Chapter Three
Somewhere In Between

Part One

The Thunder Plains.

Rikku had kinda been hoping that there was a way to avoid them. There wasn't.

She stood alone at the entrance to the cursed plains, shivering and stammering. She hated being this way, especially when she was trying to prove to everyone how mature and capable she was. And normally, she was. Put her up against a Chimera or any kind of drake, and she could hold her own.

But here? In a land where it did nothing but thunder and lightning all the live-long day? "Uh, guys?" she said quietly, cringing as a bolt of lightning struck one of the towers about a hundred feet from where they were standing.

Sir Auron looked at her. "Yes?" he said in his gruff tone.

"Uh, I think … I left something back in Guadosalam!" Rikku said quickly.

"Hmph," Sir Auron said. "Nice knowing you."

Rikku took a deep breath and gathered up all her courage. "All right, all right, I'll come."

She positioned herself between Tidus and Wakka. She figured since they were both taller, they'd take any of the damage if the lightning got too close. I hate thunder, I hate lightning, I hate thunder, I hate lightning, she chanted over and over in her head.

After several minutes without incident, she felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked up and saw Wakka looking at her strangely. Oh, what now? Can't he see that I am really not in the mood?

He took her by surprise when, instead of making fun of her, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Hey, it's okay, ya?" he told her quietly.

She looked up at him, her eyes frightened and a little confused. "Thanks," she said slowly, staring down at the hand that he had just been holding. The strange sensation that she was feeling helped to take her mind off the storm for a few minutes.

Until lightning struck toward Tidus, who managed to dodge it. However, in Rikku's bemused state, she hadn't been as alert as she should have been, and it scared the holy hell out of her.

"Aaaaaah!" she screamed, hitting the ground. Quickly, she slithered across the ground and latched onto Tidus leg.

He looked down at her, a completely befuddled look on his face. "Rikku?" he asked.

"Eh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh," Rikku laughed nervously. More lightning struck nearby, and she did it again. "Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh."

"Cut it out, would ya?" Wakka snapped. " 'Heh heh heh heh heh' … You're givin' me the creeps, ya?"

Rikku looked up at him, her expression positively pitiful. "Can we rest over there?" She pointed at Rin's Travel Agency, Thunder Plains Branch, that was only a little farther up the path. "Please?"

Sir Auron looked down at her, trying not to laugh at her absolutely absurd demeanor. "This storm never stops," he told her firmly. "Best to cross quickly."

Rikku, realizing that she might not be taken seriously while she was still lying on the muddy ground, latched on to Tidus' leg as if her very life depended on it, jumped up and brushed herself off. "Please?" she begged, feeling tears threatening. "Please, I'm scared of thunder!" She turned to her cousin. "Yunie? Please make them stop!"

Yuna smiled at her cousin kindly and apologetically. "We really should keep going," she said quietly. Rikku took a deep breath and bit her lower lip.

The group continued on, but when they reached the Travel Agency, Rikku stopped in front of the door and refused to go any further. "I'm scared!" she said in a voice that was dangerously close to a whine. "Are you guys having fun doing this to me?" The group kept walking. Rikku stomped her foot. "Your moms would be ashamed of you!"

Finally, Sir Auron gave up. "Fine. We rest. She's worse than the storm," he said in a low voice to Wakka, who nodded his agreement.

But secretly, he wondered if Rikku was going to be okay.

The group sat around the lobby of the Agency for a while, and then Yuna turned to Sir Auron. "I'm sorry, Sir Auron, but since we are already here, do you think it would be okay for us to rest for the night? I'm so tired."

Auron looked at his Summoner and gave a single nod. He didn't want her to wear herself out. If Lady Yuna said she was tired, then they would all rest.

Tidus walked over to where Lulu stood. "Does Yuna seem … different to you?" he asked her.

Lulu looked at him carefully. Hmm. He's more perceptive than I thought, she concluded, and then nodded. "So you noticed it, too?"

