A/N: Hello! New chapter already for you guys! Excellent, go me! So I hear it wasn't just me having problems with the site, damn technology.

Kitty Malone: Thanks for your review! Good guesses on Jetch's condition, but of course im not gonna tell you if they are right! You gotta read and find out!

xxela14: thanks for your suggestion! And for reviewing!

Pyschostudent06: thanks for reviewing! Glad you like it!

Perfect yet broken: hee hee oopps, I intened to freak you out when Rikku died, that was the point! Sorry. Good guesses for Jecht! But see Kitty Malone's shout out. I can't tell you guys yet! So your vote is you like the romance scenes...excellent I need to know for the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing as always!

Gining: thanks for your review! Yeah I'm not quite done with Kyra yet...but hakuna matata, she will go down

rikkulovesauron: lol, that was a funny review I'm glad you still enjoy the story! No I didn't drop it, and I won't! I take it you're a fan for the romance scenes...that's 4.

Chicken tree arm: oops again, didn't mean to scare you guys, but I would never kill off rikku for real!

Krazie-edge: thanks for your review! Hope you like this chapter.

XxRhixx: Glad you liked it, hope you like this one better!

Rr1963: you know, that's what it was. I didn't really like the chapter because it was rushed. Oh well, thanks for your opinions! They always help.

The regretless: oops again, I am going to have to pay for peoples heart medication aren't I? I'll try not to shock you too much...thanks!


Disclaimer: I don't own FF or it's characters.

Confessions

Rikku settled back down on her bed in the storage room. She had forgotten about Gippal. Damn it. She knew she had to talk to him, but she really didn't want to!

As she was hitting herself on the head with her pillow, she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Rikku, can we come in?"

It was Yuna, and probably Lulu. "Sure"

Yuna and Lulu entered the storage room and sat on Rikku's bed. She gave them a pleading look. "What do I do you guys! I can't talk to Gippal right now!"

"I understand that Rikku. If you want to hold off on talking to Gippal, that's fine. But do you know who you need to talk to now?"

"Who?"

"Auron"

Rikku tilted her head to one side and put a finger on her jaw line in thought. "How come?"

Yuna sighed. She suddenly understood why Rikku and Tidus got along so well. "Rikku did you notice how Auron acted when you got all flustered about Gippal?"

"Oh"

Lulu placed her hand on Rikku's arm. "Rikku, Yuna is trying to tell you that Auron was hurt by it. He cares about you."

"Yeah, I guess so. He confuses me sometimes."

It was Lulu's turn to sigh. "Rikku you weren't there. You didn't see him after you...were hurt. He was a mess."

"Really?" she asked not fully convinced.

"Yeah Rikku," Yuna said gently, "He couldn't accept that you were gone. He even yelled at me! Me! He told me to save you. I did what I could but he wasn't going to let you go..." Yuna stopped talking when she felt emotion rising in her voice.

"He cried on your shoulder Rikku," Lulu finished, "He didn't want anyone to see, but we did."

Rikku was speechless. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. All this drama and hurt over a few misunderstandings and a little bit of nerves. Auron really did like her!

"So do you fell better about talking to Gippal?" Yuna asked.

The happy thoughts Rikku was having dropped out of her head. "It's just gonna be hard to let him go ya know? We have known each other for so long..."

"It'll be ok Rikku. Just go talk to Auron okay." Lulu said.

"Ok"


Auron looked up when Yuna and Lulu returned to the main room. He wondered if they had been talking to Rikku, but he didn't want to ask.

"Hey you guys reached a compromise finally?" Lulu asked Tidus seeing him flying the ship.

Tidus rolled his eyes. "I guess you could call it that. Wakka said I can fly to Gagazet, but he gets to fly home."

"That seems fair." Yuna observed.

"No Yuna it's the opposite of fair! Wakka came up with this idea after we were more than halfway to Gagazet, so guess who gets cheated."

"I think both of you were cheated...someone forgot to give you two brain cells when you were born." Auron said.

Lulu and Yuna laughed and Wakka and Tidus acted offended. "Ha ha Sir Auron. We gonna get you back one of these days so watch it!" Wakka joked.

Auron smirked at his friends. "That will be the day."

"You know Wakka I think it's time we put our heads together for this challenge." Tidus grinned.

"You got it brother!" Wakka and Tidus proceeded to do their cool guy hand shake.

"What was that!" Lulu laughed.

"Don't worry about it Lu, your not one of the cool guys," Tidus stated, "Neither is Auron just to let you know, since he obviously...hey, where did Auron go?"

The group looked around and shrugged.


While Tidus and Wakka were plotting Auron's downfall, Rikku had crept into the room. She tugged on Auron's arm and pulled him out of the room with her.

"Rikku is everything okay?"

She didn't answer, but she continued to lead him down the hallway. When she was sure they were out of earshot, she let him go.

"Auron I need you to do me a favor"

"What is it"

"I need you to come down here"

"Where Rikku?" Now he was confused.

