Sorry this took so long, but thanks to those who are staying with me, especially Kathleen Dee and imagination 5. I promise to keep it going.
Chapter 6: An Evening by the Sea
The four women walked down the lavishly decorated hall of the 10th floor of the Luca Sunrise, conversation passing between them, although much of it was coming from Dona. Lulu walked a bit behind the rest, only responding when asked a question, but otherwise maintaining her pensive silence. The day had been fairly eventful. Rikku and Dona had established a strong rapport, which Lulu didn't particularly consider to be a positive thing. Perhaps she'd discuss that with the young woman later. She and Yuna had found sufficiently appropriate attire, although the newer Lucan fashions, which Rikku was bound and determined to foist upon them, were a bit less modest than she had remembered. She suspected that the collapse of Yevon had something to do with that.
She was tired and a bit irritable from being surrounded by so many people for such an extended period and was looking forward to retiring to her room for an hour or two to read. They were nearing the room now and she suddenly wondered how Wakka had done with Barthello for the past four hours. She did feel bad for having abandoned him with the stoically silent warrior, but he would survive.
The group reached the door and Yuna pushed it open only to be greeted by the sounds of yelling and screaming from within. On second thought maybe he wouldn't survive.
"What's going on, it sounds like they're killing each other!" Rikku yelled as everyone stepped inside. To everyone's relief and surprise as well, they found the two men watching the sphere and celebrating something they'd just seen. Dona made the first inquiry,
"What is going on?" Without even turning to look at her, Barthello said,
"Shhhh! They're in over time!" Dona, clearly not used to being shhhhed by anyone, especially Barthello continued to stand by the doorway in confounded silence.
"Blitzball," Yuna said with a smile as she walked up next to Dona. "You shouldn't take it personally, blitz is what kept everyone's hopes up for so many centuries after all." Dona sighed,
"You're right." They looked on at Barthello and Wakka as they focused on the screen and nothing else.
"I guess they found something in common then." Rikku said cheerfully.
After the game ended, the men had returned to their normal selves, which meant less bursts of yelling and moments of concentrated silence.
"So how was shopping, ya?" Wakka asked as he sat down to the table across from Lulu. She picked up a her cup of tea and looked into it's golden brown depths, her vague reflection looked back at her, pale skin and dark eyes.
"It was… interesting."
"So you hated it that much huh?" A light smile touched the corners of her mouth on the translucent surface.
"It wasn't so bad, although Rikku is growing a little too fond of Dona for my liking."
"You gotta be kidding me. She's already loud enough as it is."
"My thoughts exactly, I think I'll talk to her about it later."
"Yeah, you tell her Lu." He looked across the room at Dona and Rikku chatting away as they sat on the couches. "Gives me the creeps just thinkin' about those two bein' friends. There'd be no end to the talking!" he said with a shiver. Lulu took another sip of her tea, nodding.
"So, you get somethin' good for tonight?" Lulu looked back down into her cup, remembering the traumatizing experience.
"Not exactly. Lucan style has become surprisingly… uninhibited." She looked up to see a puzzled expression cross Wakka's face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Never mind, let's just say I had to settle for something that's not quite my style."
"Uh, ok." Wakka scratched the back of his head. He was still curious but he knew that when Lulu said "never mind" she meant it. To continue would be asking for trouble, so he decided to drop it.
"I see you and Barthello have gotten along." Wakka grinned.
"Heh, yeah. Turns out he's actually a pretty good guy, once you get him to talk." He remembered the comment about opposites attracting, "He's not as shallow as he looks, ya."
"I guess I underestimated him." The two continues to talk for a bit until Lulu and the other girls decided it was time to get ready.
"What we still have an hour till we're supposed to leave, ya!"
"Exactly, we're cutting it close as it is," Rikku shouted as she ran into the bathroom.
"I don't get girls, ya. It only takes me like five minutes."
"This takes time." Dona said striking a slight pose as she was walking to the door. "Excuse me, I'll be back by 8, try not to miss me too much while I'm gone." And with that she left the room followed by Barthello.
