Chapter 14
[Stranger in Paradise by Sarah Brightman]
Take my hand, I'm a stranger in paradise
All lost in a wonderland
A stranger in paradise
If I stand starry eyed there's a danger in paradise
For mortals who stand beside
An angel like you
"But Yunie," whined Rikku, adding to a chain of similar protests in the upstairs bedroom of the cabin. "This is insane. I don't know why you even talked me into this!!"
"You'll see what I mean," Yuna said with a mysterious smile, kneeling at Rikku's legs. "You'll probably even thank me for it later."
"Yuna's always right," Paine told her. "You should know that by now. So hold still already!"
"Y'know, Rikku... it's really not so bad!" Tidus commented, lying down on one of the adjacent beds with his hands folded behind his head. "I like it! Yuna's done a great job!"
"Yeah, but... grrrrrr, now I have to find a way to pay Yunie back for this! And Brother's not too keen on giving me my own money, you know!... OW!!!"
"I said hold still! We don't wanna ruin this now," Yuna tapped Rikku's leg. "Ohhhhh Rikku, this is wonderful!!"
"I feel funny."
"You've never done this kind of thing before, that's why."
"He comes!" Paine sprung up from her seated position next to Tidus's feet. "Are we ready now?"
"...Yes! It's done!!" Yuna stood up and clapped for her work, excitedly.
"Now get out there and make us proud," Paine said, slapping Rikku's bottom and racing her and the others down the spiraling staircase.
Rikku's fingertips began to fidget around nervously, freshly coated with envy-green nail polish underneath a pair of matching gloves. Each heartbeat pounded more violently as the door to the elevator began to open. Her forehead and arms began to feel clammy, and the beginning beads of sweat formed at her neck. No way this could be happening.
All her thoughts began spinning in her head as she tried to retell the events of the day to herself. She couldn't understand how or why it was that she even found Auron earlier this afternoon, and now she wound up here, more nervous than she'd been ever since Yuna's arrival in Zanarkand two years ago. What a bizarre twist of fate! Yet if the rapid flow of events was natural and destined to happen... why was she cramping with the feeling that she was about to do something very wrong?
The moment Auron and Rikku met in the center of the cabin, the girl let out a heavy gasp and dropped her jaw. Auron was taken aback by this new sight that made all else in the world dissolve into nothing.
The older ex-guardian couldn't believe what he was seeing. His eyes became fogged with an illusion, or so he thought until Rikku winced with anxiousness as he took in this heavenly spectacle.
Rikku was wearing a lively, silk emerald-jade gown that matched her eyes. It was short and rounded off in the front so as to expose the shapeliness of her knees down, and the back hung in a long flap that trailed a few inches behind her. Her flat stomach was exposed by an opening that began at her waist and ended in a tied string below the top, fashioned like the yellow bikini top she wore in her thief ensemble. With the headband gone, she wore her gorgeous sunbleached blonde mane straight down so that it fell to her thighs, and a braid touched her collarbone on each side of her head. Her golden-tinged skin was almost glowing with youth, and her lips were glossed with the perfect shade of pink. Those suffocating, intoxicant green, spiraling eyes, so deep and full of wonder, shone ever brighter and lightened up all the darkest places within Auron's lonely soul. He was drowning in her beauty.
Auron's tongue, his breath, and his words all got stuck in his throat, but to Rikku he was nothing short of painstakingly hot. Seeing him now brought forth floods of flash-visions from two years ago, having first seen this image in an old sphere recording. He was twenty-five again, with jet-black hair slicked back and in a full ponytail that hung out of his coat instead of hidden inside. His eyes were a glossy chocolate brown that seemed like earthen stars. Looking at him like this was like removing a shadowy cloak. Soft tenderness spread over his younger face. Everything he wore was like new. The rough threads of his red overcoat, emanating warmth as if it had been steam-pressed, and the beady adornments clashed sensationally with the velvetiness of his creamy eggshell skin. The spicy- sweet scent was enough to make the poor girl's legs give out, evoking the analogy of him with a cologne-sprayed love letter, an aroma that even lingered slightly on her tongue as if he had been sprinkled with a gingery wine. Her hands ached to touch him underneath the silk that ran up to her elbows.
