Emergency

Paramore

If you thought I'd leave, then you were wrong
Cause I won't stop holding on
So are you listening?
So are you watching me?

Rikku watched the pyreflies drift slowly through the air. One never flew the same as another she noticed. She could almost consider Zanarkand beautiful just because of the pyreflies. Only one problem standing in the way of that.

This is where Auron left her.

She didn't know if she could technically say that he "died" here since he was already dead. It made her feel better to say he "left her". If she said he died then it would make her too sad. A person can't help when they die. But if she said he left her, then she had the right to be angry. And Rikku does better with anger than sadness. So that's what she is right now. Angry. Not sad.

Rikku wasn't sure how long she'd been in Zanarkand. She hadn't been keeping count. However, she couldn't keep telling lies to herself. "It's only been a few days" turned into "I haven't been here more than two weeks". But... just how long had she been telling herself that one?

She didn't eat much these days, but her food supply was going down. That didn't concern her though. When she felt like leaving, she'd leave. But not a moment sooner.

As she continued to gaze at the pyreflies in front of her, she noticed they started to float together. The mass of pyreflies got bigger and bigger until they started to outline a form. A bright light came and forced Rikku to shield her eyes. When the brightness died down she peeked around her hands. She couldn't believe what she saw.

There before her stood the man that left her. The man that she unwillingly, yet unashamedly gave her heart to. He took a step towards her, and she pressed her back against the stone pillar. He hesitated before taking another step, apparently thinking something over. Soon he walked slowly towards her.

"N-no... You can't be real... Go away!"

He was close enough to reach out and touch her now. "Rikku..."

"No! Get away from me!" She hit his hand away and kept hitting at him until he grabbed her wrists and held them still.

"Rikku..." His voice sounded just as husky and firm as ever. Could this really be him?

"No... You're not real." She refused to meet his gaze. "You're just some stupid pyreflies playing tricks on me. Or... Or it really has been too long since I've eaten something. You're just a hallucination..."

His grip on her wrists tightened ever so slightly. "No I'm not, Rikku."

Rikku only shook her head in response mumbling the same things over and over, trying to convince herself that she was right.

"Rikku," he said, trying to get her attention. She still mumbled to herself, so he gently shook her wrists and tried again. "Rikku... Look at me, Rikku."

Slowly, she looked up at him with wide eyes. When she finally met his gaze her heart gave a hard, painful thump in her chest. It really was Auron. He was looking at her with so much care and compassion. She saw something else too, but she couldn't dare think it.

"Auron..." She felt herself fall back against the cold pillar. She rested her head against it. All the emotions running through her were almost too much to bear.

He released her wrists to bring her into an embrace. He was surprisingly very warm. She also noticed that he still smelled like Sake. Never did grow fond of the taste, but she would always love the smell. It took her a while to stop shaking, but when she did she looked up at him again and smiled weakly.

"You're really here?"

"I am."

Then she felt him brush his thumbs across her cheeks.

"What are you doing?" she asked, genuinely confused.

He gave her an odd look. "Tears don't belong on a smiling face."

"Wait.... Huh?"

This earned another odd look from Auron. "You're crying, Rikku."

"I am?" She reached up to touch her face. Yep, her cheeks were definitely wet. "Oh... I didn't notice I guess..." She looked down again.

"Rikku... Have you cried at all during the time that you were here?"

"I don't think so... No."

"Wrong."

She looked up at him, quickly. "What?"

"You've been crying ever since you got here."

Rikku strained her brain to try and remember... But she couldn't. She had been in a fog ever since she came to Zanarkand. Heck, she couldn't even remember how long she had been there. How was she supposed to remember if she was crying of all things?

"I... I guess I didn't notice." She played with her fingers while he kept his arms wrapped around her waist. It seemed like he was waiting for her to say something, but she couldn't think of anything to say. When that became evident, he spoke.

"Rikku, do you know how long you've been here?"

She continued to play with her fingers. How was she supposed to answer that? She didn't want him to think she was crazy. Who forgets how long they've been somewhere? She almost jumped when she felt one his hands cup her chin and tilt her face up so he could read her face.

"You don't, do you?"

She dropped her eyes to the side.

"Would you like me to tell you?"

She looked at him again. "You've been watching me?"

"Yes, Rikku, I have. I was the one making all the pyreflies dance around you. I thought it would make you smile."

She giggled. "You made the pyreflies dance? That doesn't really seem like a you thing to do."

He smiled down at her. "I did it for you, Rikku. Because I wanted to see this." He let his thumb brush against her smiling lips. It lingered there for a moment before he dropped his hands by his sides. "Why did you come here?"

Rikku's smile faded. In thought, she slid down the pillar and pulled her knees up in front of her. It was only a moment later when she felt Auron sit beside her.

"I... I missed you. I was okay after a while after... But then Tidus came back three months ago, and I just got to thinking if he could come back, why couldn't you? So after thinking about it for a while, I decided that this place would be my best bet."

"Five months."

"What?" Rikku tilted her head to look at him.

"Tidus came back five months ago. You've been here for two months."

She was stunned. Had it really been that long? She could only let out a choked "oh". Several moments passed before she thought of anything else to say.

"So... You're really back?"

He grunted in response.

"Why?"

"Do you not want me to be?"

"No! I-I really want you to be here!" Her face flushed as she noticed her loud tone. "I was just wondering.. why..."

He studied her for a while, then shifted so he could pull her small frame into his lap. Rikku's face turned very red at the gesture, but Auron didn't seem to mind. He put a hand on the side of her face.

"I came back for you, Rikku." The closeness of their faces and the huskiness of his whisper made her eyes roll back in her head.

"Wh-what?" She managed to refocus her gaze to meet his hard expression.

"I saw you come here, tears rolling down your face. I expected you to leave after a short amount of time... But you stayed. As time went on, I started trying little tricks with the pyreflies to try and make you smile. Weeks passed, and I realized nothing was working. You weren't going to leave. So... Well, you know what I did next."

"How did you...?"

He only looked at her.

"Right. You can't tell me..."

He grunted.

"So..." She made herself be bold enough to look up at him and put a hand on his cheek. "You came back... for me? To... be with me?" Those words were hard to choke out, but once she did she was very glad.

He smiled at her, took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. When they parted, they let their foreheads rest together.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Y-Yes..." She blushed again at how out of breath she was, and heard Auron chuckle.

"So... You'll come back with me then, Auron?" Rikku's eyes were hopeful.

"No."

Rikku frowned, her hope replaced with despair.

"Not yet, I mean." He smirked a little before kissing her again.

It took Rikku a minute before she realized what he meant. But when she did she giggled into the kiss.

Auron was back. He was coming home with her. And right now, that's all that really mattered to her.

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*gets on knees*

I am so sorry it took so long to get this out!! I just really havent' been in the mood to write. I had to force myself to do this chapter. I felt so rusty... So i hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think, of not just this chapter but all my chapters. It will give me the strength I need to crank out the last chapter!! :D

Thanks everyone!! *hugs*

^o^