A/N: Howdy! You guys are still out there...Yay! Thanks for the reviews! I won't waste your time with my blabbing! On with chapter twenty!
Disclaimer: FFX is not mine.
Chapter 20: Keeping Secrets
"This is so relaxing," Lulu said through partially closed lips. The three women were sitting in a parlor-like room, waiting for their mud wraps to dry. Who would have thought that mud could be relaxing?
Yuna nodded her head to the best of her abilities. "After this dries, we get our massage."
"I can't believe we paid to be covered mud," Rikku muttered. She hoped they could get out of it soon. It was starting to feel a little like plaster, and she did not want to become a statue.
Lulu chuckled. "You're just upset because we had to drag you away from Auron."
"We had to practically pry you away with a crowbar," Yuna added.
Rikku scoffed. "You did not. As soon as we got back, you whisked me right out the door again."
Now it was Lulu's turn to scoff. "As soon as you got in the door you two sat on the couch and talked." She paused and added, "And talked, and talked, and talked. I've never seen Auron talk so much. I thought we were going to be late for our appointment."
Rikku shrugged her shoulders. "I was tempted to skip out on the spa all together, but Auron said we had to take the Navigator back to Tidus." Here she was covered with mud when she could be with Auron.
"You mean you would rather be with Auron instead of us?" Yuna teased, feigning rejection.
"Being with the man I love beats being covered in mud anyday," Rikku replied with a smile. She was in love with Auron. The thought was still so new to her, but she couldn't deny the wonderful sensation that filled her even if she wanted to.
Rikku was so immersed in her thoughts of Auron that she hadn't noticed how quite the room had become. Or that her friends were staring at her expectantly, waiting for more detail.
"Let me make sure I heard you correctly," Yuna began, cutting through the silence. "You are in love with Auron?"
Rikku nodded her head and grinned.
"Thank Yevon. There is something interesting to talk about," Lulu declared. This new topic of conversation was certainly interesting enough.
"I though you said you were relaxed and having a good time," Rikku reminded her.
I am. I am also bored to death. So, please, do tell us what happened."
Rikku smiled and began telling her friends everything that had transpired that morning. She was still in the process when the spa attendant arrived to announce that it was time to remove the mud wraps and have their massage. Ah well. It looked like she would have to finish telling her tale after the massage.
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"Come on! He's wide open!"
"Pass it!"
"Don't just float there!"
Auron, Wakka, and Tidus let out heavy sighs as they dropped back down onto the couch. They were sitting in the hotel room, watching a blitzball game on the television. They watched as the Guado Glories stole the ball and made a goal. A buzzer sounded, announcing half-time.
"Usually the Al Bhed Psyches play better than that, ya?"
Tidus nodded in agreement. "They still have some time left. If they pick up the pace, they might nab the victory."
Auron finished of his can of pop. "Even I can play better than that."
Tidus laughed and leaned back into the couch. "I wonder when Yuna will be back?"
"Lonely, Brudda?" Wakka nudged him with his elbow.
"I want my truck back," Tidus answered curtly. Although, he did miss Yuna. He had grown accustomed to her being there, and it felt...He wasn't sure. Lonesome? Perhaps Wakka was right. Still, he wouldn't admit that out loud.
Auron stood from the couch and headed towards the kitchen. What was sports without snacks? He rummaged through the cupboards, and found a box of popcorn. At least the kitchen was stocked. Maybe the hotel was trying to make up for their lack of beds.
"Bring back some more pop, ya?" Wakka shouted from the living room.
Auron returned from the kitchen carrying a six-pack of soda and a huge bowl of popcorn. He discarded his goods on the coffee table and resumed his seat on the couch.
"To bad we don't have any hot dogs," Tidus chirped, grabbing a handful of popcorn and shoving it in his mouth.
"So, have you and Rikku worked out your problems?" Wakka queried, popping the tab on his soft drink.
"We don't have any problems." Auron propped his feet on the coffee table and grabbed a can of pop as well.
"She sapped a wohman bechause of eou," Tidus said through a mouth full of popcorn.
Oh, yeah. That little incident could be classified as a problem. That is, had they not already worked though it. But they had, so no problem. "That is in the past."
Wakka inferred from Auron's comment that they had indeed solved the problem. He took a swig from his can and turned his attention back to the T.V. Half-time was over and the two teams were meeting in the middle of the sphere. "Hey, isn't that Brother?"
Auron turned to look at the television screen as well. "I believe so."
"I wonder how he feels about you and Rikku?" Wakka wondered aloud.