Yuna broke what seemed to be the endless silence and cleared her throat.
"Now that we've gotten that out into the air... Rikku? Do you think we can fit in a little rehearsal time before dinner?"
The picturesque sights that the two of them beheld were enough to clarify seemingly everything between them. Rikku's eyes searched Auron's as if to say, "May I? Just for a little bit?", and Auron nodded to her in such a slight way that none of the others could see.
Paine searched through a collection of music spheres in a box behind the staircase as Yuna and Rikku boarded a small black platform against the wall. As a beat began to play, Paine stepped back next to Auron while Yuna and Rikku stepped in synch. Tidus threw his head about and jammed out as if it was his favorite song, entranced by Yuna.
"Sometimes Rikku is a backup dancer at Yuna's concerts," Paine explained to Auron. "She's a little clumsy, as you can imagine, but she enjoys it a lot."
"She seems to have rhythm, though," Auron observed under his breath as a half-whisper to Paine. He watched most attentively as Rikku thrust out a hip and stepped out with reigning confidence over all. The strings of her high-heeled green sandals laced up around her calves, and she took care not to step on the ends of her gown. Her golden hair swished lightly as she swam through the pulsating music.
"I think that's because you're here to watch her."
"What?!"
"...Never mind."
When Yuna and Rikku finally stepped off the platform, bowed, and graciously accepted the applause of the other three, static buzzed across the intercom system all throughout the airship before Brother's shrill voice resonated, "Rikku!!!!!!!!!!! Report to the bridge immediately!!"
Rikku, feeling that nothing in the world could bring her down now, made her way out of the cabin, until Auron discreetly caught her arm while the others talked amongst themselves.
"Rikku!"
"Huh?" she said as she spun. The warmth of this new Auron's grip tingled as if to brand her arm and line it with a gold aura. The first traces of a smile formed as she noted to herself that she could definitely get used to Auron looking this hot.
"Oui muug fano yddnyldefa eh dryd tnacc[You look very attractive in that dress]," he said with hesitant pronunciation.
"Wow... thank you!" Rikku exhaled. "And you look very..."
She stepped into the elevator and the door began to close around her as she said the last word underneath her breath, holding a gloved hand to her beating heart. "...sexy."
When she approached Brother out on the bridge, it felt like she was still dancing, and that it was all a hazy dream. This dress was gorgeous, Auron looked sexy, and he also had a mesmerized gaze all over her as she danced with Yuna. Nothing in the world felt better, or would ever feel better, until later on that evening, when they would talk more... and hopefully dance... or more....
But Brother, standing in his overalls with his hands on his hips and leering at her with his birdlike looks, wasn't in such a deliriously happy mood. "Rikku, ku du res[go to him]." He thrust his finger to his right and pointed at a figure Rikku didn't care to recognize at first.
Standing there, awaiting her, was a man not much taller than her, with spiked blond hair and navy eyes, a black patch over his right one. He waved to her, trying to look so cool, in his classic magenta and violet punk-style suit held by gold suspenders, various buckled straps hanging at his legs, and the ends of violet gloves overlapped the ends of his lavender long-sleeved shirt.
Rikku's heart shattered like one of Auron's delicate brandy glasses.
"Hey! I thought I was supposed to come pick you up!" he greeted her cheerfully. "But, no matter. We're actually on time for once!"
"H-hi, Gippal," she said. "What brings you here?"
Brother gripped her by the arm, erasing Auron's charm of gentleness, and hissed reproaches at her. "Oui yna REC tyta, nasaspan? Fryd dra ramm rac kuddah ehdu oui dutyo?[You are his date, remember? What the hell has gotten into you today?]"