"Like I could ever miss her." Wakka muttered. Yuna sighed,
"You shouldn't say things like that Wakka. She really is a good person… Even if she does talk a lot." They both laughed and Yuna exited to her room. Lulu had already retreated to their room, leaving Wakka alone in the common room. He slumped his shoulders and looked around,
"Wonder what's on the sphere."
After a good amount of bustling between the bathroom and rooms in various states of undress, during which Wakka was exiled to the balcony. The girls were prepared and Rikku peaked around the curtained door to look at the slightly miffed Wakka who had been ready for half an hour now. He wore a form fitting yellow and orange vest that revealed his powerful arms with dark green pants and of course his fish necklace and blue headband, which held up his lengthy orange flip up.
"Ooh looking good! We might have to beat the girls away from you tonight!" Rikku teased, unleashing a wicked grin. "I see you stuck with flip up, though" Wakka crossed his arms. He was neither in the mood for flattery nor mockery after his excessive time stuck outside.
"Yeah well, it's what the lady at the store picked out so I don't really care. What took so long, ya!" Despite Wakka's temper Rikku maintained her exuberant demeanor.
"Believe me, it was worth the wait. Prepare to be shocked and amazed."
"Whatever, just let me inside, ya." He grabbed the door to pull it open, but Rikku held it firmly shut.
"Hey, not so fast! We have to do this properly."
"What are you talkin' about."
"I'm going to present the ladies one at a time."
"Give me a break."
"Ok, I'm going to close the door and only open it after ten seconds." Wakka gave her an exasperated look.
"Just let me inside, ya. I've been at here long enough." He reached for the door, but Rikku slammed it shut and yelled,
"Ten seconds!"
"You gotta' be kidding me. Might as well do what she says. She already punched me in the stomach who knows what she'll do if I ruin her fashion show." He waited the allotted time and finally pulled open the door not know what to expect. To his surprise the elegantly decorated room was empty.
"Ok, what's goin' on." He heard conversation coming from Yuna and Rikku's room.
"Rikku this is ridiculous. It's bad enough that I have to wear this dress but I certainly don't think it's necessary to show it off."
"Lulu come on! You said you would!"
"I just said that so you would stop nagging me."
"Um, Rikku, I'm not sure I want to do this either."
"You guys are being no fun!"
At that moment there was a nock at the front door. Must be Dona and Barthello.
"Wakka can you get that."
"I'm on it." He walked to the door and opened it to find Jassu and Botta, dressed in similar Lucan attire too his own. "Hey boy's! Didn't expect you so soon."
"Didn't want to keep our cap'n waitin', ya" Jassu said, giving Wakka a punch to the arm.
"Yeah, last time I was late to practice you made me swim 5 laps around the entire island." Wakka laughed, remembering his harsh punishments.
"Good point, wouldn't want to have to make you go swimming in your new clothes."
"Speaking of which, you're lookin' pretty sharp there, ya! Tryin' to impress anyone in particular?" Jassu said, nudging Wakka in the ribs. He laughed nervously,
"Nope, I didn't really pick it out, heh." He hadn't really noticed it because he was used to wearing few clothes when he went swimming at Besaid, but his outfit did show off a little more than he would have liked in public.
"You guys are lookin' pretty good to, ya." Jassu smiled,
"Yeah, I think Botta here's tryin' to impress someone himself." The red headed man blushed a bit and smiled.
"Eh, I don't know what he's talkin' about cap'n." Wakka was intrigued but before he could inquire, Rikku came bursting out of the bedroom.
"Ok I'm going first because they're too chicken!" The little Al Bhed girl stopped short upon seeing the two blitzers standing by the entrance. Her bright green eyes widened in shock,
"Oh.. uh. Didn't know you guys were coming." All three men stared in wonder at Rikku, who was currently looking significantly older than 17. Apparently everyone had lost the ability to speak at this point as a somewhat awkward silence ensued.
"That's it Rikku, I've had enough of these games." Lulu came storming into the room behind Rikku to see what was going on. The Wakka, Jassu and Botta were stunned all over again, to an even greater extent at this point.
