Matchmaking

It was all over. All the tears had been shed; all the fights had been won. Auron was gone. Tidus was gone, but Yuna wouldn't believe it. Rikku knew she'd help Yuna in her quest to find him. She wasn't worried about Yuna; Yuna had faith in her beliefs, in spite of all that had happened. She was worried about Wakka and Lulu though. They both seemed kind of at sea without Yuna's pilgrimage as a goal to complete. They had – to her eyes – loved each other since long before she had met them, but without the unifying impetus of the pilgrimage, they didn't know what to do. So, she decided, she'd help them along a little.

"Lulu? Why didn't you marry Wakka a long time ago?" She said this in her perky-innocent way so as to set the older woman at ease. "I mean, you've loved him for years, you know? So why didn't you ever hook up?" Lulu paused and turned to look at her. "I… couldn't. It was almost more than I could bear to Guard Yuna, knowing she would die. If I had been with Wakka… and he had been the one to become Sin, I… I couldn't have borne it… it would have broken me…" She trailed off.

Rikku grinned cheerfully at her. "Want me to feel him out, see what he thinks? I'm happy to do it." Lulu gave a half-laugh. "I take it then that your relationship is not the deathless love of song and story?" Rikku got serious. "No more so than yours with Sir Auron." The Black Mage looked thoughtful. "Hmmm… I see your point. Auron and I… we were each what the other needed at the time. And for the record, Rikku, I think you were exactly what Wakka needed at the time, both on a personal and a spiritual level. I hope he was what you needed too." Rikku smiled. "He was. Someone to lean on, you know?"

"I know."

Rikku walked between Yuna and Wakka, with Kimahri and Lulu behind them. "Yunie, can I go with you on your quest to find Tidus? I'd be lots of help." Yuna smiled at her. "I know you would, Rikku. Of course you may. I'd be glad to have you with me." Wakka glanced at them, surprised. "You goin' somewhere, Rikku? I thought you were comin' back to Besaid…" She smiled brightly at him. "We all are for the time being at least, until Yunie and I can get supplies for our search, right, cousin?" Yuna smiled at the younger girl again. "Right." Wakka felt confused. He wasn't in love with Rikku, but he was a little hurt that she just took it as given that she wasn't sticking around.

He sighed, there in his tent that night. The woman he truly loved had been in his life as long as he could remember. He had felt horribly guilty for his feelings when she was as good as engaged to his brother Chappu, and then with pilgrimages and all, he could never find the right way to tell her. He heard a soft scratching noise at the flap of his tent and said, "Ya, come on in."

It was Rikku. She looked unusually serious and he was instantly alarmed. "Is everyone okay? Is there something wrong with L… with Yuna?" She simply kissed him resoundingly on the lips and laughed. "If I had any doubts about your feelings for Lulu, I don't now, not with that reaction. You love her. You have for years, haven't you?" He stared at her. "How… how did you know that?" She laughed at him. "It's obvious to anyone with eyes to see, Wakka. 'Sall right; she feels the same way about you, and has since shortly after Chappu died." He was completely dumbfounded. How on earth could she know all this? "But… but… Rikku, she and Auron, and you and me…"

Rikku sobered instantly. "From what she's said, she and Auron – they were... they were a comfort to each other. Kinda like you and me, you know? A friend, a lover, a… someone you want to keep close in the dark. But not the undying love of her life, you know? " She looked at him pleadingly. "Go to her, Wakka. She needs you now." He looked at her, and slowly got up from his cross-legged position on the floor, drawing her up with him. "You're a good friend, Rikku. I dunno how you knew all that, ya? But you're a good friend to me and Lu." He hugged her tight, then opened the tent flap. "Thanks," he said, disappearing in the direction of Lulu's tent.

Rikku stretched and lifted the flap to go back to her own tent. She felt a little lonely, but she knew what she had done was the right thing to do. They had loved each other for a very long time, and it was about time they admitted it to each other. She looked up as Kimahri loomed before her. "Wakka is right. Rikku is good friend. Kimahri sees this." She smiled. "We're not just friends. We're family. It's who we are."

Four Months Later…

"Rikku, we got a sphere from Wakka! Let's go view it in our room!" Rikku grinned; Yuna was cute when she got all excited. It was like all the seriousness she had to have as a Summoner had melted away in the past few months. "Sure," she hollered, banging on the engine with her wrench, "Just let me tighten this… one… bolt. There!" She wiped the grease off her fingers onto a rag she kept handy, and joined Yuna in the room they shared. They set the sphere on the viewer and sat back to watch it.

There was no picture at first, just Wakka's voice:"Hey, Rikku, Yuna. It's Wakka. Is this thing on? I can never get the hang of… eh, there it goes." The picture came on, jumped around a bit before it settled on Wakka, with his home on Besaid Island behind him. "Anyway, um… Rikku? I just wanna say… you were right. About everything. Me and Lu, we're gettin' married in a couple months… now I should wait for a few minutes so you and Yuna can squeal and hug each other and stuff, ya? I'm learnin'." The girls both burst out laughing at this; squealing and hugging was exactly what they were doing. He was learning. "So, I wanted to invite you to the wedding, it's in a couple months… did I already say that? I think I did." The girls were all smiles as they watched Lulu glide out of the house behind him into the picture. "Why don't I take it from here, Wakka? I can give them all the details." He grinned at her and waved at the sphere recorder. "Bye girls. Hope I see you at the wedding!" He kissed Lulu and left the picture.

Lulu looked at the recording sphere in such a way that she seemed to be looking directly into their eyes. "Yuna, I hope you can come to the wedding. If your ship isn't ready, maybe Cid could give you a ride? And Rikku? You were so right, about all of it. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts." Rikku sighed happily; she was glad it had all worked out for them. When Yuna said, "We'll go," Rikku could only nod in agreement. "Of course," she said, "We're family".

Fin