"Oh... heh heh, right. Silly me," Rikku said as Brother threw her out to Gippal. "Um... uh...."
"Rikku?"
Her heart fluttered as she saw Auron come out after her. If only he really was her knight, if only he really could take her away from all this... even the Farplane sounded better than being on the spot in front of him and Gippal. Brother's presence wouldn't make things any better, either.
"This not good time right now, Sir Auron," Brother said roughly, his Al Bhed accent richer now that he seemed to be angered.
"WHOA!! Sir Auron?!" Gippal exclaimed, running up and grabbing the former guardian's hand. "You look great for your age!"
Auron chuckled and shook his hand politely. "And you are...?"
"I'm Gippal, leader of the Al Bhed Machine Faction. Thanks for keeping Rikku company for me, man! You really are a great guy."
"Thanks..." Auron said, raising an eyebrow.
He looks like one dizzy fool.
"Well, now that we're in Bevelle, shall we go to dinner then?" Gippal extended an arm out to Rikku, who had no choice but to take it.
"Auron, I..." Rikku's voice dropped into a more depressed tone that she'd used when Yuna almost lost her life on her pilgrimage. Suddenly she went from the ripe age of seventeen to a deadened ninety-nine. "Before you came, I told Gippal I'd go on a date with him for Valentine's Day. I'm so sorry...." She turned the other way so that Gippal couldn't see the first tears spill. "I don't know what to say...."
"Neither do I," Auron said, hollowed of spirit as all he'd hoped for went to dust.
"Well, hey," Gippal tapped Auron's arm in a merry tone, "you can join us! This is all comin' outta Praetor Baralai's pocket anyway, so by all means, come sit at our table! I don't mind you talking with Rikku!"
"No, that's okay. I think I'll pass."
Rikku didn't dare face Auron to check his expression. Her tears rolled, hot and stinging down the sides of her pretty face, which was becoming red and blotchy. "Auron...."
"You don't have to say anything. I know what's going on. What a foolish thing to do, Rikku."
[Stranger in Paradise by Sarah Brightman]
Take my hand, I'm a stranger in paradise
All lost in a wonderland
A stranger in paradise
If I stand starry eyed there's a danger in paradise
For mortals who stand beside
An angel like you
"But Yunie," whined Rikku, adding to a chain of similar protests in the upstairs bedroom of the cabin. "This is insane. I don't know why you even talked me into this!!"
"You'll see what I mean," Yuna said with a mysterious smile, kneeling at Rikku's legs. "You'll probably even thank me for it later."
"Yuna's always right," Paine told her. "You should know that by now. So hold still already!"
"Y'know, Rikku... it's really not so bad!" Tidus commented, lying down on one of the adjacent beds with his hands folded behind his head. "I like it! Yuna's done a great job!"
"Yeah, but... grrrrrr, now I have to find a way to pay Yunie back for this! And Brother's not too keen on giving me my own money, you know!... OW!!!"
"I said hold still! We don't wanna ruin this now," Yuna tapped Rikku's leg. "Ohhhhh Rikku, this is wonderful!!"
"I feel funny."
"You've never done this kind of thing before, that's why."
"He comes!" Paine sprung up from her seated position next to Tidus's feet. "Are we ready now?"
"...Yes! It's done!!" Yuna stood up and clapped for her work, excitedly.
"Now get out there and make us proud," Paine said, slapping Rikku's bottom and racing her and the others down the spiraling staircase.
Rikku's fingertips began to fidget around nervously, freshly coated with envy-green nail polish underneath a pair of matching gloves. Each heartbeat pounded more violently as the door to the elevator began to open. Her forehead and arms began to feel clammy, and the beginning beads of sweat formed at her neck. No way this could be happening.
All her thoughts began spinning in her head as she tried to retell the events of the day to herself. She couldn't understand how or why it was that she even found Auron earlier this afternoon, and now she wound up here, more nervous than she'd been ever since Yuna's arrival in Zanarkand two years ago. What a bizarre twist of fate! Yet if the rapid flow of events was natural and destined to happen... why was she cramping with the feeling that she was about to do something very wrong?