Wakka in particular couldn't believe what he was seeing. The black mage wore a dark crimson, corseted dress that came just up to her chest and opened a bit at the top revealing a considerable amount of cleavage. Black and red sleeves extended down her arms and a black shawl with white lace hung across her alabaster shoulders. All in all she looked absolutely stunning and the three men stared shamelessly at her.
Lulu only slightly revealed her chagrin at being eaten up by their eyes, rapidly growing tired of it. She let out an impatient sigh,
"Well, I know this is all very shocking, but can you at least pretend not to stare?" Wakka, Jassu and Botta immediately began looking in other directions, suddenly becoming very interested in random objects around the room.
"You uh… look really nice Lu." Wakka stammered out with a tremendous effort. Lulu relinquished her harsh disposition in response to his effort to act normally.
"Thank you Wakka, you look very handsome yourself." He grinned like a fool,
"Oh, ah thanks, ya." The awkward silence resumed, Rikku still recovering from her visual overload. Then Wakka remembered,
"Hey, where's Yuna?"
"Oh…uh, I'm coming." She came out of the room looking a bit uncomfortable in her short indigo skirt and whit and pink sleeveless vest, her hair up so as to reveal her shocking dichromatic eyes more freely. Suddenly her anxiety melted away however, upon seeing Jassu and Botta.
"Oh, Botta, Jassu! I didn't know you two would be here!" She ran over and hugged each one in turn. "How have you been?"
Botta smiled brightly, replying,
"We been great, ya. How you been?"
"I've been fine. Luca is so much more crowded than I ever remember seeing it before, not even during the Yevon cup. It seems like all of Spira has come here."
"Yeah it's a big party and everyone's invited!" Rikku interjected, (not surprisingly.) "Well I know I'm ready! Let's get going." After Dona and Barthello arrived, that's what they did, Dona leading the way down the crowded streets toward the waterfront.
Soon the buildings gave way to the ocean beyond and they walked out on the brightly lit ocean side promenade. A soft humid breeze blew off the sparkling water, the lights of the moon and of Luca competing for control of the glittering display. The air smelled of salt and was filled with the sounds of people and music that emanated from the various bars and clubs that lined the street.
"Hey this is pretty cool, ya." Wakka said to Lulu. She looked around with her keen crimson eyes.
"It has its charm."
"Come on, lighten up Lu, this is gonna be fun." They continued walking until they came upon a club, the name displayed in sleek blue letters simply read, Blizzara. White and blue lights spilled out from the entrance where a line of hopeful club goers stood waiting. Dona marched confidently past the line to the bulky man who stood at by the door.
"So how's about you let us have a good time." She said. The guard stood little chance against her nearly scandalous outfit.
"Uh sure go right ahead." He stood back and his eyes widened as the party began filing through the door. "Hey you're high summoner Yuna! And her guardians!" Yuna stopped and gave him a smile.
"Yes, thank you so much for letting us in."
"Anything for the high summoner." He gave her a deferential bow as she continued on, the surrounding crowd also looking on in awe at this realization.
"This is going to be a long night." Lulu murmured to Wakka. He smiled and the two entered last. Vibrant blue lights shown down for the high vaulted ceiling of the club illuminating the dancers in the middle of the room. The powerful base of the music pervaded the atmosphere as well as the garble of conversation.
They began cutting through the crowds, Barthello plowing a path like usual and the rest following after. Faces pushed in and out of Wakka's view as they weaved by. Lulu, walking next to him, seemed so small amongst the jostling groups of people. Instinctively, he moved closer to her to make sure she didn't get touched. He looked down at her, the lights played across one side of her implacable face, the other side hidden by her raven colored bangs, while her braids streamed behind her like and inky waterfall. His eyes moved slowly down to the protracted v opening of her dress that extended down to her midriff, the flawless pale skin tantalizingly exposed to the light.
"Wakka." He snapped his eyes back up to her face to find himself staring into one powerful crimson eye.