"Yeah," Tidus said. "Should we, maybe, go check on her?"

"I'll go," Lulu said. "You stay out here. Go … see if Rikku's okay." She gave him a small smile; the first time he had ever seen her do that.

Wow. She's really pretty when she smiles, Tidus couldn't help thinking as he walked over to where Wakka and Sir Auron were sitting. "Uh, where's Rikku?" Tidus asked.

"Under the table," Wakka said, glaring. It was getting damn irritating, since the feathers in her hair were tickling the lower part of his calf.

"What?" Tidus asked, disbelieving and bending to take a look.

Sure enough, in the far corner, Rikku sat, trembling. She looked positively wretched. "Rikku …" Tidus said slowly. He straightened back up and looked from Sir Auron, to Wakka, and back again.

Sir Auron just shook his head. "This is going to be some journey," he remarked, somewhat sarcastically.

"Oh, poor girl," Tidus said, trying to be sympathetic.

"Poor girl?" Wakka snorted. "Those Yevon-forsaken feathers she wears in her hair have been tickling my leg for the past ten minutes, ya? I've had enough."

Tidus didn't see him do anything, but less than two seconds later, Rikku had reemerged from her safe haven and was shooting the look of Death in Wakka's direction.

"Watch your damn feet," she told him, eyes wide and venomous.

Tidus looked at Wakka, confused. "What'd you do?"

"He kicked me!" Rikku exclaimed. "In the … in the …" She looked down, her face turning bright crimson.

"You kicked her?" Tidus asked, incredulously.

"Oh, c'mon Rikku, I didn't kick you," Wakka said defensively. "I just tapped you with my foot, ya?"

Rikku crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Your 'tapped' me with your damn foot in my chest!" she hissed, not looking up at him. She could feel Tidus' and Sir Auron's gazes burning into her as well. She wished the floor would just open up and swallow her.

Wakka's eyes widened, and soon his face was as red as his hair. "Oh. Uh, I'm sorry, ya?" he mumbled almost incoherently, scratching the back of his neck. "I was just, uh, trying to get you to move, because, uh, your feathers were ticklin', eh? I didn't mean to hit you … there."

Rikku looked puzzled for a minute, and then a light dawned on her face. "Oh. Feathers. Sorry," she said somewhat sheepishly, her face still scarlet. She began fiddling with said feathers, and then she glanced around the lobby. Anything to focus her attention elsewhere. "Where's Yunie?"

"She, Lulu, and Kimahri already went to bed," Tidus told her.

Rikku nodded. "I guess I'll go too. Sorry about my – feathers, Wakka," she said, face reddening again. She turned to head down the hallway to her room, when a huge clash of thunder boomed overhead. Even Sir Auron jumped a little.

Rikku grabbed onto the nearest object, which happened to be Wakka's arm. He winced when she dug her nails into his flesh.

Cred! she thought to herself. She let go immediately, and refused to look at him. "Sorry. I'm just gonna …"

Boom!

Again with the damn thunder. Rikku had come to the conclusion that the gods were seriously against her. "Uh," she said, biting her lip. Sighing, she sat down at the table with the three men. She hated to admit that she was weak, but these were drastic times calling for drastic measures. Really drastic … that thunder was really freaking her out. Gritting her teeth and swallowing the last little bit of pride she had left, she focused on the guys.

She smiled sweetly at them, batting her lashes coyly, hoping to sway them with her feminine wiles. Guys couldn't resist that sort of thing. "Okay, well, one of you is coming with me," she said matter-of-factly, as though she were an old pro at getting guys to go in her room with her. She really wasn't. Not even close. But when it was just these guys – Well, it was hardly like she was trying to seduce them. For crying out loud, she was scared to death … if that seduced them, well, then, that was their problem, wasn't it?

She looked hopefully at Tidus; he had seemed the most sympathetic to her plight, and so she figured he'd be the nicest to her.

"Actually, I need to speak with Tidus," Sir Auron said, clearing his throat. "So, uh, Wakka, if you would?"

