Chapter Eleven
True
Part One
The short trip to the Calm Lands the next morning was uneventful. However, things had changed for the group. Tidus and Yuna had come to some serious conclusions the previous night, as had Wakka and Rikku. For better or worse, they were in this thing together, till the end. Maybe even longer.
The others noticed the changes, but didn't say anything. Lulu seemed quieter than usual, if that was possible, as she contemplated Rikku and Wakka, walking together, talking in low tones. She knew she should be happy, and she was, but she also couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She'd had Wakka all to herself for the longest time, it seemed strange to her that he no longer needed her.
She noticed that Sir Auron also seemed subdued, so she made her way to his side. "Is something wrong?" the black mage asked.
The warrior looked at her staidly. "Why do you ask?" he questioned.
Lulu shrugged. "You seem preoccupied," was her response, and she nodded in the direction of Wakka and Rikku, who were now laughing at something.
"It is as it should be," Auron said cryptically.
"That's all you have to say about it?" Lulu seemed put off.
"What more is there to say?" Auron asked her, adjusting his katana on his shoulder. "They are happy, leave it at that."
Lulu shook her head, the ornaments in her hair clinking together. "You're no help whatsoever," she commented, walking off in disgust.
Auron watched her, shaking his head. Some people – they didn't know what they had until it was gone. He was determined not to let anything stand in the way of the natural order of things. And right now, Wakka and Rikku were part of the natural order.
Part Two
"Ooh, we're here!" Rikku squealed when they reached the great plain known as the Calm Lands. Running ahead of the group, she threw her arms wide and spun in circles.
"What's so great about here?" Tidus asked, laughing at Rikku's antics.
"The road ends here," Lulu told him. "Past these plains, there are no villages, no towns, nothing."
"Mt. Gagazet is just ahead, ya?" Wakka added. "And on the other side of dat is Zanarkand."
Rikku stopped spinning and regarded her cousin seriously. Her brow was furrowed as if she were deep in thought. Zanarkand's not far, she thought to herself. We have to figure out something … Tidus promised Pops! And I can't let Yunie die either! She took a few steps until she reached Wakka, and placed her hand in his. He just looked at her and smiled a little.
They had come to a comfortable agreement last night. No questions needed to be asked between them. It wasn't as if their feelings weren't completely obvious. Both were scared to death for Yuna, and at the same time, starting to fall more and more in love with each other.
"So – how much longer do we have?" Tidus voiced the question that nobody else wanted to ask.
"It depends," Sir Auron said honestly. "I've heard many tales of legendary weapons – we may want to look into that before heading off to fight Sin."
Rikku nodded adamantly. Anything to buy her more time to think of some way to save Yunie!
"Besides," Yuna said softly, "it'll take a few days to even get across the Calm Lands. And Mt. Gagazet – I've heard it can take almost two weeks to reach the peak, and another few days after that to Zanarkand." She shrugged and smiled at Tidus.
"Just when you think you're almost done, ya?" Wakka said simply, elbowing Tidus in the ribs.
Tidus grinned his easy grin. "Well, it's not like I'm looking forward to getting to Zanarkand any more than the next guy, you know?"
"We should try to make it to the Travel Agency by nightfall," Lulu said, interrupting the conversation.
"Where is the Travel Agency?" Rikku asked.
Lulu just looked at her. She knew that Rikku was just Rikku, and she hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, she had pretty much shoved Rikku in Wakka's direction, hadn't she? She felt Sir Auron's glare penetrating her and she sighed.
"It's in the central Calm Lands," Wakka answered Rikku after Lulu's long pause. He pointed to the vague silhouette of a building in the distance. "Dat way."
Rikku nodded. "Oh, I see." She looked at Lulu, feeling a little sad. Had she done something to upset the black mage? Was it because of Wakka? But hadn't Lulu herself all but told Rikku to go for it? She made a mental note to have a talk with the older girl as soon as time permitted it.
The group continued walking down the slope into the large bowl of lush green land. Rikku lagged behind the rest of the group. Wakka was up ahead, talking animatedly to Tidus and Yuna, while Kimahri and Lulu walked off to one side, away from everyone else.