The moment Auron and Rikku met in the center of the cabin, the girl let out a heavy gasp and dropped her jaw. Auron was taken aback by this new sight that made all else in the world dissolve into nothing.
The older ex-guardian couldn't believe what he was seeing. His eyes became fogged with an illusion, or so he thought until Rikku winced with anxiousness as he took in this heavenly spectacle.
Rikku was wearing a lively, silk emerald-jade gown that matched her eyes. It was short and rounded off in the front so as to expose the shapeliness of her knees down, and the back hung in a long flap that trailed a few inches behind her. Her flat stomach was exposed by an opening that began at her waist and ended in a tied string below the top, fashioned like the yellow bikini top she wore in her thief ensemble. With the headband gone, she wore her gorgeous sunbleached blonde mane straight down so that it fell to her thighs, and a braid touched her collarbone on each side of her head. Her golden-tinged skin was almost glowing with youth, and her lips were glossed with the perfect shade of pink. Those suffocating, intoxicant green, spiraling eyes, so deep and full of wonder, shone ever brighter and lightened up all the darkest places within Auron's lonely soul. He was drowning in her beauty.
Auron's tongue, his breath, and his words all got stuck in his throat, but to Rikku he was nothing short of painstakingly hot. Seeing him now brought forth floods of flash-visions from two years ago, having first seen this image in an old sphere recording. He was twenty-five again, with jet-black hair slicked back and in a full ponytail that hung out of his coat instead of hidden inside. His eyes were a glossy chocolate brown that seemed like earthen stars. Looking at him like this was like removing a shadowy cloak. Soft tenderness spread over his younger face. Everything he wore was like new. The rough threads of his red overcoat, emanating warmth as if it had been steam-pressed, and the beady adornments clashed sensationally with the velvetiness of his creamy eggshell skin. The spicy- sweet scent was enough to make the poor girl's legs give out, evoking the analogy of him with a cologne-sprayed love letter, an aroma that even lingered slightly on her tongue as if he had been sprinkled with a gingery wine. Her hands ached to touch him underneath the silk that ran up to her elbows.
Yuna broke what seemed to be the endless silence and cleared her throat.
"Now that we've gotten that out into the air... Rikku? Do you think we can fit in a little rehearsal time before dinner?"
The picturesque sights that the two of them beheld were enough to clarify seemingly everything between them. Rikku's eyes searched Auron's as if to say, "May I? Just for a little bit?", and Auron nodded to her in such a slight way that none of the others could see.
Paine searched through a collection of music spheres in a box behind the staircase as Yuna and Rikku boarded a small black platform against the wall. As a beat began to play, Paine stepped back next to Auron while Yuna and Rikku stepped in synch. Tidus threw his head about and jammed out as if it was his favorite song, entranced by Yuna.
"Sometimes Rikku is a backup dancer at Yuna's concerts," Paine explained to Auron. "She's a little clumsy, as you can imagine, but she enjoys it a lot."
"She seems to have rhythm, though," Auron observed under his breath as a half-whisper to Paine. He watched most attentively as Rikku thrust out a hip and stepped out with reigning confidence over all. The strings of her high-heeled green sandals laced up around her calves, and she took care not to step on the ends of her gown. Her golden hair swished lightly as she swam through the pulsating music.
"I think that's because you're here to watch her."
"What?!"
"...Never mind."
When Yuna and Rikku finally stepped off the platform, bowed, and graciously accepted the applause of the other three, static buzzed across the intercom system all throughout the airship before Brother's shrill voice resonated, "Rikku!!!!!!!!!!! Report to the bridge immediately!!"
Rikku, feeling that nothing in the world could bring her down now, made her way out of the cabin, until Auron discreetly caught her arm while the others talked amongst themselves.
"Rikku!"