Rikku looked at Sir Auron, daggers in her gaze. He hates me, doesn't he? When I said 'one of you', I really meant Tidus or Sir Auron. Not Wakka. Anyone but Wakka! She wasn't sure why she had such an aversion to the idea, but something about it made her stomach flip over. "Um, actually, no it's okay, I'll just sit over there and wait …" Rikku began, nodding her head in the direction of one of the tables on the other side of the room.

"Rikku," Sir Auron said warningly. "Wakka, take her."

Wakka, who had noted Rikku's reaction when Sir Auron had made his suggestion, wasn't any happier about the situation than Rikku was, but he wasn't about to argue with Sir Auron. "C'mon, Rikku," he muttered. Why does she seem so appalled by the idea of me takin' her, huh? He didn't want to admit even to himself that his feelings were a little hurt.

Rikku shook her head. She knew Sir Auron was glaring at her, but she didn't care. If he killed her with his katana, then all her suffering would be over.

She wondered what it would feel like to die by katana …

She didn't have time to ponder the situation, because before she knew it, she had been lifted off her chair and was carelessly thrown over Wakka's capable shoulders. "Hey!" she cried out. "Put me down, you big meanie!" She beat against his back with her fists and tried kicking him in the gut with her feet, but to no avail. He was strong and he had a firm hold of her.

Auron chuckled as he watched them leave the room. Tidus turned to him, his brow furrowed. "So what did you need to talk to me about?" he asked the older guardian.

Auron looked at him and just shook his head. "Nothing." He was focused on the twosome that had just left the lobby.

"Huh?" Tidus said, even more confused. He followed Auron's gaze down the hallway, and suddenly he understood. "Ohhh," he said with a grin. "I get it."

Part Two

"Put me down put me down put me down put me down!" she shouted over and over again. She didn't care that people were sleeping. Maybe someone who worked at the Agency would come and rescue her. Maybe Yunie would wake up and demand that Wakka be nice to poor Rikku. Maybe Lulu would come and give Wakka that Look that always made him stop dead in his tracks and drop whatever he was doing.

Although, I don't really want him to drop me, Rikku thought. Wakka was tall; it would be a long, hard fall from his shoulders to the unforgiving wooden floor.

All her shouting was in vain, however, for nobody woke up. Or maybe they did wake up, but they just don't really care that a poor innocent little Al Bhed girl is being kidnapped at this very moment! Rikku thought dejectedly. The fact that she wasn't actually being kidnapped was of very little import to her. She always had leaned a bit toward the dramatic.

Wakka opened the door to one of the empty rooms and carelessly tossed her down on the bed. "Ouch," she muttered.

"There, you're down," he told her, a bit harshly. She obviously didn't want him around, and that was just fine with him, ya? He didn't particularly want to be around her either. She's too – blonde, ya? And perky, gah, I hate dat! And she's – too tan! And she smiles way too damn much! But when he looked at her, he really couldn't find fault with what he saw. In fact, every time he looked at her, he found something else to admire. Her hair, her eyes, her golden skin, her long legs … and, yes, even that smile he had just cursed in his head. Especially that smile ...Dammit …

Rikku frowned. She wasn't used to Wakka being anything but friendly. When he turned to leave, she cried out. "Wait! You're – you're leaving?"

"You expected me to stay?" Wakka asked crossly.

Rikku looked down and played with the loose threads on the blanket. "Well, I didn't expect you to just throw me down and then run off," she said in a hurt voice. "Can't you see I'm scared?" She was on the verge of tears, but she didn't want him to see that.

Wakka immediately felt bad. He crossed the room and sat beside her on the bed. She immediately linked her arm with his and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she breathed, grateful.

The room was dark, with only the occasional flashes of lightning as illumination. Rikku didn't see the bewildered look that flickered across Wakka's face.

