For those of you who are wondering how long this story will go on, I have just about ten chapters written. The reasons I don't just upload all of the chapters and have it done with is A) I'm tweaking some stuff and adding some more "fun" adventures for Rikku and Auron, and the party as a whole in extension and B) because I'm a bad, bad writer who likes to draw out the torture.
Here's Chapter 3. Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Bath Time and an Unusual Temper
Sunlight invaded the room, shining directly into Tidus's closed eyes. He awoke reluctantly, wanting to sleep more.
Yesterday's events crashed upon him, making him stiffen in bed. Had yesterday really been yesterday, or had it been a dream? Tidus opened an eye, looking to his right.
No one rested beside him. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tidus nearly relaxed when he felt something brush his thigh.
With a soft moan, Tidus lifted the blanket slightly. Curled underneath the sheets, head propped against a thick fold in the blanket, was Auron's sleeping, three-year old form.
Groaning, Tidus pulled Auron gently from underneath the blankets and placed him properly on a pillow. After ensuring Auron was alive and well, Tidus decided to sleep more. He rolled to his side, away from the burning sunshine rays and sighed as he sank into darkness. . . .
THUMP!
And fell flat on his face off the bed.
"Ow," Tidus croaked, rubbing his nose. Cid's advice mocked him as he lay on the floor, but Tidus banished the errant thought from his mind as he rose.
The fall was apparently louder than Tidus had thought; Auron was awake and upright, blinking blearily. "Why'd you fwall?" the boy asked.
"Er," Tidus grinned nervously. "I was trying to get out of bed. You should get some more sleep, Auron."
The boy shook his head. "Wan' food."
"Ah, you're hungry, eh?" Tidus picked up the boy, holding him against his torso. "Well, let's go get you something to eat then."
Auron squirmed in his grip, then stopped before Tidus could say anything. Tidus paused. Why did he feel something wet on his shirt. . . ?
"Nee' go potty, too," Auron duly informed him, ten seconds too late.
Cid looked over his newspaper as he heard feet tapping across the floor. By the lightness of the noise, he knew it was one of the two youngsters. Since Rikku hadn't announced her royal presence yet, that meant Auron was the one approaching.
The Al Bhed leader leaned back in his chair, spotting the boy as he tottered to the table. Auron still wore the green shirt, but his yellow pants had been changed to orange shorts.
Oblivious to the man in the room, Auron clambered onto a chair without too much difficulty and stood on the seat. The table reached his waist, and he reached out a tiny hand to the plate with cookies made by the Agency's chefs.
"Whoa there, kid," Cid kept Auron from taking too many cookies, stopping him at two. "You need a real breakfast before you eat too many of those."
Auron blinked at Cid, then held out one of his treats. "Cookie?"
"No, thank you." Cid watched as the boy remained standing to eat the cookies. More of the cookie littered his lips and shirt than went into his mouth.
Cid hadn't been joking when he remarked that he thought Auron had been a depressing child. The Legendary Guardian gave off an air of complete seriousness, and his no-nonsense attitude seemed to stem from an early-influence. It seemed three-years old was too early, even for the guardian. Cid drank from his cup of tea, contemplating the boy.
Yuna entered the room, greeting Cid before noticing Auron. She placed a hand over her mouth and moaned. "Auron, you should have breakfast before you eat sweets."
Auron paused mid-nibble, then held out a bribe/treat once more. "Cookie?"
"No cookie," Yuna replied, unconsciously reverting to a tone reminiscent of baby-babble. Taking the whole-cookie out of his hand and replacing it on the plate, she wiped his mouth of crumbs. "We'll need to get you a new shirt, too. That can wait after you take your bath."
Auron froze, eyes wider than spheres. "No bath!"
Cid snorted into his tea, doing his best not to guffaw at his niece's expense. Yuna turned and glared at him. "What?"
"He's a little boy, Yuna," Cid told her. "There ain't no way you're gonna get him to willingly take a bath."
"No bath!"
Yuna sighed. She hadn't learned about child-care while apprenticing as a summoner. Successful summoners never had to worry about raising children. "Then what do I do? He needs to bathe."
"No bath!"
"Throw him in the tub," Cid shrugged. "Don't worry about hurtin' his feelings, they usually forget once you give them something to tinker with."
Yuna bit a nail. "I should probably get one of the men to do this," she commented, mostly to herself. "Auron would prefer modesty, I think."
"If he was a warrior monk, he's learned how to do without modesty," Cid remarked. Then he twisted his head around. "Hey, where'd the brat go?"
Auron had vanished from his seat.
Rikku yawned as she left her room, rubbing her eyes clean of sleep-grit. She dreamt marvelously last night, dreaming of a beautiful, icy forest and sandy beaches near aqua-green oceans. Rikku had never seen these places, though; all she remembered was her Bikanel Home and the Moonflow where she awoke yesterday morning. She supposed her imagination painted the magnificent canvases to entertain her.
The Al Bhed girl turned when she heard footsteps echoing hers. She found Auron tailing her, cookie crumbs smeared over his mouth while two cookies were gripped in hand. Placing her hands on her hips, Rikku scowled at the boy. "What do you want? I'm not giving you my charm. It's mine."
Auron stopped, a thoughtful look coming over his features. "Cookie?" he offered, extending his arm to proffer the stolen cookie.
Rikku's eyes widened in delight. "I love cookies!" she giggled, taking the cookie. She eyed him critically. "Well, alright, you can tag along with me. But no yanking anything in my hair, okay?"