Auron shrugged his shoulders. As far as he knew, no one knew about Rikku and himself, except for his roommates and their girlfriends. "I don't believe he knows."
"I wonder how he'd feel if his cousin married me?"
Wakka and Auron turned to look at Tidus. "What?" they echoed.
"I'm going to propose to Yuna," Tidus said casually.
"You're going to propose to Yuna?" Auron repeated, making sure he had heard correctly.
"Marriage?" Wakka added in disbelief.
Tidus nodded his head and pulled out an 18 white karat gold band with three diamonds. "Do you think she will like this?"
Wakka, still in shock, just stared. Tidus was planning on proposing to Yuna? The little girl he watched grow up? The little girl that felt like a sister to him?
Auron picked up the ring. "Very nice, Tidus." He handed the young man back the ring and became serious. "You do know that marriage is a lifetime commitment, correct? It is not a game. It-"
Tidus help up a hand to silence him. "I know. I know it won't be easy, and I know that I can't just quit in the middle of it. I also know that I love Yuna and that I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
Auron nodded his head and gave Tidus a hearty pat on the shoulder. "Good."
Wakka, having regained his composure, turned to look at Tidus. "Tidus, you know that you're my friend and that I love you like a brudda, but I've known Yuna almost all my life. All of her life, ya? So if she ever comes to me, and tells me that you hurt her, I'll have to hunt you down and kill you."
Tidus nodded his head. "I know, Wakka. But I wouldn't hurt her."
"I know. But it's required that I let you know, ya?"
"When do you plan on popping the question?" Auron questioned, changing the subject to a lighter topic.
"I'm not sure. Sometime before we leave Bevelle, so I only have a couple days to prepare," Tidus replied. He looked at the ring lying in the palm of his hand. He had no idea how he was going to ask Yuna. All he knew was that when he did, it had to be perfect.
"Don't look so nervous, Brudda." Wakka patted him on he back. "It's not to hard. I lived through it."
Tidus grinned despite his nervousness. "Yeah." He paused and added, "I want this to be a total surprise, so don't-" he was interrupted as Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku barged in through the front door.
"We're back!" Rikku called, announcing their presence. She walked over to the couch, having intended to sit down, but stopped as she watched a very anxious Tidus shove something hurriedly into his pocket.
"Did you have fun?" Wakka inquired, stealing a quick glance at Tidus to make sure that he had hidden the ring.
"Yes," Lulu replied, sitting down in the chair. "It was so relaxing." She didn't notice how uneasy Tidus seemed to be, but Yuna and Rikku did.
"Tidus, honey, are you all right?" Yuna walked over to the youngest man sitting on the couch, concern evident on her face.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tidus said quickly. "Oh, look, the game's on." He pretended to be interested in the game, even though he had no clue who was winning or losing.
Rikku gave all three men a suspicious look before wedging herself in between Auron and Tidus. "So who's winning?"
"Uh-" Auron began. He hadn't been paying attention to the game. He had been to busy talking to Tidus about his proposal.
"Oh, look at that, Bobba. What a complex shot. That brings to score up to 3-4, with the Al Bhed Psyches in the lead," one of blitz announcers said, updating the situation.
"The Al Bhed Psyches," Auron answered, silently thanking the television.
Rikku looked around the room. What was up with these guys? She decided to let their odd behavior slide for the time being. She grabbed some popcorn and saw her brother on the television screen. "Hey! It's Brother!"
Yuna turned her attention away from Tidus to look at the television. "It is! I haven't talked to him in a long while."
"We should give him a call later," Rikku declared, shoving in a handful of popcorn. She watched the rest of the game, and was on her feet by the end as her brother made he winning goal.
"Yes! They beat the Guado Glories!" Wakka cried. He hated that team with a passion. In many of his face-offs with that team, those dirty Guados had cheated, and Wakka had had a distaste for them ever since.
"That's my Brother!" Rikku said, shouting into the T.V. "Show 'em how we do it!"
"He can't hear you, Rikku," Auron chuckled, watching as the Al Bhed girl became caught up in the game.
Tidus stood from the couch and swept up all the the empty pop cans. "I'm going to toss these in the trash." With that being said, he left the room.
Yuna took the now empty popcorn bowl and followed him into the kitchen. There was something wrong with him, and she planned on figuring it out.
"Hey, Lu, can I talk with you in the bedroom?" Wakka stood from the couch and motioned towards the small room.
Lulu raised a questioning eyebrow. "I suppose so."
As Lulu and Wakka left the room, Rikku turned to face Auron, who still occupied the couch. "Auron, did anything happen while we gone?"