What is going on here? he wondered to himself. Rikku … she was just Rikku, ya? So why the hell was she creeping into the little corners of his brain and making herself perfectly comfortable? He shook his head. No, he wasn't going to let himself think like that. She was just another guardian on the journey, just another friend.

So why did he feel nervous every time he looked at her? Why was he so afraid of saying something stupid when she was around? And why, for the love of Yevon, had his heart sped up as soon as she had rested her head on his shoulder?

Rikku was oblivious to all of this. Sure, she liked Wakka. He was hard not to like, no matter how hard you tried – and she had tried hard. But, she liked him the same way she liked Tidus – as a friend, someone to have fun with, but that was all.

Wasn't it?

It has to be, Rikku, she told herself. Your father is the leader of the Al Bhed. If Wakka knew who you were … She wouldn't let herself think about that. She wondered if he'd still want to be her friend if he knew the truth? Should she tell him now, and get it over with?

At that moment, lightning flashed and lit up the room. Rikku looked up and met Wakka's eyes with her own. Wow. They're brown, she thought to herself, smiling a little.

Thunder crashed, and she pressed herself even closer against his side. I'll tell him after we're out of the Thunder Plains, she told herself. Then she let herself drift off to sleep, comforted by the fact that Wakka wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Part Three

Dammit, he thought to himself as she fell asleep, all snuggled up against him. He moved carefully, and gently lay her head down on one of the pillows. Smiling to himself as she stirred ever so slightly in her sleep, he removed her boots and pulled the blanket up over her.

He brushed a stray piece of golden hair off of her forehead and couldn't help but marvel at how soft her skin was. Stop it, Wakka! he scolded himself. Straightening up from the bed, he decided that he just needed to go to his own room, and avoid any one-on-one interaction with her for a few days.

Yeah, that's it. Give me a few days, and this – whatever it is – will go away on it's own. Lightning flashed again, and illuminated her sleeping form. She looked so angelic and peaceful. Yeah, right, it'll go away. Just keep tellin' yourself dat, brudda.

He turned to leave the room, but she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wakka," she said sleepily. "Don't leave."

Confused and frustrated, he turned back to her. "I'm not leaving! What are you thinkin', eh?" he joked, trying to keep things light.

Rikku smiled softly into the darkness as she felt him lie down next to her. She rolled over and curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. "Good night, Wakka," she whispered dreamily, completely unaware of what she was doing to him. "Sleep well."

Wakka almost laughed out loud. Her hair was tickling his neck; he could feel her soft, even breath on his skin. He wondered if she could hear how fast his heart was thudding in his chest. Sleep? Maybe if I go sleep outside in the da freezing cold rain, ya?

Sighing, he absentmindedly ran his fingers through her silky, wheat-colored hair. She murmured softly in her sleep, and threw one of her legs across his lower body.

Cursing Yevon in his head, he stared up at the ceiling and tried to think about blitzball. But every time he thought about tackling an opponent, his mind wandered to a different kind of tackling, the kind that involved tangled limbs and tangled sheets and tangled golden hair and an infectious, bubbly giggle. He figured she was the type who would giggle while …

Dammit! These thoughts were not welcome, and yet, he couldn't stop thinking them. Never before had he thought himself to be so weak to a lithe body or long hair that was the color of sunshine or a cute smile. He was a man of Yevon, for crying out loud. He was on this pilgrimage to be there for Yuna, and to avenge Chappu. And besides, what about Lu?

Well, he knew that was a lame excuse. Lu had been Chappu's, never his, and the only reason he cared so much was because he felt that he owed it to his brother to look out for her. But she had told him herself, back in Guadosalam, that she didn't need him to look out for her any more. And hadn't she said that he needed to live his own life?

He was pretty sure that this was not what Lulu had had in mind.

He tried to roll away from Rikku, to gain some mental clarity, but she just clung tighter to him. "Uh-uh," she protested in her sleep, willing him not to move.

Groaning to himself, he wondered how well he would function the next day on no sleep.

Sleeping out in the rain was starting to sound better all the time …