She was sad. Auron could see that, so he slowed his own pace until everyone else had passed him, and he was walking side-by-side with the young Al Bhed. "Rikku," he said.
Rikku looked up, surprised to see him. "Hmm?" she asked, trying to appear nonchalant. He narrowed his one good eye at her, and Rikku knew that he could see right through her. She blew out an exasperated breath. "Lulu's mad at me," she finally confessed. "And I don't know why."
"She isn't angry with you, Rikku," Auron told her, trying his best to sound sympathetic – something that was uncharacteristic for him. "Angry at herself, perhaps, but she will get over it."
"Why would she be mad at herself?" Rikku asked.
"Some people don't realize what they have right in front of them until they lose it," Auron said, voicing his thoughts from earlier aloud.
Rikku seemed to ponder this. "So she's mad that she didn't see what a great guy Wakka was before – and now he's taken, and she's realized it too late?"
Auron merely nodded.
Rikku looked down, trying to hide her sudden tears from the stoic guardian. "Well, then, I don't stand a chance, do I?" she whispered, looking at her feet. "I mean, if Lulu decides to say something, or do something …"
"She won't." Auron's voice was firm, and left no room for argument.
"How can you be so sure?" Rikku asked.
"Rikku, look at me," he said gently. Sighing, she looked up at him. Just as he'd suspected, tears were sparkling in her emerald eyes. "You have no reason to cry. Lulu may be angry with herself right now, but she's not a vindictive person. She'd never try to get in the way of Wakka's happiness. And he is happy with you." Rikku didn't say anything. "Rikku, are you listening to me?"
"Yes, sir," she murmured.
Auron shook his head. The girl was completely maddening – yet she had a strange way of crawling under your skin and making herself at home. He placed a hand on her shoulder, a movement that made him feel slightly uncomfortable. But when she looked up at him and gave him a watery smile, he was suddenly glad that he could be of some assistance to her.
"You have nothing to worry about, Rikku," Auron told her, leaning down and speaking to her in a conspiratorial whisper. "I've seen the way he looks at you – it's the look of a man who's not going anywhere."
This time, Rikku's smile was real, and she impulsively threw herself into the older guardian's arms. "Thank you!" she whispered breathily into his ear. Before she pulled away completely, she treated him to a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Then she jumped away and ran to catch up with Wakka, Tidus, and Yuna.
Auron watched the girl bound off, and he looked at her with a mixture of bewilderment and amusement.
Part Three
It was nearly sunset when the group reached the Calm Lands Travel Agency, only to find out that all the rooms were booked. "Guess we're campin', ya?" Wakka said.
"Oh, but it's cold," Rikku whined good-naturedly.
Wakka put his arm around her. "I'll keep you warm, eh?" he whispered in her ear. She blushed prettily and he kissed the top of her head.
They followed the rest of the group to a sloping area on the edge of the far northern cliff that led to a cave large enough for the seven of them to fit inside comfortably.
Tidus drew first watch, and even though Yuna knew she should be resting, she stayed awake to sit outside the mouth of the cave and talk to him. The sound of their voices murmuring softly, as well as the feel of Wakka's arms around her, lulled Rikku into a restful sleep in no time.
Only a few hours later, Wakka rolled over gently, trying to avoid waking the sleeping girl beside him. It was his turn on watch, and he wanted to be sure that Rikku got plenty of sleep tonight.
Rikku stirred in her sleep, and one eye popped open when she felt Wakka move away from her. "Go back to sleep, ya?" Wakka whispered to her, kissing her forehead. "I've gotta go on watch."
Still a little muzzy-headed from the sleep, Rikku opened her other eye and sat up. "No, I'll go keep you company," she whispered back, smiling.
"You should sleep, eh?" Wakka said, though he was secretly glad that she wanted to be with him.
"I'll sleep later, when Sir Auron relieves you on watch. This way, we both get the same amount of sleep!" Rikku chirped quietly. She moved quickly to the mouth of the cave, hoping not to disturb any of the others, and sat down in the grass just outside the opening.
She stretched her long legs out in front of her, and leaned back, resting on her elbows. Throwing her head back, she looked up at the night sky. "Wow – you can see a lot of stars out here."
