I can stick the songs on the top for my next story, but to have it happen right in the middle would be kinda... odd. But thanks for answering my question!
The song is "Amy Hit the Atmosphere" by Counting Crows. Anyone else have some good songs that they could think of that might go with this story? Do tell if you do!
Whoa, this is a kinda long Author's Note. Oh well.
Big kisses out to my reviewers!!
Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own a damn thing.
It came slowly at first.
One drop. Then, there was two. Finally, a third drop convinced me to look at the sky.
The second my eyes traveled upward, the clouds opened up and rain started to pour. I smiled to myself, and instead of taking my coat from the sand, like a normal person, I kept it off, relishing in the cool wetness.
I was sitting on the beach, wasting time, waiting for the arrangements to be made for the new journey. Although I should have felt antsy, I felt a dead calm in my soul, which was a bit frightening for me. It was the feeling I got before I led Braska to his death. It was the feeling I got before I saw Jecht for the last time, or when I thumped Kimarhi on the chest before I was sent.
It was the exact feeling I had when Rikku walked away from me, that day so long ago in Macalania Woods.
But sitting in the rain? That was a different feeling... a good feeling.
Remembering a song from another time, I started to sing again...
"I should have known better..."
My hands were still reaching for her as I saw the last traces of Rikku's faded orange tanktop fade between the trees. My fingers were shaking as I dropped my hand to my side, closing my eyes tightly.
And at that moment of time, the sky decided to cry.
Rational thoughts attempted to flood my mind. "I can't go after her. I can't tell her the truth. I'm just going to have to let both of us suffer, because the secrets I'm keeping are far too painful to let her worry about."
But, the unrational part of my mind somehow won, and without a second thought, I started to run after her.
I felt like the wind, in a way. Never did I ever have a reason to run so fast, to find someone so quickly as I did right then. The trees blew past me, branches hitting my face, but still I ran. Rain pelted my face as I ran. I ran as far and as fast as I could, down the skinny dirt path, until I found something worth stopping for.
A glimpse of blonde hair between the leaves, to my right. I quickly turned, and drew my katana out to slash at the branches in my way.
But, before I could lift it, I heard something that changed my mind.
"If I could make it rain today
And wash away this sunny day down to the gutter
I would
Just to get a change of pace
Things are getting worse but I feel a lot better
And that's all that really matters to me."
I stopped for a moment, and listened. Rikku's melodic voice traveled on the breeze, giving my ears a gift I had never really heard before that day. Sure, she sang on the pilgrimage, but never like that. Never, ever, with so much feeling.
I slipped my katana onto my back again, and slid in between the branches, trying to make the least noise as possible. I kept my eye on the light shining from her blonde hair, kept my ears on the song, and let Rikku lead my way.
"Amy hit the atmosphere
Caught herself a rocket ride out of this gutter and
She's never coming back, I fear
But any time it rains,
She just feels a lot better
And that's all that really matters to me
We've waited so long for someone to take us back home
It just takes so long
And meanwhile the days go drifting away
And some of us sink like a stone
Waiting for mothers to come."
She was sitting on the edge of another pond, deep in the woods of Macalania. Her faded orange shirt was soaking wet and ripped in a few places. She had more mud covering her legs than I would have liked to deal with, but she seemed comfortable with it. She seemed completely at ease with the rain, and with herself.
And it was that moment of time, more than any other, that it hit me.
I was in love with Rikku.
"There has to be a change, I'm sure
Today was just a day fading into another
And that can't be what a life is for
The only thing she said was she feels a lot better
And that's all that really matters to me
We've waited so long for someone to take us back home
It just takes so long
And meanwhile the days go drifting away
And some of us sink like a stone
Waiting for mothers to come
All I really know is
I want to know
And all I really know is I don't want to know
All I really know is
I want to know
And all I really know is I don't want to know"
Her voice faded with the end of the song just as I stepped onto the ground behind her. My boot squished into the mud, and I winced.
I knew I had given myself away.
She spun faster than I could have imagined, facing me with shock written all over her beautiful features. The string that usually held her hair up was long gone, leaving her dripping wet hair falling over her face. Her skin was clean, damp, and glowing. The spirals of her emerald eyes faded from shock to defiance, and she stood her ground silently, waiting for me to make the first move.
I felt, more than made myself, move forward. My fingertips grazed the features of her face as I raised my hand. The other hand grabbed her waist, pulling her towards me.
"Auron," she gasped.
I felt the corners of my mouth turn up in a grin as I whispered the very words of the song she sang back to her. "But any time it rains, she just feels alot better, and that's all that really matters to me..."
And with those words, and the fact that I loved her ringing in my head, I tipped my head downward and touched my lips to hers.
The sound of an airship broke me out of my thoughts, and I felt the touch of a cool hand to my neck. I glanced up slowly, and saw the rest of the group standing calmly in the rain, smiling at me.
"Sir Auron, it's time," Yuna said gently.
"That it is," I said while I got up. "Your uncle's airship?"
Yuna shook her head in disagreement. "No... someone else I met a few months ago. She said I could use her airship whenever I needed to, so I decided to take her up on the offer. This will help us find Rikku faster, don't you think?"
I nodded without really paying attention, my mind still stuck on the memory from before. The door to the airship then opened, and Yuna, Wakka, and Lulu moved towards it slowly. I followed a few steps behind them, but then stopped.
I just had to turn to see one last glimpse of the storm before we left.