She smiled. "To my level, down here. Bend a little please." He followed her instructions.

"Rikku what is-"

Auron never go to finish what he was going to say because Rikku kissed him. His eyebrows shot up farther than they ever had before. He didn't see that one coming. He recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around her. When he got a good grip on her, he stood back up to full height pulling her up with him. She was on the very tips of her toes, but she was being supported by Auron's body.

Rikku didn't let Auron's possessive hold distract her. She was kissing him. She was showing him how she felt. Not the other way around. She though she did a good job.

They had only been kissing for a few moments when Wakka came on the airship's intercom.

"Uh...Sir Auron, Rikku, wherever you guys are, we're here! Kimahri is waiting for us!"

Auron barely heard him. He was busy trying to figure out what was going on. Rikku was kissing him with such passion and dominance. He never expected this from her. He felt like she was trying to claim him. The worst part was, he liked it. He actually wanted to be hers.

Rikku pulled back and slid down his body, kissing his chin and neck on the way. "Auron we need to talk. Soon. Until then, just remember that kiss ok?"

Rikku smiled up at him and walked back to the main room. Auron smirked and shook his head in disbelief. He waited a few moments and followed her.

Auron found that his friends had already gotten off the ship and were waiting just outside. Kimahri and a few of his tribe had already joined them.

"Hey Kimahri! Guess what we found!" Yuna said in a sing-song voice.

Wakka handed his friend the case they won at the tournament.

"Ronso very grateful. Never forget favor" Kimahri smiled at them.

"Don't mention it!" Tidus beamed. He loved that Kimahri was happy.

Kimarhri offered his friends lodging again but Yuna gratefully declined.

"Thank you Kimarhri, but we really want to go home and rest. We will come back in a few days if that's ok with you."

"Kimarhi never tell Yuna no."

Everyone said their goodbyes and returned to the ship. The trip back to Besaid was pretty uneventful. Tidus decided he didn't want to fly after all and chose to spend time with Yuna. Wakka shook his head at his friend and only complained a little. Rikku decided she was going to fly so Lulu could have some time with Wakka.

Auron sat in the back of the room silently observing his friends. He saw Tidus and Yuna whispering back and forth. Whatever Tidus was saying caused Yuna to blush. Auron made a mental note to talk to him later. Across the room, he was surprised to see Lulu making Wakka blush. Auron rolled his eye and settled back to think about the talk he and Rikku were to have.

He needed to figure out how he was going to bring up what happened to her and what she wasn't telling him.

"Hey Auron come here!" Rikku called. Auron looked up and walked over to Rikku. He stood next to her pilot's chair and looked down at her.

"Come on take the wheel!"

"Rikku I can't fly this thing."

"You can too Auron, now sit." Rikku had scooted out of her chair and pulled Auron into it.

Auron stared at the controls and didn't attempt to touch anything. Rikku smiled and took his hands, placing them where they needed to go. She was knelling next to him, her face close to his. Her presence made him a little nervous. She slid her hands off of his and down his arm.

"See it's not hard Auron. All you have to do is try" she said very softly by his ear. Auron felt a shiver threaten to travel his spine. Ignore her Auron or you'll crash and kill us all.


They arrived in Besaid that night and were very glad to be home.

"All I want is my bed! My woman and my bed! And maybe a sandwich..." Wakka trailed off.

Lulu had been talking to Yuna when Wakka declared he wanted his woman. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her along as he mumbled about sandwiches. Lulu shrugged in embarrassment as Yuna laughed at her.

"I think Wakka is onto something Yuna" Tidus smiled at her.

"Don't even try it."

Auron and Rikku laughed. "Come on you guys! I'm so sleepy! Wakka is on to something with that bed idea!" Rikku said.

Yuna, Tidus and Auron followed Rikku as she bounded for the house.

"Oh it's so nice to be home! I could sleep for hours!" Yuna smiled as she stretched. Tidus grinned and picked her up by her waist.

"Ahhh! Tidus put me down!" She laughed as she hit him playfully on the back. Tidus told her to be quiet and walked to her room.

Rikku smiled and shook her head. "What are we going to do with those two?" she asked Auron.

Auron shrugged and sighed. "I don't know"

Rikku walked up to him and took his hands in hers. "Auron I'm going to take a shower. Will you be up after so we can talk?"

"Of course Rikku"

Rikku smiled as he kissed her cheek. She turned and went in search of hot water. Auron exhaled and decided a shower was a good idea. A nice cold shower. I have a feeling I'm going to need one.

It only took Auron ten minutes or so to shower and dress. He expected to have a few moments to himself before he saw Rikku, but when he came out of the bathroom Rikku was sitting on his bed.

He stopped and looked at her feeling a little uncomfortable. He was only wearing his black tank and black boxer shorts. He always had layers of clothes on around everyone he knew and he felt a little naked.