"What exactly are you looking at?" The lights masked the deep shade of red his face had turned, but he couldn't hide the shocked expression he wore.
"Oh, uh, you got a new necklace, ya?" She looked down at her chest to see the same violet stones that she had worn all her life. Her eyes flicked back up to his; she made no reply. He gave a nervous laugh,
"Guess the light made it look different, ya." She shook her head and turned to look straight ahead again.
The group found to round table to sit at and all took a seat, Wakka still embarrassed sat at the other table to avoid more glares from Lulu. He found himself in the company of Rikku, Bathello and Dona, while Yuns, Lulu, Jassu and Botta sat at the other table.
"So, shall we get drinks?" Dona raised hand in the air and motioned over a young waiter who stood by the bar. Wakka doubted whether he was actually supposed to be serving their tables specifically, but apparently at the sight of Dona he felt he had little choice. He stumbled through the crowd and came to stand before them.
"We'll have a round of Kilika Sands, that table too." The waiter looked a bit dumbfounded and was about to say something but then gave up,
"Uh… yes ma'am," and walked off.
"What's a Kilika Sand?" Rikku asked, excited to be getting things started so quickly.
"It's a Kilika specialty, very delicious," she replied, "and very intoxicating," she whisper to Wakka behind her hand. He wasn't really sure what to make of that, but sat back to wait and see. He glanced over at Lulu's table, Botta seemed to be having an animated conversation with Yuna, who was laughing quite a bit, while Jassu seemed to be making a comment to Lulu who nodded in reply.
Wakka knew Jassu's reputation with the lady's and was therefore a bit wary of what he might be saying to her. Of course he knew Lulu was capable of taking care of herself and much to smart for any pick-up lines he might try on her, not to mentioned they'd all been friends for years in Besaid, but it still bothered him.
"Hey Wakka, the party's over here," Rikku waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention. "Stop spacing out and have some fun. This place is so cool isn't it?"
"Yeah it is. I've never been to a club in Luca before."
"You serious? You have to come here all the time for blitzball, how could you not have gone out at least once?"
"Like you said, I was here for blitz, no time for foolin' around, ya"
"I can't believe you. You need to loosen up sometime, you know."
"Hey I have fun."
"Doing what? Practicing blitzball?" He paused for a moment, almost saying yes. "See! I'm going to make you have a good time and that's a promise." Rikku gave him her infectious smile and then looked across the table, "Ooh and here are our drinks." The waiter slid ornately carved glasses filled with a blood red liquid in front of each person.
"Enjoy."
"Thanks," Rikku said unleashing yet another huge grin. The young blond haired man smiled back and turned to walk back toward the bar only to stumble over a chair and almost drop his serving tray Rikku giggled and picked up her drink. She took a sip as did everyone else.
"This is so good!" Wakka had to agree, the fruity beverage tasted like nothing he had ever had before.
"I told you, aren't you glad you came with us, Barthello and I know how to have a good time, don't we Barthello." The big man smiled and nodded, taking huge gulp from his drink.
In a few moments, Rikku had finished her first one and waved over to the young waiter who she had now decided was rather cute.
"You think you can get me another one of these?"
"Of course," he said smiling, and began to turn.
"Hey, what's your name?" Rikku shouted across the table too him. Wakka suspected that the alcohol was already started to go to her head, she wasn't exactly a heavy-weight after all.
"Oh, uh, it's Kyle."
"I'm Rikku, it's nice to meet you."
"Yeah, you too." He stood there for a moment longer until Dona snapped him out of it,
"I'll have another as well,"
"Oh, right," he turned to go only to have Dona call him back again,
"On second thought just bring another round,"
"Ok then," Kyle marched off to the bar again, even more clumsily this time, if that was possible, a huge smile plastered on his face.
"You don't waste time, huh?" Wakka said leaning over to Rikku.
"You gotta live in the moment, brudda.," she answered in a passable imitation of himself. He chuckled a bit and looked out at the dance floor.
