I don't own FF.

(How many more times?)

Fleeting

Rikku sat alone under the stars. She gazed distantly at the gentle waters of the oasis, her mind wondering. It was cold, nights in the desert always were, but it was not the temperature outside that felt cold to her; it was her heart. She was dressed in her samurai dress sphere, but the long red coat only made her feel colder. She'd removed the helmet and taken down her hair, allowing it to become a waist length curtain that shrouded her young face.

Things had been quiet since Vegnagun had been defeated, and the Gullwings had disbanded. Sipra knew peace again, and life was quiet. But Rikku hated it. The quiet gave her time to think; to dwell on all that she had lost. Her mind constantly drifted back to the summer when she was fifteen. The summer she fell in love with a dead man.

Their time together had been so brief. She had known since Yuna had visited the Farplane that he was unsent. It had been one of the things they discussed while the others had been talking to their dead loved ones.

She had known, and still she had fallen for him. Yuna had loved a dream unknowingly, but Rikku…. She knew, and yet she couldn't help herself. She remembered the night they had camped at the foot of Mt. Gagazet. Everyone else was asleep and Auron had gone to patrol for fiends.

Rikku had followed him, standing in the shadows and watching as he gazed around the icy clearing. "What do you want?" He had demanded. Sensing her presence.

Rikku was caught off guard; she had thought herself well hidden. "I just-" She hadn't known how to finish that sentence.

"Don't." He told her, his voice harsh. "I'm a dead man. You only hurt yourself."

She wasn't surprised that he knew. Nothing seemed to get by him, but his bluntness made her bold. "Too late." She told him gently. She moved closer to him, keeping her eyes fixed on him. "I don't care if you're dead; I love you."

"Then you love a ghost." He snapped. "Let it go. Soon my promises will be fulfilled and I will be sent."

"I don't care!" Rikku had cried, tears springing to her eyes. "I'll take whatever time we have!"

He sighed then. "I can only break your heart Rikku." He sounded despondent. "And time is a luxury we can't afford."

"I'll pay with my life if I have to." She told him, bringing her hand up to caress his cheek.

"No Rikku." He replied gently, his arm slipping around her slender waist. "Love me if you will, but do not say such things. I will not be responsible for stealing you light from this world."

Bringing her mind back to the present, the Al Bhed tried to stifle her sobs. So little time together. A handful of secret caresses and one stolen kiss and he was gone. It wasn't fair.

Sitting there, by the water, under the moonlight her entire being felt so empty. She was tired. Exhausted of pretending. Hugging the coat close to her body, the coat that reminded her so much of him, she let the tears roll down her cheeks.

"Rikku?"

The gentle voice behind her didn't even startle her. "Hey Gippal…." Rikku turned to the blonde engineer and managed a weak smile.

"It's been a while since I saw you like this." He murmured, taking a seat beside her. "You gonna tell me what's on your mind this time?"

"A dead man."

Gippal nodded; he understood.

Nothing really, just some angsty fluff.