"Huh?" she said as she spun. The warmth of this new Auron's grip tingled as if to brand her arm and line it with a gold aura. The first traces of a smile formed as she noted to herself that she could definitely get used to Auron looking this hot.
"Oui muug fano yddnyldefa eh dryd tnacc[You look very attractive in that dress]," he said with hesitant pronunciation.
"Wow... thank you!" Rikku exhaled. "And you look very..."
She stepped into the elevator and the door began to close around her as she said the last word underneath her breath, holding a gloved hand to her beating heart. "...sexy."
When she approached Brother out on the bridge, it felt like she was still dancing, and that it was all a hazy dream. This dress was gorgeous, Auron looked sexy, and he also had a mesmerized gaze all over her as she danced with Yuna. Nothing in the world felt better, or would ever feel better, until later on that evening, when they would talk more... and hopefully dance... or more....
But Brother, standing in his overalls with his hands on his hips and leering at her with his birdlike looks, wasn't in such a deliriously happy mood. "Rikku, ku du res[go to him]." He thrust his finger to his right and pointed at a figure Rikku didn't care to recognize at first.
Standing there, awaiting her, was a man not much taller than her, with spiked blond hair and navy eyes, a black patch over his right one. He waved to her, trying to look so cool, in his classic magenta and violet punk-style suit held by gold suspenders, various buckled straps hanging at his legs, and the ends of violet gloves overlapped the ends of his lavender long-sleeved shirt.
Rikku's heart shattered like one of Auron's delicate brandy glasses.
"Hey! I thought I was supposed to come pick you up!" he greeted her cheerfully. "But, no matter. We're actually on time for once!"
"H-hi, Gippal," she said. "What brings you here?"
Brother gripped her by the arm, erasing Auron's charm of gentleness, and hissed reproaches at her. "Oui yna REC tyta, nasaspan? Fryd dra ramm rac kuddah ehdu oui dutyo?[You are his date, remember? What the hell has gotten into you today?]"
"Oh... heh heh, right. Silly me," Rikku said as Brother threw her out to Gippal. "Um... uh...."
"Rikku?"
Her heart fluttered as she saw Auron come out after her. If only he really was her knight, if only he really could take her away from all this... even the Farplane sounded better than being on the spot in front of him and Gippal. Brother's presence wouldn't make things any better, either.
"This not good time right now, Sir Auron," Brother said roughly, his Al Bhed accent richer now that he seemed to be angered.
"WHOA!! Sir Auron?!" Gippal exclaimed, running up and grabbing the former guardian's hand. "You look great for your age!"
Auron chuckled and shook his hand politely. "And you are...?"
"I'm Gippal, leader of the Al Bhed Machine Faction. Thanks for keeping Rikku company for me, man! You really are a great guy."
"Thanks..." Auron said, raising an eyebrow.
He looks like one dizzy fool.
"Well, now that we're in Bevelle, shall we go to dinner then?" Gippal extended an arm out to Rikku, who had no choice but to take it.
"Auron, I..." Rikku's voice dropped into a more depressed tone that she'd used when Yuna almost lost her life on her pilgrimage. Suddenly she went from the ripe age of seventeen to a deadened ninety-nine. "Before you came, I told Gippal I'd go on a date with him for Valentine's Day. I'm so sorry...." She turned the other way so that Gippal couldn't see the first tears spill. "I don't know what to say...."
"Neither do I," Auron said, hollowed of spirit as all he'd hoped for went to dust.
"Well, hey," Gippal tapped Auron's arm in a merry tone, "you can join us! This is all comin' outta Praetor Baralai's pocket anyway, so by all means, come sit at our table! I don't mind you talking with Rikku!"
"No, that's okay. I think I'll pass."
Rikku didn't dare face Auron to check his expression. Her tears rolled, hot and stinging down the sides of her pretty face, which was becoming red and blotchy. "Auron...."
"You don't have to say anything. I know what's going on. What a foolish thing to do, Rikku."