"Happen?" He almost blurted, Tidus plans on proposing to your cousin, but remembered Tidus saying something about being a total surprise, so he kept his mouth shut. Instead he replied, "Nothing out of the ordinary."
Rikku grinned and arched one eyebrow. "You're a poor liar, Auron." She scooted closer to him and added, "Now tell me what happened."
Auron leaned back into the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Nothing happened." He may be a poor liar, but he could withhold information. He had been a warrior monk. Some of the missions he had been on depended on him keeping his mouth shut.
Rikku moved to where she sat on Auron's lap. "Liar." She kissed him on the lips softly. "What's wrong with Tidus?"
"Nothing," Auron answered, wrapping his arm's loosely around her waist. He moved in for another kiss.
"Something is," Rikku murmured, moving to plant kisses along his jaw. "So what is it?"
"He's nervous," Auron answered, pulling Rikku's face back up to his. He was beginning to concentrate less and less on keeping Tidus' secret, and more and more on the beautiful Al Bhed sitting on his lap.
Oh, this was too easy. "Why?" Rikku once again moved her lips to Auron's.
"I do not know."
"Yes, you do," Rikku muttered, deepening the kiss. "Why is Tidus nervous?"
"He's going to propose to Yuna," Auron answered, becoming irritated by all of Rikku's questions. He pulled her close and quickly silenced her.
It took a moment for Auron's words to sink in, but when they did, Rikku pulled back and jumped of the couch. "He's going to do what!"
Auron felt like hitting himself. How had he let himself divulge that piece of information? "I was not supposed to say that."
"Tidus is going to pro-"
Auron pulled Rikku to him before she could say anymore and placed his mouth over hers. Sure, he could have just placed his hand over her mouth, but this was a lot better than that. "You cannot tell Yuna. It's to be a surprise," Auron told her after breaking the kiss.
Not tell Yuna? How could Rikku not tell her cousin that her boyfriend was going to propose to her? Auron must have noticed her hesitance, because he said his next words with a harshness that told her he wasn't playing.
"I mean it, Rikku. Tidus wanted it to be a surprise. I was not supposed to tell anyone. You can not tell Yuna."
Rikku nodded her head. "All right. I won't tell Yunie," she grumbled.
"Promise me."
Rikku bit her lip. This was going to be so hard. "I promise."
"Good," Auron said, the harshness in his voice gone. He pulled her close, and started to lower his head only to be interrupted by Lulu rushing into the living room with Wakka close behind.
"Lu, you can't let on like you know! I wasn't supposed to tell!"
Lulu stopped to look at her fiance. "Do they know?" she questioned, pointing to Auron and Rikku.
"Auron does," Wakka replied, wondering if he had made the right decision in telling his fiancee about Tidus' plan of proposal. At first she had been shocked as he had, but now she wanted to run up and make sure Tidus knew what he was doing, and she couldn't do that because she wasn't supposed to know.
"What about Rikku?" Lulu demanded.
Rikku nodded her head. "We're not allowed to say anything."
"I know. But if he plans on marrying the girl I watched grow up without fully understanding what he is doing then he has another thing com-" Lulu was cut short when Yuna walked into the living room.
"What's going on?" Yuna queried, noticing how the whole room had become dead silent as soon as she had walked into it.
Lulu just stared, wondering if her surrogate younger sister was truey ready for marriage, while Rikku just gave a nervous giggle.
Auron and Wakka shared a nervous glance, wishing that they hadn't had said anything at all.
"Nothing is going on, Yunie. Why would you think that?" Rikku said. She watched as her cousin shrugged her shoulders and turned on the T.V. Rikku sighed mentally. Keeping this secret was going to be hard.
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Reply to my great reviewers...who are still out there...
Cloudude: I know! You forgot about it? I probably would have to if I were you.
Shadows-of-flame: I'm so glad that you are!
terroroz: I know!
Yuna-elena: Okay, I thought you were. Yep a fiend zoo. Ha!
Xmaster: I've been busy! And I was just slacking off..But no more of that!
GiGgLyGaL: You wouldn't have gotten nothing even if you had sued! Ha! Here's an update!
Chibi-Sorrow: Glad you like it!
tidusXyuna: Thanks!
Unknown90: Thank you for the proposal idea, because I now have new ideas! And I needed them!
Kandie-Spirit-Dragon: Thank ya!
A/N: Another chapter done! Whoo! Thank you guys for the reviews! Not nearly as many people as before, but no complaints! As long as you guys like it, I'll continue! Even if it does take months...Heh. I'm sorry about that, really. Well, leave me a review! I'll try to get the next chapter out soon.