Rikku didn't seem to be concerned with his embarrassment. She smiled sweetly at him and motioned him to sit down with her. He slowly walked over to where she was and sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to look too hard at her. She was wearing a pale yellow tank top and short grey shorts. Her hair was wet and lose around her shoulders and he could smell her shampoo.

Rikku smiled at him again and sighed. "Auron are you gonna look at me?"

Auron didn't move.

She slid off the bed and landed on her knees in front of him. Auron looked down at her and waited for her to speak.

"Auron, I want to apologize. I know things haven't exactly been simple between us, ya know? I guess I really didn't help by being quiet about how I feel about Gippal. I should have told you everything that was going on, we should have talked sooner. But I'm ready now. Are you?"

Auron stared at her. "I am ready Rikku"

"Ok, where do we start?"

Auron thought for a second. "How do you feel about Gippal ?"

Rikku nodded. "I like Gippal, I do. We grew up together and I had a crush on him when I was younger. When he asked me out I was really excited. We kinda dated on and off but nothing too serious. When he came to Besaid, he told me he wanted to settle down with me. I should have been happy, but I wasn't. Somewhere along the way, I realized that being with Gippal is not what I want. I thought I did, but I think that's because that is what everyone expects ya know?"

She paused to take in Auron's reaction. He still had the same look on his face as he did when she started to talk.

"I don't want to be with him. It's gonna be hard to end things for good because I don't want to hurt him. The truth is that I want to be with you Auron."

That got one! Auron looked a little flushed and smirked.

"What about you Auron? What is it that you want?"

Auron looked at her started to talk quietly.

"Rikku, I'm not sure how to tell you everything. I was never good with words."

"Just tell me what you want me to hear! I'll listen" she smiled and took his hand.

Auron stood up and dropped her hand. He walked over to the window and looked out to the moonlight on the ocean. Rikku tilted her head as her eyes followed him. She sat back on the bed and waited for him to begin.

"Rikku when I came back to Spira, I didn't really know what to do with myself. I was fine on the Farplane, but for whatever reason I was sent back. I really enjoyed seeing everyone but I felt lonely. I didn't feel like I belonged."

He said this trying to hide his emotion and Rikku wanted very badly to go to him. She wanted to wrap him in her arms and make him feel like he belonged, but she knew he wasn't finished.

"Then there was you Rikku," Auron continued, "You came to me like I was an equal. You didn't treat me like Sir Auron. You treated me like me, or whoever I used to be. When you're with me, I feel like I'm alive and twenty-five again. I started to feel like I might have a place here. Then I saw you kissing Gippal. I got jealous Rikku. I never get jealous. I didn't want to be but I was. So many thing happened Rikku, but I never stopped having that feeling that you make me belong."

He was quiet for a moment. Rikku thought she could hear his heartbeat form her place on the bed.

"Rikku, when you died...I thought...I didn't..."

He tried to find the words to tell her. He didn't expect it to be so hard. As he looked out to the water, trying to form his sentence, he felt her small arms embrace him from behind. Rikku held him to her tightly and rested her head on his back. Auron took her arms and pulled them off of him.

Rikku looked up to protest, but found that Auron removed her arms so he could turn around in them. He was looking at her finally. He lifted her face to up his hand and smiled at her.

"Rikku," he whispered, "I am in love with you."

She continued to stare up at him her expression softening slightly.

"I didn't ever think I was meant to love someone and I was fine with that, until now. I least of all expected to fall in love with you Rikku but I did." Auron fell silent as he waited for her to speak.

Rikku placed her hand on Auron's cheek and sighed.

"Auron, I love you too" she told him.

Both of them smiled and started laughing with each other.

"I can't believe have hard that was! It only took us forever!" Rikku laughed.

Auron chuckled, still holding her tight. "Yes, it would have been simpler if we shared our feelings from the beginning."

"Well, we'll add that as one of your life lessons ok?" she beamed up at him.

Auron pulled her into a deep kiss feeling so relieved and happy. After a few moments, Rikku pulled away and looked up at him sleepily.

"I think we should get some sleep Rikku. I'll carry you to your room if want"

"Hmmm," Rikku sighed, " just carry me over there Auron" She pointed at the bed.

Auron raised an eyebrow but complied. He placed her gently on the bed and kissed her forehead. Rikku smiled and tugged on his arm, pulling him down to her.

"Auron, where are you going? Come here!"

Rikku tugged on his arm until he laid down next to her. He smiled and shook his head at her. He settled in next to her and pulled her close, resting his hand across her stomach.

Rikku actually was surprised he didn't put up more of a fight, but she was glad.

"Man your easy to get into bed!"

Auron chuckled and pulled his pillow out from under him so he had something to hit her with.


A/N: Ok people, next chapter is gonna be exciting because:

1. You get to read more about Auron and Rikku in bed!

2. Auron brings up Rikku coming back from the dead.

3. A familiar character pays the group a visit.

When? Hmm...sometime before Friday is all I can promise. Hopefully sooner than Friday but we will see:)