A/N: This would've been up sooner.. but. I ehh.. had some.. last minute assignments. I kind've put them off until the day before. Teehee. Life is good. This story might be postponed, as I have another idea brewing in my brain cavity, and I'm not too sure where else to steer this. Any and all ideas would be helpful, darlings!

"Is this love?"

So this was defeat. It left a burning, bitter aftertaste, a reminder of failure. Never before had the scars of loss tainted the darkness until now. There was naught left but for her to continue on this journey. What would be the point of throwing anything else at this girl? It would not affect her, nor maim her being. Her purity, her strengths would lead her to victory and there was no way to stop her, they had exhausted all their options.

Yuna breathed out an exasperated sigh as she sat on her bed, dangling her legs over the side of the mattress. Even though Tidus sat beside her, trying to settle her nerves, she didn't feel quite like herself. These days without Rikku had taken a toll on her, she wasn't used to being without her cousins peppy voice or the occasional crash of the girl falling down stairs or even watching her trip over the smallest things. Rikku was not known for her grace, as it was oddly equivalent to that of a drunk hippopotamus.

"Wow. You must be really concerned, Yuna." Tidus commented as he placed his arm around her shoulders. She allowed the contact, but did not move from her perch, nor take her multicolored eyes away from her feet. She said not a word, but nodded her head to let the blitzer know that she was listening. "C'mon. You know Rikku will pull through this. She's a tough girl. She was with us when we fought Sin and when you guys destroyed that Vegna... whatever."

She knew he was only trying to cheer her up, but at a time like this she didn't want to be cheerful - not without Rikku to be there smiling too. Yuna was grateful for his efforts, even if she did nothing to show it. She nodded again, having no clue about what he had just said. All she wanted right now was solitude. She found it odd that after trying so hard to bring him back that now she just wanted to be left alone. She did not act on that desire, but fell back on her pillows and closed her eyes.

"Hmm. I still can't believe the whole Rikku and Auron deal. That's just: Ew! I mean, Auron's all stiff and stuff. I didn't even know he was capable of emotion. He's like a gazillion years older than her. Not to mention he's all... dead." Tidus mused, though Yuna saw it more as rambling. She smiled in spite of everything, feeling the happiness of just being with him return.

"Love is blind." She said in reply, pushing him with her foot. He grinned as he grabbed her ankle and tickled her toes. She erupted in giggles and kicked him with her other foot, hard enough to knock him over and almost off the bed. She smiled wide as she watched him regain his composure, stretching out on the bed and taking as much room as she could in the meantime. He shook his head at her, a fondness alight in his sky-blue eyes. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hey, don't stick that out at me unless you intend to use it!" He said, his face contorted into a grin while he waved a finger at her.

"Pervert!" She squealed, kicking him again, this time knocking him completely off the mattress. She laughed aloud as she heard him thud onto the floor. Yuna sat up and leaned over the side of the bed, looking down at him while he lay sprawled on the floor. His face was still painted with that goofy grin and his head rested on his arms, which he had crossed behind him. "Whatcha doin' down there, mister?" She asked, nonchalantly, resting her chin in her hands.

"Admiring the view." He said, that foolish, goofy grin never leaving his expression. She gave him an appraising glance, though the slightest hints of a smile tugged at her lips. Without warning, he sat up, took hold of her arms and yanked her right off the bed. She just so happened to land on top of him and he banded his arms around her waist.

"Butthead." She commented, her voice distorted from giggles. Finally, after all the countless hours of worry and stress, she felt a calm settle her jumpy nerves and tranquillize her restless mind. She inhaled deeply, lids falling over her eyes as she rested her head on his chest. She thought that maybe she should try to get a little rest, seeing as she hadn't sleep since Rikku had fallen unconscious.

"Roommate coming up. Please halt all icky, mushy, lovey crap." She started, hearing Paine's voice. She opened her eyes and looked at Tidus, who reluctantly let her go. She climbed off of him and climbed back up on her bed, though she left him laying there. Of course, Paine was always disgusted at even the littlest bit of affection, no matter how innocent, which led Yuna to wonder... jealousy?

The warrior ascended the stairs and crossed the room, tossing a fake smile to Yuna and purposely stepping on Tidus, who, in turn, grabbed her leg and caused her to trip. Those two always had to have a one-up on the other. Paine, after lifting herself from the floor, grabbed a pillow from her bed and threw it with all her strength at Tidus. Yuna watched as the boy struggled to remove the pillow from his face. He was never a very smart person. His intelligence was about as equal to a rabid, drunk cow. Though she loved him anyway.

Yuna turned to Paine, and with a bemused smile on her face, asked "What's up?" Thinking that the only reason her roommate would come up to their bedroom was to bug Tidus or ask her a question. Paine shifted her weight to one leg, observing while Yuna finally took the pillow off of her worthless fiancé.

"It really isn't much, I just think that you should go check on Rikku." Paine replied, feeling uneasy as her roommates undivided attention was turned towards her. Just saying the girls name put a damper on the slight bit of happiness that had come from bugging Tidus. Yuna tilted her head, reading the change in emotion on Paine's face like a book. She climbed off the bed, careful not to step on Tidus, and turned to the warrior.

"Is she okay?" The high summoner asked, worry and concern tainting her voice. Tidus, too, arose from the floor and stretched, his bones cracking in a way that sent a shudder down Yuna's spine. She never did like that sound.

"Same as usual, though she was actually talking, making sense. Her eyes were fluttering too, I thought she was going to wake up for a moment. No luck, though." Paine explained, following Yuna down the stairs and into the living room where Rikku lay, still unconscious, on the couch. Tidus, seeing Gippal and Baralai engaged in some argument of sorts, gleefully trotted over to join in. The warrior shook her head at him, turning back to Yuna who had sat down on the couch next to Rikku. Paine favoured a spot on the floor.

"What was she saying?" She inquired, placing her palm on the girl's forehead and looking down at the warrior, sitting cross-legged on the carpet. Yuna could detect no difference with the girl and supposed it was only a fleeting moment that of which Paine had talked about.

"She was whispering Auron's name and some other things that didn't make much sense. Something about 'Rikku-eating beasties' and saying she was glad that he was there. It was really odd." She answered, leaning her back against the couch and stretching out her legs.

"She must be dreaming about him, then. Poor girl, she'll be heartbroken if she wakes up. All over again."

"If she wakes up." Paine commented without thinking.

"Hey! Don't talk like that! We need to stay optimistic for her sake. I know you two never got along really well, but you should at least act like you care." Yuna ranted, which was something rather out of the ordinary. She wasn't one to just explode and Paine felt bad about what she had said. Hadn't she already had this debate with herself?

"I'm sorry, Yuna. It just came out. Really, I do care. I mean, even if Rikku and I never seemed to get along, I do care about her. After all we've been through together, do you really think I couldn't worry about her? She's become like a sister to me, as have you." She said, defensively at first, though it quickly faded.

"Really! Aww!" Yuna oozed, sliding off the couch and giving Paine a hug, which the warrior fought off.

"No fucking way!Too much affection. Don't touch me and we'll be fine." She grinned, having rolled away from Yuna, who now sat on her knees, pouting. Paine paid no heed to this, merely turned her head away. "Blah. Why did I have to say anything in the first place?"

C'mon Rikku. Please wake up...