A/N: OMFG! I have been trying to upload this chapter for THREE days! GRRRRRR...ok i'm better. Finally, a new chapter. No shout-outs this chapter, I am going to add them on the next one:) But I want to thank everyone who reviewed! You guys are so awesome! I love that I am keeping you guys entertained. It's really important in the summer, or else we would all go crazy. Hope you like this one!
Disclaimer: I don't own FF or it's characters. what.
Flushed
Auron and his friends were in the airship preparing for lift-off when Gippal boarded.
"Hey you guys! Why are you all running off without your prize?" Gippal was holding a decorated case in his hands.
Everyone looked at each other not knowing what to say.
"Well," Yuna started, "after what happened, we thought it was best to leave. We really didn't even think about the prize."
Gippal looked at her and shook his head. "That is why you would never make a good treasure hunter Yuna. Treasure first! Thinking later!
Auron flexed his fist waiting for him to stop joking around with Yuna. Did he realize the seriousness of the situation? Someone died, kinda, at his tournament.
"Well, anyway, where is Rikku? I wanted to speak with her before she left."
"Rikku is...resting" Lulu told him. She looked at Wakka, who looked at Auron. They exchanged a confused glance.
"Oh right, she got hit with that lightening pretty hard, didn't she? She's going to be ok isn't she?"
"Yes she will be ok." Lulu answered him again.
Gippal looked curiously at everyone, wondering why they were so quiet. "Ok well tell her I will come to visit her in a few days!" He turned and left the ship.
After he had gone, the conversation ignited.
"What's his problem, ya?"
"Why was he not upset?"
"That was weird!"
Wakka, Yuna, and Tidus asked each other. They looked to Auron for the answer because, well, he usually had them. Auron had no intention of answering them. He took off his dark glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose in thought.
"Hmmm" Lulu wondered out loud.
"What is it Lulu?" Yuna questioned her friend.
Lulu looked up and saw everyone looking at her. Even Auron had looked up to hear what she was going to say.
"Well, I was just wondering if Gippal was aware of what had happened here today?"
"Lu! He had to know!...Didn't he?" Wakka asked.
"Wakka, I don't think so. Rikku...it all happened very quickly. Are we even sure she died?"
Yuna and Tidus looked at each other. "It seemed so, but she was revived so fast. Like it never happened"
"She died." Auron stated.
"But how can you be so sure? People have near death experiences all the time." Lulu questioned.
Auron smirked slightly. "Take it from a man who has died a few times now. She left us, only for a few moments, but she was gone."
"Ok so she died," Lulu continued, "but she came to so quickly, no one but us , Baralai and Paine knew she died. I doubt even Krya was aware she killed Rikku."
"Which begs the question," Yuna said slowly, "how and why is she back?"
Auron wondered. "I don't know...but Rikku does. I have to find out."
"Well she's back right? That's all that matters! Why ya so concerned Auron?" Wakka asked.
Tidus looked at his older friend and they exchanged a look of understanding. Yuna caught the exchange and asked "What is it?"
Tidus sighed and looked at Yuna.
"Auron is concerned because we both know how hard it is to get back out of the Farplane. It took us almost three years! Someone or something powerful let her back out, but she must have cut one hell of a deal to do it."
Rikku awoke to darkness. She panicked for a moment until she realized her head was covered by a blanket. She sat up slowly wincing in pain. The back of her throat burned badly. She could feel a metallic taste in her mouth. She sat up and looked around. She was in the airships storage room on a small bed. What happened?
Rikku felt her head spinning from pain and fell back onto the bed. As she fell, she remembered falling in the arena and it all came back. Her fight with Kyra, her death, the deal with Jetch. She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket tighter. She inhaled in an attempt to gather her thoughts and she smelled...Auron? Her eyes opened again and she realized that her 'blanket' was Auron's coat. It covered her nicely and smelled like him. She smiled to herself, wondering if Auron carried her into the room. She hoped he did. She found herself wondering how he reacted when she died and how he acted when she came back. Unfortunately she didn't hold consciousness for long so she didn't know.
