Disclaimer- I am making no money out of this. FFX and its characters and such do not belong to me! Lawsuits do not make me happy. If you sue me you shall have to face the wrath of CHIBI-HAJAN! (sweat drop) I really am short. (cries)

A/N: Hi all, Hajan here again. Yay for Chapter 2! It's getting close to finished. Two more chapters at the most, I promise. 4 finals down and 1 more to go! Woot! Then it's a wonderful fantastic 5-day weekend with some time for me, my fanfics, my PS2, and some mall time with my friends. I'm gonna live it up because report cards don't come 'til next week. Woot! And now, I shabbily present to you, the tattered and torn, Chapter two! (Don't ask why I did the weird shabbily, tattered, and torn thing. I just felt like parodying that whole, brand-new and exciting shtick)

It's not something that can be stopped. No matter how hard Auron fights it, the past is there. The flashbacks are coming more frequently and becoming stronger and stronger as the group gets closer and closer to the end of their journey.

Kinoc looks at Auron. Auron is his friend and yet… Ambition does not often allow for friendship. He tries to dissuade himself, but it will not do. So instead, he tries to justify it.

"So, Auron, where have you been off to lately? A lot of nights I wake up and the bunk across from me is empty?" His tone is suggestive; the others' ears perk up. Auron is a stickler for rules and sometimes called a "stiff". His romantic life could be amusing and if he spills enough, good blackmail.

Auron just looks over at his friend. He's starting to get that stoic look down pat. "I didn't know you were like that, Kinoc. I'll make sure to be a lot more careful about where I sleep when you're around." He looks careless and his tone, while slightly sarcastic is only just so; it could easily be mistaken for nonchalance, which it is meant to be. Still, his eyes sparkle playfully; he hasn't yet built a wall between his eyes and his emotions, his thoughts.

Everyone laughs. It's a riot. Auron is as straight as a ruler but Kinoc might have a kink or two.

Kinoc silently curses whoever comes up with that line. It's sure to be ringing in his ears for a long time. He looks at Auron and smiles. Unlike his friend, he has built the wall, sturdy and firm. He shakes his head and laughs the laugh of a defeated man. He claps Auron on the back. "Alright, alright, I won't ask anymore." Perhaps if his friend has not so utterly humiliated him, he would not have gone on this path. Again, to justify what he will do, he tells himself that perhaps Auron is just playing with the girl. If he would humiliate his friend in such a public way, what would stop him from playing with a young girl's heart? Maybe Auron has more ambition than the rest of us know. After all, a High Priest's daughter... this is the route that Kinoc's thoughts take. Nobody notices that he gets up a little later and leaves or that his eyes are burning. Kinoc has to go nurse his wounded pride.

Auron shakes his head. He was young and naïve and honorable. The thought of his friendship being so weak still disgusts him. However, his memories are not yet finished.

They sit at the edge of the shore, the waves practically lapping their feet. It is cold, but his jacket keeps them both warm. They sit on a blue blanket, cuddling. He holds her and she sighs.

"Perdera? What is it?" His tone if one of slight worry.

She smiles. It's cute how he worries about her. "Nothing, just that, nights like these are wonderful. The way the moon makes the sea so bright and the way the waves are crested with just the tiniest bit of silver from the moon's reflection… It's perfect, Auron."

"You're perfect," he murmurs into her ear.

She shoves him playfully, but makes no attempt to break his embrace. "How many women have you said that to, Auron? How do I know that when you're 'training' the only things you see are fiends? There have been stories…"

"You mock me." His voice is a little gruffer; he is actually hurt by her words. "You mock me and you stain my honor."

She looks up at him, something melancholy in her eyes. "Auron, I'm sorry." Neither of them are really ones for jokes. So when humor is attempted, the attempt usually goes awry. Both of them are proper. It is only with each other that they dare bend the rules. "Auron, I know you well," She maneuvers around so that she can sit up better. She cups his face in her hands. "And I know that there are few things you live for. I am one of them."

"You are quite modest, are you not? Of course, what can one expect from the spoiled daughter of the High Priest?" This is his attempt at a joke. He tries to look serious, but his eyes shine with the same mischief hers held before. His eyes smile.

Normally she would pout and they would make up, but tonight something feels wrong. This needs to be serious; she needs to say this. "Auron," She pauses, looking for the right words. "Auron. Honor is another thing you live for. I know how hard you've worked to become such a great warrior monk and I know what beliefs and ideals you cling to. All of it is attached to your honor." She smiles now. Now that what needs to be said has been said, she can afford to be lighter-hearted. "In fact, I'm surprised you've risked such untainted honor to be with the High Priest's daughter in such an isolated place at such an unreasonable time, with no chaperone as well." She shakes her head in mock seriousness. She is subtly poking fun at herself; she thinks that his honor is more important than she is. That is fine with her; his pride and honor make him what he is and she would not change that for all of Spira. "What kind of honorable man does that?"

He says nothing, instead, just grabs a hold of her waist so suddenly that she lets out a yelp of surprise. He brings her close so that she is practically sitting on his lap and presses his lips to the base of her neck. He feels her shiver just the tiniest bit.

She feels him smile into her skin. She turns and wraps her arms around his neck. They kiss briefly and then just hold each other, watching the waves and enjoying the sounds of the empty beach.

Later, as both of them are about to fall asleep, he says, "Honor is important to me, just as you are, Perdera. If I were to lose my honor, I would lose everything, but to lose you…" Another soft kiss. "It would be as though I lost myself."

Her eyelids flutter. It is unclear whether or not she heard the cheesy yet meaningful line. Nonetheless, she falls asleep in his arms and his head uses hers as a pillow. Tired, both sleep longer than expected. Little do the two lovers know that a frantic search is underway for the High Priest's daughter, who has been missing since after dinner from the palace. Again, at the root of the search, was a pair of two very jealous eyes.

It had been a good night, the last of many. Auron wishes that these memories did not plague him. Still, they are part of what he has become. There had been good times and there had been bad. All those things helped shape him. Still, why dwell on the past? Perhaps because that is where all his promises are? He shakes his head. This is the problem with being silent and antisocial. It gives you too much time to think with yourself. He goes to join the rest of the party, wherever they are. Sometimes it is better to be with people than to be alone with your memories.

There ya go, peoples. Have a good time.

-Hajan Rana