"See any girls around here that strike your fancy?" He turned back to Rikku a bit surprised by the question,
"Uh, I don't know,"
"You don't know? What's that supposed to mean?" Wakka tried hard not to look over ar Lulu at this point, denying a thought that suddenly crossed his mind.
"I…uh… I just hadn't noticed, ya."
"Hmm, well I'll notice for you then." Rikku began scanning the room then nudge him in the ribs,
"Hey what about those girls over there?" she nodded her head in the direction of the bar where a group of three Lucan girls stood talking to eachother. He had to admit, they were pretty.
"Come on Rikku, I couldn't get those kinds of girls," he said, hoping to convince her to stop this nonsense.
"Wanna bet? Look again." He looked back over to see one of the women, a tall elegantly dressed lady, look over her shoulder at him. She had stunning green eyes that contrasted intensely with her vivid red hair, which was pulled back into a single long plait that fell down to the small of her back. Her form fitting emerald colored dress opened at the back, exposing her milky white skin to the bluish glow of the lights.
The moment their eyes met she turned her head back to her group who immediately began laughing.
"What so you say to that!" Wakka was at a loss for words at the moment and could only just manage a responsive grunt. At that moment Kyle retuned with their second round and began placing them on the table. Rikku leaned across the table and beckoned him to come over to her, a devilish grin on her face. Unsure what to expect the young man nervously moved around the table too her. Too his, and everyone else's surprise, she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to her level so she could whisper in his ear.
After a moment she let go so that he could stand up properly. You would have thought he'd just one the lottery by the expression that he wore, but after a moment he composed himself and looked over to the bar and back at Rikku.
"Go on, hurry up/"
"Right," Kyle took off back to the bar yet again. Wakka glared at her, suspicion in his eyes.
"Rikku, what did you say to him?"
"Oh, nothing. A little of this, a little of that, you know."
"No I don't know. What is going on, ya."
"Patience Wakka, good things come to those who wait."
"Says the girls who can't asks out the waiter within the first five minutes of meeting him," he said crossing his arms.
"Hey, I just asked him his name is all," she replied indignantly. "Believe me this for your own good." He gave her another consternated look.
"What's for my own good, ya?" He was sting forward in his seat now, genuinely concerned about what Rikku was up to.
"Ok fine, see for yourself," she said as she pointed at the bar. At this point Dona and Barthello were intrigued as well and the entire table followed the direction in which Rikku's finger pointed to where Kyle was approaching the group of three women carrying a Kilika Sand. Wakka was mortified when the waiter held the drink out to the red haired woman and pointed in his direction. She accepted the drink and turned to look at him again, this time a slight smile spread across her lips.
She raised the glass to him and upon being jabbed in the ribs by Rikku lifted his glass in return. The woman then slowly turned back to her group, all three of them talking very quickly. Once he was certain she was no longer look he turned on Rikku.
"Why'd you do that, ya! I don't even know if I like her or not."
"And that's why you're going to find out." He put his hand to his forehead,
"I can't believe this is happening, ya."
"Suck it up you big baby, this is your chance to meet someone! And let's be honest, you're not getting any younger."
"What's that supposed to mean, I'm only 24, ya. Got plenty of time left."
"You're 24 and still haven't met anyone?" Dona asked only realizing to late how cruel that actually sounded. "I mean, it's wonderful that you're so… independent." It was a sloppy recovery but she had few qualms about being rude. Wakka was surprised she even made the effort.
He though about it for a moment. It was true, he had never had a serious relationship in his entire life. It'd never occurred to him before. Between blitzball, and being a guardian for two pilgrimages, he'd never really gotten a chance to meet very many people.
"Huh, I guess you're right. It is kinda sad."
"Oh come on Wakka, cheer up, this is your big chance." He wasn't exactly in the mood at all at this point, having just realized his complete lack of a romantic life up too this point. He continued brooding on the matter, all the while sipping on his drink.
For the next half hour he sat at his seat ordering a new drink every now and then, thinking about what could have gone wrong. He looked over at the other table to discover that all four occupants had mysteriously disappeared. He quickly looked glanced around the club but couldn't find them anywhere. He hadn't thought Lulu and Yuna would just leave like that without saying anything but so they had. Dona and Barthello had gone off to the other side of the club, presumably to dance and Rikku had struck up a lively conversation with her waiter friend by the bar.
