A/N: Read on...
As far as pilgrimages go, Auron was pretty sure that the pilgrimage of Lady Yuna would be remembered as a difficult one by everyone who cared to look. Most of Spira simply held the summoner and her guardians as heroes, unscathed bringers of the calm, but the people involved saw the difficulties of the trip.
Auron watched his best friends daughter fall in love for the first time with the boy he raised for ten years. Both were very aware of their own bleak fates, but hid it from each other in some attempt of having a normal relationship. When they finally learned of what was to happen to the other, the silence shifted and became an attempt at letting the other person have one last great memory before the end.
The warrior sighed to himself knowing that the two lovers were going to be parted soon regardless if they found a way to defeat Sin or not. Tidus was an illusion of a person long ago dead. A dream of the fayth that Yuna would ultimately have to say good bye to. He wouldn't have to worry about it for too long since he had to say good bye soon himself. He looked out over the landscape from his seat high on the airship deck. He welcomed the silence and waited for the person that was inevitable going to come find him when another crisis arose.
Minutes, maybe hours passed when the person showed up. Yuna or Tidus wouldn't have come. They had little time to spend together now. Neither Lulu nor Wakka was speaking to him right now and Kimahri hated the elevators, so naturally his ally had appeared.
"Hey" she said wearily, sitting down next to him and relaxing her tired body against his. He allowed her to lean on his body as he always did and glanced over to the top of her blonde head.
"It is cold up here" he commented, always concerned about her lack of clothing.
"It's warm wherever you are" she said softly. Auron barely heard her and felt his heart tighten for her. So much had happened between the time they had met at the Moonflow and this moment. She had become the object of his affection much to his shock. He protected her always, sometimes more than his summoner. Yuna had Tidus now, but Rikku had no one.
"Did anyone say anything to you?" he asked her quietly. He felt her body tense and she shook her head against his arm. He frowned that he had to even ask that question. Rikku had been a victim to Yevon many times during the pilgrimage. It was nothing that Auron couldn't protect her from, a glare here, a refusal to allow her in the temple there.
But she had been betrayed. One of her own had turned her in to Yevon. A man she had called her friend, one she had grown up with. He apparently disapproved of her involvement with the pilgrimage and tipped off the Yevon group hunting for the summoner and her guardians. Rikku had been captured, but thankfully Auron had gotten to her before anyone else had. But that had not been the worst of it for Rikku.
"No, they have been silent" she said, looking up at him and squinting against the wind in her face. He smiled slightly at her wind flushed cheeks. After she had been rescued, the group had continued the pilgrimage. They made it to Zanarkand and faced Yunalesca. Rikku had fought bravely for her cousin and the first summoner was defeated. That is when the group broke.
Wakka was in shock. It was one thing to defy Yevon for the sake of the pilgrimage, but to completely destroy the foundation on which it was build had shaken him to the core. He had helped destroy the one thing that would rid the world of Sin. The final aeon would never be summoned and it was the end as far as he was concerned. His rage and confusion had blinded his reason and he turned on Rikku. She had dealt the final blow to Yunalesca as a payback for killing Auron. Wakka channeled all his feeling toward Rikku and a fight ensued that left Yuna and Tidus in tears.
Auron immediately defended Rikku and Lulu sided with Wakka, her own beliefs challenged and Auron believed she was still recovering from a bruised ego from the night she had attempted to act on her feelings towards him. Words were exchanged that Auron would never forget and Rikku cried. Weapons were drawn, but Yuna intervened, furiously wielding her staff and exercising magic the group was not aware she knew.
"I'm just so tired now" Rikku yawned. "I wish this was over, but I don't at the same time"
"I know" he agreed. He was ready for his rest, though a part of him didn't want to leave Rikku. He had yet to understand the bond they had. They were in no way lovers, but seemed to have an unspoken trust toward each other. It seemed that they were simply drawn to each other instantly and remained that way no matter what. She was the only one that made him laugh and he was the only one that could comfort her. She knew he was dead and he knew she was now an outcast among her people. He assumed that Yuna would take her in after the pilgrimage, but that was assuming everyone lived to see the other side.
