Trials and Tribulations

Chapter Two: The Night of; the Morning After

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X, nor any of the characters there within.

Wakka awoke to the sounds of soft crying. He rolled over onto his side and clumsily switched on the mechanically powered lantern, too tired to be grumpy about its mechanical origin. The room was dimly lit and he gathered his orientation about him before his eyes fell on the woman beside him. She had rolled to face him in the course of the night, her hair falling somewhat into her face, obscuring nearly half of it to him. One hand had slipped beneath her pillow, while the other lay open, palm up to him. Upon closer study of her face behind curtains of hair, he felt a shock. Lulu was indeed crying, although the sound was muffled. Wakka did not know what to do; waking her would surely bring him nothing but trouble, but leaving her in such a distressed state was not a brilliant idea either. He paused for a moment when soft murmurings tumbled from Lulu's lips.

"N-no…Chappu…don't go…"

Wakka's breath caught in his constricted chest. Her words unsettled Wakka, how many nights had Lulu endured like this?

"No…Sin!" she whimpered in pain and unfathomable sorrow. Wakka could not stand it any longer, he gently shook the mage's shoulder. Anything to break her out of the nightmare she was trapped in.

"Lu!" He shook her a little more firmly, but there was no response. He bit his lip, steeling himself for his next move. He rolled her back onto her shoulder blades. A tremble erupted over him; their bodies were so close, his face was hovering over hers. "L-Lu! Wake up!"

The black mage's eyes flew open; she was breathing hard as though she had been running. Had she been running in her dream? For what? From what?

At last her eyes fluttered open at Wakka's gentle but persistant urges; crimson gaze dazed in confusion and disorientation.

"Chappu?" she whispered, gazing up at him. Wakka felt his heart sink; in remorse for Lulu's suffering, for the loss of his brother, for her not recognizing him. "No, Wakka." She numbly corrected herself, her crimson eyes had all but lost their fire; blurred by unspent tears.

"Yeah Lu, you're safe. I'm here." He breathed, relieved she had not flung a water spell into his face right then and there. Lulu appeared to begin to break down again.

"Wakka, you're alive! Sin—your brother—it all happened so fast." Wakka could see the tears shimmering on her pale cheeks. "So fast!"

"It's all right, Lu!" he said soothingly. "I'm here, no worries, ya?" He pulled her into his embrace, which she did not resist.

Her slender shoulders shook, as still the bitter, salty discharge slipped from her eyes. Wakka held her and spoke sweet words in effort to calm her and it appeared to be working; her body shook less and the tears had all but stopped. She had finally fallen back into an uneasy slumber. Wakka could not believe how shaken up Lulu had been and his own fear she had borne in him because of the unnatural disturbance in her behavior. The usually so calm and poised mage, broken down before him like a child—it worried him. Of course, what concerned him now was how she would react in the morning; though he dared not to let her go, lest she crumble away to nothing our of his arms.

Despite her unusual outburst, it felt nice to be so close to her, to make contact with the usually cold and surly mage whom shelled herself off from the world; from a world of hurt, a world of pain. She was soft and malleable, something one would not expect from the stern and rigid mage. She was warm within his arms (perhaps more so because of the nightmare she had just experienced) and he hugged her gently to him. Her forehead pressed against his chest and there was moisture on her cheeks. Wakka's heart tore for her.

He had ignored his feelings for her out of respect for his little brother, who seemed to be the only one who could melt Lulu's carefully constructed walls. Chappu had poked fun at Lulu's being grumpy, but truly, Wakka had never seen her be more comfortable and relaxed; so contented.

The village spoke of the boy who had melted the pale, dark-haired girl's heart, for word spread fast in a small village (everyone is family). The couple had been a popular story for a good long time and Wakka had tried his best to shrug off his growing feelings of affection for the girl his brother loved. Chappu may not have noticed, but when the brother's practiced, Wakka would try to outshine his little brother, for every once and awhile, the girls from the village would watch them train and Lulu would be among them. Chappu, however, greatly excelled in the sport compared to his older brother—usually leaving Wakka either behind or in a pinch to nab the ball. Knowing Lulu was watching made Wakka clumsy. Even so, at the end of the day they would all walk back together; Yuna, Lulu, Wakka and Chappu (Wakka usually had butterflies in his stomach the whole time). Make no mistake, all three of them adored Yuna, she was a sweet and innocent little girl, but when it came to love interest, the brother's were both attracted to Lulu. Lulu, however, was only attracted to Chappu, leaving Wakka to struggle with his feelings. Still, their childhood days had been a great time.

But once his brother was taken by Sin, and though he mourned his brother, he could no longer deflect his feelings for Lulu. And she in retrospect, fell into herself, steeled her emotions, and shelled herself from the world. Though he had offered it, Lulu had brusquely renounced nearly every offer of affection, claiming never to let love hurt her so deeply again. He had accepted the mage's words, but he could not qualm the seizing grip of love every time he saw her. He remained hopeful that her broken heart would mend, it would only take time.