She closed her eyes again and took in his scent. It reminded her of autumn. If Auron smelled like a season, it was definitely autumn. The start of autumn when she could smell the forest and wood and spice in the air. It calmed her and made her smile harder.
Rikku had almost fallen back asleep when the she heard the door open and close. She wondered who had come to check on her. While she was guessing, she felt someone heavy sit down next to her on the bed. She opened her eyes and looked up at Auron. She couldn't help but smile up at him.
Auron smiled right back at her and took her hand. "Rikku," he said softly, "how are you feeling?"
Rikku opened her mouth to speak and quickly changed her mind. Moving her throat even slightly caused the metallic taste to run down her insides and it hurt. She grimaced in pain and felt him place a hand gently on her forehead. "Rikku, does your throat hurt?"
She nodded at him afraid to speak. Man she hated lightening.
Auron removed his hand and looked for a potion in his coat pocket. Rikku found this sight interesting. The coat was still on her so Auron was bent over her without it on. She had to admit she was impressed by his tight muscles and the outline of his form under his black shirt.
Finally locating the potion, Auron sat next to her again and lifted her head up onto his lap. He handed her the potion.
"Drink this. It should make your throat fell better."
Rikku drank the potion and felt a cooling sensation in her throat. She breathed and closed her eyes in relief for a moment. When her eyes were closed she let herself focus on her other senses. She could smell Auron's musky autumn scent and feel his hand stroking her hair. She was in heaven.
Auron ran his hand through Rikku's hair as she drank the potion. He wanted badly to talk to her but he wanted her to rest more. He had carried her to this room earlier so she could sleep. He wanted to make sure she was ok. He felt the corners of her mouth rise slightly as she leaned into his hand. He found himself wanting to kiss her, but something was stopping him. Whatever it was, he was going to ignore it for now.
Rikku felt Auron shift slightly under her head. Please don't move! She was about to protest when she felt his lips brush hers. She felt like the lightening had come back and shot down her body. Auron caused so many feeling to come to the surface when her kissed her. She felt her adrenaline rise and her heartbeat followed. Auron's light brushing had changed into a firm kiss. She felt like he wanted to make sure she was really there. She tried to press back into him, but she just didn't have the energy. Instead she placed her hand on the back of his head to keep his lips on hers.
Auron felt himself falling into her kiss. He loved this feeling. It was so new to him and it felt so right. His mind went fuzzy and he let it. He was always one to be alert all the time and usually hated losing focus. He didn't mind when it was with Rikku. She was after all, teaching him how to live.
Auron broke the kiss after a few moments and kissed her cheek. He saw Rikku was a little flushed and hoped she didn't have a fever.
"Rikku, are you ok? You look flushed. Do you have a fever?"
Rikku flushed harder. She didn't have a temperature but she was having some hot thoughts about Auron that were making her blush. Rikku giggled slightly and shook her head.
Auron raised an eyebrow at her. "What were you thinking about Rikku?" he asked in a husky voice that made her almost lose whatever cool she had left.
Rikku made apologetic gestures at her throat indicating that she couldn't talk well. Auron smirked at her and kissed her on her cheek again. He whispered in her ear, "Rest Rikku"
He stood up and left the room smiling to himself.
Auron returned to the main room of the ship where his friends were in the middle of an argument.
"Why can't we just see what it's for?" Tidus asked.
"We promised we would get it back for Kimahri, not tamper with it!" Lulu said firmly.
Tidus had opened the case Gippal left them with and was intrigued by the item inside. The fighter inside tidus wanted to try the weapon out.
"Come on Auron! You'll spar with me won't you!" Tidus pleaded.
"I am not going to help you break Kimahri's weapon Tidus."
"Fine." Tidus placed the weapon back in the box and directed his attention to Wakka, who was piloting the ship.
Yuna walked over to Auron and smiled.
"You are going to have your hands full with that one Yuna" he told her.
She grinned. "I don't mind. I had plenty of practice with Rikku. How is she?"