Rikku sighed and curled into his body, seeking warmth from his coat. Auron lifted his hand and released the buckle and let the garment loosen enough for her to make herself comfortable inside of it with him. Auron felt her squirm against his chest and was content. He had a feeling if circumstances were different, he would make Rikku his and only his. But he wasn't a stupid man. He knew his body could not take more years separated from his soul and he longed for the Farplane. Rikku seemed to understand this and never pushed him, no matter how much she wanted to sometimes.
"How much longer?" she asked, tilting his head up to his neck. He held back a shiver as he shifted his hips away from her body.
"A few hours, maybe six" he replied. Then they would face Sin. Then it would be over. She nodded and he felt her hot tears on his skin. He looked down to see her face and she caught his lips in a warm kiss. The cold wind whipped through her hair, making the ends painfully hit his face as he kissed her back. A moment later, her lips left his and she looked up at him.
"What was that for?" he asked, his voice thick and broken.
"I just wanted to know what it could have been like" she said sadly. Somewhere along the line, she had fallen in love with her protector and, in many ways, savior. She knew he was never going to be able to return her feelings, but that was okay. She didn't want him to have to worry about her too.
"Rikku," he started to say, but she put a finger on his just kissed lips.
"You don't have to say anything. I understand" she offered, saving him the trouble of breaking her heart. He took her hand in his and she looking into his face, unsurely and wishing she had something to hide behind from his intense stare. She looked away and then reached up and removed his shades only to put them on her own face. She looked up at him from behind the dark lenses to see him smirking at her.
"Rikku, I would give anything for you and I to be in a place where we can act on our feelings, but you know what is going to happen to me" he said. Rikku felt her heart fly at the use of the word "our". He felt the same and that was enough for now. She smiled and took of the glasses and handed them back.
"Our feelings?" she asked shyly.
He smirked and touched his forehead to hers. "Our feelings" he confirmed before kissing her deeply. Rikku was taken back by the possessiveness in his kiss, but loved it all the same. She melted into his chest and his arms tightened around her, holding her to him. She ran her hands over his chest and heard him groan as her fingers grazed his nipples under his shirt. Rikku jumped back and looked up into his eyes. She was panting slightly from the kiss and was surprised to see him doing the same.
"Auron?" she questioned, suddenly aware of what could possibly happen if they continued to kiss like that. He looked at her heavily and cupped her face in his large hands gently.
"Rikku, I'm not going to lie to you" he said seriously. "This could very well be my last few hours on Spira and I would like nothing more than to spend it with you, no matter what we do to spend the time."
Rikku grinned widely, reminding Auron of the happy person he met on the Moonflow. "You are such a smooth talker for such a grump, you know that?"
Auron smirked at her and shrugged. She smiled and started at his lips longingly for a second before tasting his lips with hers. His kiss made her forget everything that was wrong and she focused only on him. His hands came up to hold her face as he gently pulled her back from his lips. She pouted and frowned, looking up at him with a questioning look.
"Inside" he said simply. Rikku nodded, suddenly chilly and uncomfortable. Auron took her hand and led her inside and into a room he knew he could lock. It was small and dark, not perfect but it would give them privacy. He found the bed and was happy that it was soft and didn't smell musty like a lot of the rest of the ship did. Auron wanted her to be comfortable above anything else. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, missing his lips on hers. Auron was holding her around her waist until he felt a presence in his pants that strained his patience. He gently pushed her back onto the bed and covered her body with his. Rikku pressed back against him and then found herself holding onto him as the ship rocked violently back and forth.
"Sin!" a terrified voice called from the hall. Auron and Rikku broke apart and looked at each other sadly.
"I guess this is the end?" she said, her lip trembling. He reached out and cupped her cheek and she rubbed her face into his hand. He let go and opened the door for her, both going to face their fates.
A/N: one or two more to go...