He jumped up, confused at how everyone could have left without him noticing only to collapse back to his seat upon realizing that the room was spinning like a top. He hadn't even had that much to drink, what was going on. That's when he noticed the ten empty glasses that were strewn before him on the table. Guess I did drink a bit more than I'd thought, ya.
Wakka had nearly regained his composure when he suddenly noticed someone pulling up a chair next to him and sitting down. He had expected Rikku but instead found himself looking upon the beautiful mystery woman he'd inadvertently courted a little while ago. His heart skipped a beat and his stomach suddenly became home to all the butterflies of the world.
"I was afraid you'd never come talk to me, so I decided I'd give you no choice in the matter." She gave him a reserved smile that mostly showed in her mesmerizing jade eyes.
"Good things you didn't cause I don't know how I'd be able to walk over there in the first place, ya." Her eyes lit up immediately,
"You have the most interesting accent. You must be from Besaid."
"That's right,"
"And I can see that you've been hard at work here," she said regarding the extensive selection of glasses and bottles laid out before them. "I suppose you must have quite a high tolerance."
"I don't know 'bout that. We'll find out when I try to walk home, ya." They both laughed. Wakka was surprised at how easily he was talking with her, although the alcohol was making it considerably easier.
"So what's your name?" She asked sitting back in her chair, her hands resting lightly on her knee. It was a strange thing to notice but she had incredible posture. It seemed to Wakka that she was incredibly refined, perhaps to much so to be interested in him.
"Uh, I'm Wakka,"
"I can't believe I hadn't noticed before, you're Sir Wakka, High Summoner Yuna's guardian, and," she added with a slight chuckle, "newly appointed sky wyrm avenger, if I'm not mistaken." He laughed,
"Heh, yeah that's me alright, sky wyrm avenger. It's a pretty goofy name, ya. But I'll take what I can get."
"Indeed."
"Oh and what's your name?"
"I'm Saphire,"
"Sapphire, huh?" He paused in through for a moment, regarding her red hair. "Hey, but sapphires are blue, ya." Suddenly realized how rude that sounded. "Oh, uh I mean…" She raised her chin and laughed.
"No no, it's quite alright. That's actually very astute of you, most people don't even notice the irony of my name." Wakka laughed, mostly out of relief. "I can't be sure why exactly I was named Sapphire, perhaps it was meant to be paradox." At this point Wakka was convinced that she was way to smart for him. Paradox? Irony?
"Hah, yeah. So where you from? Not from 'round here I think." He was even becoming self conscious of his colloquial accent, which he instantly gave up trying to mask due to his drunkenness.
"I come from Bevelle. I'm here in Luca on business. My friends convinced me to come out with them tonight even though I insisted that I should be focusing on my work." She smiled briefly and then looked out at the dance floor, "Although I'm glad they did." Wakka almost missed the significance of her comment and grinned foolishly when he caught it. She looked back at him, a curious look in her keen eyes,
"So, you defeated Sin." She laughed a bit, "I never thought I'd be saying that to anyone." Wakka smiled,
"Yeah, it wasn't all that bad. Just blew a few holes in it and beat him from 'de inside out, ya." At this point he was becoming a bit animated with his fighting gestures and nearly knocked a glass over. Sapphire grabbed the endangered glass and placed it on the other side of the table, a small smile touched her lips.
"I just want to say, thank you so much for what you and your people did. You had to sacrifice so much to achieve the impossible and all of Spira is forever in your debt." Wakka was a bit thrown off by these sobering words, (no pun intended) and rather moved by them.
"You know, of all the people who've crowded Yuna and the rest of us to talk to us, I don't think any of them have actually recognized how much we lost in the fight." He remembered all the Al Bhed and Ronso that died for them and of course Tidus and Auron, the two people who'd been the ones who ultimately led them to fight sin without the final Aeon and saved Yuna's life. He looked into her eyes,
"Thanks, ya." She tilted her head to the side, sympathy etched in her features.
