DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FFX...unfortunately...
Rikku asked Yuna for some time to herself. She needed to be alone to learn how to heal her broken heart. She had to learn to pull herself back together.
Rikku went to the road in between Djose and Guadosalam. It was relatively peaceful now. It was where she had first met him.
Tears ran down her cheeks as she wondered alone on the road searching for that place where she had first laid eyes on Auron.
She found the place where the road met the water. The memories were so strong. She sat down and trailed a ringer in the river water. Everything was so peaceful, but she found little comfort in this peace. Its price had been too high.
Auron had been everything that she wasn't. He was mature. He was strong. He never failed. He seemed perfect. Next to him, she looked like a gawky teenager.
However, he wasn't just some apathetic, battle-hardened guardian. He had a since of humor to rival anyone, and a heart capable of anything. He was loyal and he was brave.
She remembered the night that she finally had the courage to tell Auron how she felt about him. They were at yet another inn. The sky was dark and perfectly clear. It was midnight, and she knew she needed to be asleep. She saw Auron stroll silently outside in that graceful walk of his. Rikku decided to follow him outside.
"Why are you still awake? You will need your rest. We continue our pilgrimage in the morning."
"Yes, I know, "Rikku sighed. "But wait a minute, in that case, shouldn't you be asleep too?"
"Ah," Auron chucked. "But I don't need any beauty sleep."
"Humph!" Rikku strutted to the edge of the road in front of her, all the while staring at the sky.
"What are you thinking?"
"It's nights like tonight that remind me of how life was before."
Auron smiled sadly.
"Who have you lost to Sin?"
"My brother, Zaire. It was... a long time ago."
"We all have lost someone to Sin."
"Yes," Rikku barely whispered. She felt like she wanted to cry. Being with Auron always made her feel bittersweet. Looking back on it, she realized that perhaps that feeling was some sort of premonition of what was going to happen to them. She kept her head down as a tear slipped from her eye.
"What are you afraid of, Rikku?" Auron put his hand on her shoulder.
"Losing someone else, someone special," she whispered.
"Who is it," he whispered back to her.
"Someone who is standing right beside me."
Auron wasn't surprised at this. He was quite aware of why Rikku followed him out of the inn.
He looked down at her in the dark. His eyes were reflecting the little points of light in the sky. "Do you remember what Tidus said about romance, Rikku."
She hung her head. "Yes, he said it can wait. Nevertheless, what if it can't, Sir Auron? What if I'm feeling these feelings now? We never know what tomorrow holds. Why should we have to wait? -"
He stooped down, stopped her questions with a kiss, and enfolded her in his strong arms.
She buried her face in his shirt to stop more tears and finally looked up at him.
"You?"
"Yes, I do love you, Rikku."
The stars made the grey specks in his hair shine out, making him look much older. She buried her face in his shirt again, never wanting to let him go. He brushed her lips with his, as if asking for permission. She gave it to him and he deepened the kiss. He tasted so sweet. His tongue met hers and she almost shivered in delight. This was what she had hoped would happen!
Auron picked her up his arms and twirled her around, being more romantic than she ever could have dreamed. He carried her back into the dark inn and up to his room where he gently laid her on the bed.
He undressed her, gently caressing her skin where he somehow knew she would like it most. Then he undressed and crawled under the covers with her.
He nipped at her neck and her body went almost limp. She sighed deeply and turned her head to kiss him.
It wasn't only a mating of bodies, but of souls. Rikku longed for more of Auron than she knew she could ever have. She realized that this love for him was more than a school girl crush could ever have been. It was real. It was filled with hope. It was true.
That morning Rikku returned to her own room. Some unspoken agreement existed between her and Auron. She knew that it was only their business.
Rikku splashed water on her cheeks, trying to wake up from her reverie. She could never go back there. She could never hold her Auron again.
She whispered his name into the breeze and for a moment thought she heard someone calling back. But she didn't.
Then the sobs came. So hard that they hurt. She did not wail. She couldn't even make a noise. The tears ran down as if floodgates had been opened. She couldn't stop them. She didn't see any point in trying too. Auron was gone. What was she going to do now?
Yuna had lost her love too, but she would be able to cope. Yuna was strong. All of Spira was her friend. Yuna had courage and determination. Yuna wasn't pregnant.
Rikku looked down at her reflection in the water. She had to go on. She had go on for what little part of him she had left.
Rikku picked herself up, and started down the road to return to her faithful friend's side.
