The next morning, surprisingly, the usually steadfast Yuna felt she needed to rest longer before they headed to the Ronso Mountains. Lulu, Rikku, Yuna and Wakka all decided to go learn how to ride the chocobos, since they never had too many back in Besaid. But Auron, as usual, was standing guard near the inn. Even though he was alert of his surroundings, his mind seemed to wonder elsewhere. And Tidus had nothing else better to do than to just pester Auron until he would tell him what was on his mind.

"Hey ol' man" Tidus said. He saw Auron leaning against a fence, his arms folded over his chest, mumbling something to himself. When he suddenly noticed Tidus standing before him, he grunted and looked away.

"Hey!" Tidus exclaimed, "Is all your gonna do is grunt when I ask you something?"

Auron's slick hair shone brightly under the heated sun, and the sun's brilliant glare bounced off his glasses, causing Tidus to squint. Then Tidus smiled mischievously before snatching off Auron's glasses and running out into the open field. "Come and get 'em!" He yelled.

"Tidus..." Auron grumbled. "Don't force me to have to chase after you under this hot sun," He threatened.

Tidus tossed Auron's glasses high up into the air, and then caught them only seconds before hitting the ground, "Hurry up before I brake'em, Auron!" Then Tidus turned around and dashed up the field. Auron grinned slightly when he saw how carefree and happy Tidus was, just like a young boy. As Tidus twirled around, his feathery blonde hair swayed and shone with superior gloss under the evening sun. Then he threw the glasses high up into the air and caught them again with his gloved hands. Tidus laughed and then called out, "C'mon Auron!"

Auron grumbled and jogged over to Tidus. Tidus fell to the grass and let the glasses fall onto his chest. Tidus smiled up at Auron, his lips looked so smooth and perfectly cut smiling. Despite how innocent Tidus' big blue eyes looked, Auron knew that Tidus was hiding something from him. Auron lifted his glasses off Tidus' chest and placed them back onto the bridge of his nose. Tidus sat up and brushed some grass out his hair, "Let's play a game Auron."

Auron sighed, why do I even bother? He thought. "Sure Tidus."

Tidus stood up and said, "Great! Now let's see..." Tidus scratched his fluffy blond hair, "If only I could remember what it was called..."

"I don't feel like babysitting..." Auron grumbled, folding his arms over his chest.

"Hey, just give me a minute! Oh yeah, it's call Blitzball. Now I remember."

"Blitzball, are you serious?" Auron glared at Tidus, "I think this is a game you'd better play with Wakka."

"Oh, Auron" Tidus laid his hand on Auron's shoulder. "Come on, I can teach you!"

"I don't want to learn..." Auron grumbled. He was becoming annoyed by how persistent Tidus was being and felt pressure building up under his skin. But when he stared back down into Tidus' blue eyes, he sighed and said, "Fine."

"Alright!" Tidus did his trademark gesture, in which he would hold his fist up into the air then pull it back down by his waist. Then he quickly ran back to the Inn to get his blitz ball.

Auron waited patiently for Tidus to return. When he had realized that he left his sword back at the Inn, a chill ran up his spine. With out his sword, he was defenseless against all the dangerous beats in the plain lands. He grumbled, if Tidus wasn't so careless to distract him, he could have still been guarding Yuna.

Then Auron saw some mysterious bees flying past him, heading towards the Inn. Then Tidus finally emerged, running towards him with the ball in his hands. "Stay back!" Auron alerted him. Auron saw the bees heading straight for Tidus, for some reason he seemed to attract them.

"Hey! Stay back you fiends!" Tidus yelled at them, as he flung his Blitzball at them. He missed them every time and wondered how Wakka could put up with such an annoyance. Then the huge bees started to buzz around his head, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, and a small tear streaked down his cheek. One was heading for him again when suddenly one of them suddenly slashed in half. When he looked back he saw Auron swinging his sword at them with deadly aim. He tore through them one at a time until all of them had dispersed into pyre flies.

Summoner Yuna and her guardians rode past them on their chocobos. Yuna looked down at Auron's sword gleaming in the sun and asked, "Are you two alright?"

"We were attacked by some mysterious fiends," Auron answered. He swung his sword back over his shoulder and wiped the sweat of his face. "But do not strain yourself worrying about us Yuna."

"Well I'm glad you're alright" She responded.

Tidus stretched his arms up into the air and yawned, "I feel tired again."

Rikku and Auron both shook their heads and sighed. "No wonder you couldn't sleep last night..." Auron mumbled. Then Yuna and the others continued with their training and headed north.

"H-hey..." Tidus said drowsily, "How'd you know...why I couldn'...sleep...last..." Then Tidus closed his eyelids and fell forward. Auron caught him before he could fall onto the grass and laid Tidus' head against his chest. Tidus was sleeping soundly and restless against his body. When Auron felt Tidus' arms wrap around his waist, he instinctively pulled him closer. Auron let Tidus rest a few moments before he carried him back to the Inn to rest.

When Tidus awoke, his vision was still blurry from the bee's venom. He reached out for the red image, and unconsciously tugged onto Auron's cloak. Auron looked down at Tidus' steady movements and realized that the elixir he gave him was working. "Hello Tidus" He called. Auron's words echoed in Tidus' head and it was hard for him to understand what he was saying. "Are you feeling better?"

Tidus reached up and touched the blurry scar. Auron flinched, and pulled Tidus' hand into his own. He squeezed the hand three times before letting go and felling for Tidus' heartbeat. As his hand slid down Tidus' neck, he stirred a soft moan from Tidus' lips. Auron's hand seemed to move by itself now that it was softly grazing over Tidus' soft lips. When Auron realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand away from Tidus and stuffed it back into his cloak.

Even though the elixir had finally cleared Tidus of all his ailments, he still felt as those he was in a daze. Like a dream...He thought. He remembered the soft touch grazing across his skin, and longed to feel it again. "Auron..." He murmured.

"Yes Tidus" Auron stared down into Tidus' drowsy eyes.

"I think, I need more elixir..."

"Sure Tidus" Auron pulled a vial of elixir out his cloak. He gently parted Tidus' sensitive lips, and slowly drained the remainder of its contents down his throat. Tidus smiled as he felt the smooth liquid wash down his dry throat. Then he started to feel the soft touch brush across his lips as he drifted into sleep...