"You truly are a good person." She leaned forward and placed her smooth pale hand to rest on top of his rough tan one. He looked down at the contrast between the hands and the shock of the contact. Sapphire noticed his apparent chagrin and began to pull it away.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" He gently grabbed her hand and held it still.
"No, it's ok, ya." They remained that way for a few moments and then their hands separated slowly. Wakka wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or what but he suddenly had an idea.
"Hey, do you want to go somewhere with me?" For a moment she looked at him a bit shocked. He laughed, Not like that, get your mind out o' the gutter, ya," he teased. "I want to show you something." She laughed in turn and then looked around at the flashing blue chaos that surrounded them. Her friends didn't seem to be anywhere in sight nor did Wakka's for that matter. He stood up and held out his hand,
"Well?" She smiled.
"Why not." She took his hand and he pulled her up with ease. He lead her out of the club to the cooler air of the promenade. Wakka breathed deeply and sighed.
"Now this is where I belong, outside, ya."
"I have to agree. Large crowds aren't to my liking either." He looked at her, in the brighter lights of the streetlamps she looked even more stunning with her shock of red hair and high cheekbones which made her look almost like some sort of goddess. They walked down the street, Wakka expanding upon the battle with Sin and their adventures on the pilgrimage, Sapphire being very interested to here the details. Soon they'd arrived at the blitzball stadium, which was utterly silent and dark at this time of night.
"What are we doing here?" Sapphire asked as she peered up at the massive, looming structure, its towering walls and spires shinning in the light of the moon.
"You'll see, ya" They walked past the main entrance to a side door by one of the piers that was unlocked. He opened it and motioned for her to enter.
"How did you know this would be open?" she asked in wonder, her silky skin almost luminescent in the light of the moon.
"I've practically lived at this stadium for my whole life, ya. There's tons o' secrets that only us blitzers know." He gave her a sly grin, which she returned as she went through. They climbed a series of steps and passages until they emerged in the seating area of the stadium.
"What now?"
"We keep climbin', ya." He said mysteriously, pointing up to the wall. They reached the top of the seating area in the nose bleed section and then, as if by magic, he produced another secret door from the back wall.
"I think you know a little too much about this stadium," she said laughing as she went through. They climbed up a spiraling staircase until they came out to the top of the wall. Wakka exited the stairwell first, climbing out into the fresh night air, and helped Sapphire climb out as well.
"Aeons!" Sapphire gasped as she beheld a breathtaking view of the ocean and city, spread out under the star strewn sky. Lights danced everywhere, from the streets of Luca, to the rippled on the water to the jewel encrusted heavens above.
"I used to come out here to think, when I was stayin' here during tournaments." Wakka said as he stared off into the distance. "It reminds me of how the world is like one big sphere 'cause all the lights just surround you on all sides. Just… goes on forever, ya." Sapphire looked out into the endless expanse of stars and ocean, the horizon barely distinguishable.
"It's beautiful,"
"Like you," Wakka hadn't meant to say that and was extremely surprised when he realized he had. He turned to Sapphire to find her looking up at him. The lights colorful lights from the city played on one side of her face while the other side glowed like freshly fallen snow. She stepped closer to him, keeping her jade eyes fixed on his. Wakka wasn't sure what he was doing but the next moment he had moved closer to her so that he could feel the heat of her body against his skin. She reached up and touched his face, moving her soft hand across his cheek and prickly stubble on his chin. He closed his eyes against warm touch, letting the feeling wash through his body.
Opening eyes again he slid his hands across her back and drawing her closer into a kiss. Her lips melted against his and in a moment nothing else in the world mattered. The stars shone above and the ocean glittered below and the two strangers were locked in between.
So who saw that coming? Please don't get too mad at me for Wakka's infidelity, I'm sure things are going to change around eventually. I'm going to try to get the next one out as soon as I can but I do have four papers to write before break so I'm a bit swamped. Thanks again and please R&R.