Auron looked down to Yuna and saw the concern that was in her eyes. "She is resting. She will be ok, but she needs to rest."
Yuna sighed in relief. "Auron I as so scared we lost her. I tried so hard to keep her alive.." Yuna felt her voice break as she thought back on what happened to her cousin.
Auron lifted a hand to Yuna's shoulder and nodded. "I know Yuna. I know."
Yuna looked up into her guardian's face. "Auron I'm glad you were there for her. I don't know if she would have made it if you weren't there with her."
Auron looked away from Yuna as he took in her words. Her words warmed his long cold heart, but he wanted to hear that from Rikku.
"Yuna may I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything" she looked at him curiously.
Auron felt himself becoming embarrassed but he brushed it aside. "Given a choice between myself and Gippal, do you think Rikku would choose me?"
Yuna sighed. Auron was still worried about getting hurt. She thought it was cute, heartbreaking, but cute.
"Auron, you know I can't answer that."
"I know, just thought I'd ask."
"Sorry but you need to talk to Rikku about that one. Did you get a chance to ask her about anything?"
"No. She is still recovering. I didn't want to bother her."
Yuna nodded in understanding. "Well, let's think about it later. I think we have to separate Tidus and Wakka right now"
Auron looked up at the two troublemakers and rolled his eye.
"Tidus, back off ya! I'm trying to drive here...or fly here...whatever!"
"Come on Wakka! Share you airship hog!"
Yuna and Lulu rushed over to intervene while Auron leaned against the wall to think.
Not too much later the group was surprised when Rikku joined them. She came into the main room wearing Auron's coat and a smile.
"Yeah Rikku's back!" Tidus and Wakka yelled. Yuna and Lulu rushed over for a hug. They embraced her tightly as if to make sure she was real.
"Rikku we're so glad your ok!" Lulu told her.
"Don't do that to us again!" Yuna said.
Rikku smiled at her friends and spotted Auron leaning against the wall. She walked over to him and leaned right next to him. Her actions make the boys raise and eyebrow and the girls grin.
Auron himself was pleasantly surprised. He shifted toward her sightly so she could rest her body on his discreetly.
"So how ya feeling Rikku ?" Wakka asked.
"I'm okay," she said cheerfully, " I'm still a little sore, but nothing I can't handle. So are we going to Gagazet now?"
Tidus nodded. "Yup. I let Wakka pilot us. He begged me to let him."
"WHAT? Grrrrr..." Wakka grumbled at the controls.
Rikku giggled and rested her head on Auron's shoulder. She was so glad to be here with them.
Lulu decide to bring up what was on everyone's minds. "Rikku, forgive me for bringing it up again, but we are a little confused. We though you were dead."
Rikku nodded. "I know, I thought I died too. I'm not really sure though, it's kinda fuzzy. I remember being hit by the lightening and then I remember waking up. So I guess I didn't die, right?"
"No," Lulu said, "I guess not." She looked at Auron and he gave her a look to drop the subject. Lulu knew he would try to find out later. Auron didn't like this at all. He had a feeling in his stomach that Rikku wasn't telling them the whole truth.
"Oh yeah Rikku! Gippal came to see ya! He wanted to speak to you, said he would drop by in a few days" Wakka told her.
At the mention of Gippal's name Rikku lifted her head from Auron's shoulder and shifted her weight off of him. "Oh...ok. Thanks Wakka. I think I am going to go rest agin before we get to Gagazet." She left for the storage room.
Auron sighed and moved to the far corner of the room to stare out the window.
Lulu smacked Wakka on his head with his own blitzball.
"Hey! What was dat for?" he protested.
"Ok well, off to Gagazet! Again!" Tidus said as Yuna shook her head at the situation.
A/N: Hey Wakka sounds like me today:) Grrrr...I wanted to know how you guys like my romantic scenes between Auron and Rikku? I ask because I only did two short kissing ones in the story so far and in the next chapter or so I want to add a longer one. Let me know if you want to see one or if they make you sick:) Provided my computer cooperates, expect an update Saturday or Sunday, no later than Tuesday. Peace out!