"Can you not back on Bikanel?" Wakka asked.
Rikku shrugged. "You know, it's funny. I guess I never paid that much attention before. But now, here, everything seems a lot clearer somehow." She smiled at him playfully. "Maybe it's 'cause of you."
"Me? What'd I do?" Wakka asked, grinning back. It was impossible not to, really. Rikku's smirk was highly contagious.
She sighed. "You just were," she said simply. "And I'm glad that you and Tidus beat me up at the Moonflow, and I'm glad that I am here with you now."
"I'm glad too," Wakka told her. There was no way she could know just how seriously he meant those words.
He was certain that this group would have fallen apart several times over if not for Rikku's positive and upbeat attitude there to keep them in high spirits. Especially him. He knew, without a doubt, that if it weren't for Rikku, he would probably have wanted to give up this entire pilgrimage. She gave him a reason to wake up every morning, a reason to put one foot in front of the other, a reason just to be.
They sat in companionable silence for a while before Rikku spoke again. "Wakka?"
"Mmm?" he replied drowsily.
"Do you think – do you think there's a way for Yunie perform the Final Summoning without dying?" Rikku's voice was quiet and small, and he regarded her seriously.
"Wish I knew," he said honestly, blowing out an unsteady breath. "This journey'd be a hell of a lot easier if I did."
Rikku looked inside the cave, where Yuna and Tidus lay, curled up with each other, sleeping peacefully. "It just seems like such a waste," she said sadly.
"Perhaps it will be different this time," a third voice commented, from behind Wakka.
Rikku looked up at Sir Auron, who had arrived to take Wakka's place on watch. "That'd be nice, huh?" she asked, smiling hopefully.
"Why aren't you asleep?" Auron asked her sternly.
She blushed and looked up at him from beneath her lashes, embarrassed. "I was just – uh …" Her eyes darted to Wakka for help, but he offered none, he just laughed at her.
Auron shook his head with faint amusement. "I see," he said, trying to hide his smirk. "Well, go back to sleep, you two. Tomorrow will be a long day."
Rikku nodded and stood up quickly, grabbing onto Wakka's arm. "Yes, sir!" she said, stumbling back into the cave. "Is it just me, or is he really intimidating?" she whispered to Wakka when they had gotten settled at the back of the cave.
"Sir Auron?" Wakka asked. "He's not so bad. Just takes a little gettin' used to, dat's all."
Rikku nodded and snuggled up closer to Wakka. "Good night, Wakka," she whispered, closing her eyes.
In the dark, Wakka smiled. He didn't know what he had done in his life at all to deserve this gift, but he was certainly glad to accept it. Rikku wasn't perfect, not by a long shot. She talked a lot, and she was a little naïve, and she tended to let her emotions control what came out of her mouth.
But none of that was important. Because Rikku had a big, throbbing heart full of love and generosity that she bestowed on everyone she met. She had the ability to make you smile even when your heart was breaking, and to make you cry from laughing too hard.
And most important of all, at least to Wakka, was that she was perfect for him. He had given up hope of ever finding someone who would look at him and accept everything about him. The fact that she still managed to find a place in her heart for him, even after all the things he'd done to her meant so much more to him than he could ever express.
Rikku didn't get irritated when he put his foot in his mouth, as he was so apt to do, and she didn't judge him at all. She had been there for Chappu. He knew now, that if he could have handpicked someone to be at Chappu's side in his stead, he would've picked Rikku out of a thousand other people.
All this time, he'd thought in the end, it would be Lu he'd end up with – just because he felt like he should take care of her in Chappu's absence. But now he knew that Lu would be fine, even on her own, and that he would never have to be alone again.
She stirred in her sleep, and her eyes opened – those spiraling emerald pools that he could drown in. She touched his face gently, and closed her eyes again.
"E muja oui," she breathed.
It was then that he realized, from somewhere deep inside, what those words meant.
"I love you, too," he told her before he closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep.
A/N: Whew, nothing but fluff, fluff, and more fluff in this chap! I hope you guys like, and I'll try to get the next one up ASAP. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! Rhianna XD