If only she would smile more.

Wakka stifled a rather large yawn into his pillow and settled back down, slipping back into his own uneasy slumber, trying not to think of the morning, and only this moment. Perhaps for now, this would be enough.

Confusion came on swift wings that morning when Lulu found she was unable to move. Odd. She tried to move her legs and her knees knocked into something; her arms in an awkward position; pressed against something hard. The wall? What wall?

The next sequence of thoughts seared through Lulu like a thundara spell. Macalania, the travel agency, the argument over the rooms, the bed—Wakka!

Her crimson eyes flew open in an instant, her body tensed to what she would find. Smooth, bronze skin hovered before her, so close that her eyelashes easily brushed it. As sensation was returned to her after the gripping paralysis of sleep, she could feel that the entire length of her body was pressed against the muscular form of the former blitzball captain. A startled shriek caught in her throat. Every curve, every chiseled muscle pressed against her body and she was thrust into a panic. Endowed with a sudden, fearsome strength, she thrashed and shoved to get away, to have her own personal space restored; to return to her carefully perfected shell from a world of vulnerability.

The vigorous movement startled the red haired man from his own peaceful slumber into a confused waking reality. When Wakka opened his eyes, he wished he had never done so and just played dead, for now he would surely join them.

What first met his eyes was Lulu, out of bed, one hand over her heart, the other hand held out, palm open, fingers splayed—the position for a spell; her long raven hair falling over one shoulder, leaving the other exposed. Her expression was one of shock and rage. Even in her disheveled state, Wakka could not overlook her beauty.

The tense moment of stillness seemed to last an eternity before they both spoke at once.

-"Now come on Lu, don't do anything crazy—"

-"If you did anything, Wakka, so help me—"

-"You know I wouldn't have the guts to do that sorta thing—"

-"I would freeze you in a block of ice, then bury you alive!"

"You're imagining things, Lu!" Wakka pleaded, begging to be spared the mage's wrath.

"I did not imagine that just now, Wakka!"

"Please Lu! You don't remember what happened last night?"

"Get out!"

Wakka scrambled backward, falling head over heels over the bed. The mage was not moved by his plight and maneuvered swiftly to the side of the bed he had fallen from, her crimson eyes furious as she prepared a fira spell.

With a redoubled effort, Wakka leapt onto his feet and swung for the door, slipping again to the ground as the door swung open. Fire roared over his head where he had been standing only a moment before. Rolling out of the room, Wakka scrambled to his feet as a thundara spell scorched the ground behind him.

"Whoa!"

The door slammed shut behind him with a loud band. Wakka sighed, pushing himself to stand and dusting off his pants. The door opened again a split second later and Wakka barely had time to take cover as his shirt came flying into his face. Again the door slammed with the same solemn bang of the first. Several heads poked out of the doors to the many rooms down the hall. Embarrassment caused Wakka's cheeks to flush. He nervously crammed his shirt into a ball and placed it at his hip, like one of his many, many blitzballs.

"I snore too loud, ya? Kept her from sleeping. I hope you will forgive me." Wakka bowed politely to the patrons. There were glances exchanged in which several tenants seemed not to believe his story, but for the apology, they returned to their rooms. However, a blonde haired boy and brunette haired girl stayed outside of the room.

Tidus was holding back a laugh.

"So Wakka," he asked when the red head came closer, "did you make like a blitzball captain and score?"

Wakka took the humor in it. Yuna appeared confused by the question.

"Not even close, I wouldn't be talking to you now if I had done that, ya?" Wakka laughed hollowly.

Yuna gazed down the hallway to the room Wakka had just been unceremoniously kicked out of.

"Excuse me." Yuna said softly, making her way to the door. She inhaled softly, preparing herself before she knocked. "Lulu?" she called gently. There was no answer, only frustrated silence. Yuna knocked a little louder. "Lulu?" Still no answer. Yuna understood that Lulu was giving anyone who came to her door the silent treatment; but Yuna knew Lulu and when the older woman was silent most, Yuna was needed most and could make amends.

Author's Note: Will Yuna be able to help? I certainly hope so! Poor Wakka, he got shunted out of the room pretty fast and he wasn't even properly dressed! I suppose Lulu is so good at hiding her emotions that she tends to forget those times when she let's her guard down...

Gosh, I made Tidus so corny in this chapter. My humblest of apologies, it just seemed like something Tidus would say at the time.

I actually got a little carried away with the backstory there, but it was fun to write nonetheless! I figure this will probably be the only story I can incorporate a backstory (unless I do yet another Wakka/Lulu/Chappu story...err, unlikely, much as I love them).

So yes, expect some Lulu and Yuna interaction in the next chapter (there might actually be four, five, or even six chapters! Idea's just keep coming to me!) as well as some Lulu and Auron interaction, finally!

Thanks to ALL who reviewed my story on the first go--it is deeply appreciated and it spurs me to continuously belt these out. I hope you all will keep reading and reviewing!

Blackfire 18