"No yanky," Auron agreed, and with that settled they trundled down the hallway together. They left the Agency with no one the wiser, disappearing into a market placed under the safety of a newly constructed lightning tower.
Any doubts Rikku had to Auron's worth dissipated once she discovered his secret talent: adorability. Grown-ups seemed to love his russet eyes and downy hair; a few even wiped his mouth clean of excess crumbs. They lavished him with trinkets, trinkets that Rikku herself liked. Auron cared not for most of them; none were shiny enough to catch his attention. The food he gobbled for himself, but Rikku learned how to goad her own meal from the vendors: introducing herself as the boy's older, responsible sister made the crowd ooh and aah and fill her plate with tasty cakes and sweet fruits.
"Now, aren't you glad I let you come with me?" Rikku told Auron. "We have such great adventures!"
"'ventuwes," Auron repeated, licking a large lollipop.
"I'm sure Tytto will let you come with us to Home," Rikku added. "It's really huge! We'd have lots of fun there!"
"Fun," Auron grinned. "Wots of fun."
"Yep, we'll go sand-boarding, and crawl around in air-vents, and play around with wires and screwdrivers—"
"Rikku!" her father clapped his hand on her shoulder. She jumped; Auron simply looked upward, lollipop enveloped in his mouth. "Where have you been? We've been going crazy looking for you and Auron!"
"We were just playing," Rikku said innocently. "We can even see the Travel Agency, right over there!"
"Pway," Auron nodded, returning to licking his sweet. "Pway fun."
Cid wiped a hand over his face. "Let's get you two back to where you should have been an hour ago. C'mon." He grabbed their hands, wincing at the stickiness. "What have you two been doing? Petting snails?"
"Eat wots," Auron informed him happily. "I got a sthucker." He showed Cid the lollipop proudly, before promptly sticking it into his mouth.
Cid sighed. Yuna was going to blame him for their sugar intake. And if Yuna was anything like her mother, then Cid needed to write his will before returning to the Travel Agency.
Unless he redeemed himself. Now, what would make Yuna thankful enough to forget his previous mistake?
He glanced down at Auron again. Well, it ain't like he's got his sword to chop me in two. And odds are, he won't remember this little debacle. . . .
In order to complete the task, Cid decided he needed to employ others. Tidus and Wakka, to be precise. He figured, with their affinity to water and natural boyishness, they could handle the three-year old easier than an old man like him could.
"Auron, get back here!" Tidus yelled, racing after the boy in the large bathroom.
"NO!" Auron cried back. "No bath!"
Cid learned that even two men could have trouble with a toddler's stubborn will.
Tidus's long legs enabled him to catch up to the boy, and he snagged Auron around the waist. "Now just. . . hold. . . still!" Tidus ordered, trying his best to avoid the kicking legs.
"No no no no no no NO!" Auron screamed, wriggling for all his worth.
I never thought I'd be bathing Auron, Tidus grimaced. This is going to be so bizarre. Was this what he felt like, when he had to bathe me?
"No bath no bath no bath NO BATH!" Auron continued to wail.
"Man, he's a fighter, ya?" Wakka called from the water, already wet. "Need a hand?"
"I think I got him," Tidus answered, setting Auron down but not letting go. "Now, Auron, you're going to have a bath no matter what. But, wouldn't you like to be a big kid and undress yourself?"
"No bath!" Auron shouted.
Tidus sighed. "Alright, we'll do this the hard way." He grappled with Auron, undressing him with difficulty. Auron wailed and howled as his clothes were removed, but could no more delay the inevitable than he could wield his katana.
"Here, Wakka, take him," Tidus held the kicking boy out for the blitzer.
"Why me?" the other man protested.
"I told you last night," Tidus scowled over Auron's raven locks, "I'm not bathing him if I have to sleep with him."
Cid sighed. Apparently he had to do everything for Auron's sake. He got up, hefted the boy out of Tidus's arms, and dipped him in the shallow end of the group-tub. "There now, see? Don't you like the water?"
Rather than a coherent and dignified response, Auron simply cried harder, flailing his arms and legs.
"Yo, I really don't think he likes the water," Wakka observed. "I don't think he even liked it when he was older."
"I don't remember Auron ever getting into the water, come to think of it," Tidus scratched his head. "I always wanted him to help with my blitzball techniques, but he'd just glare at me and say, 'Do I look interested to you?'"
"Well, he's gotta take a bath," Cid said over Auron's screaming, "or he's gonna smell from Ramm to high heaven."
"Well, then let's get this over with, ya." Wakka picked up the soap. "Before he gets an aneurysm or something."
Diligently, the three men worked at bathing Auron. It took Wakka to hold Auron (as he was already thoroughly wet), Tidus to have rinsing water on hand, and Cid to scrub the boy clean. At the end of thirty-five harrowing minutes, Cid, Tidus, and Wakka were drenched head-to-toe and Auron was washed.
In spite of the end to the ordeal, Auron had not stopped shrieking. He had cried straight through the bathing, and Tidus wondered why the boy hadn't turned blue already.
"If he don't stop, he'll get sick," Cid tried hushing him, but to no avail.
Wakka rushed off, then bounded back to the room with Lulu's hair pin. "Auron, lookie what I got. Somethin' nice and shiny for you, ya."
Auron ignored Wakka. He began to hiccup and gasp, not pacified by the gesture.
"What is going on here?" Lulu entered, exasperated. She saw Auron's condition and frowned. "Why is Auron crying?"
"We gave him a bath," Tidus informed the mage. "He still hasn't gotten over it yet."
"Brother was never like this when I dumped him in the tub," Cid tried every trick he knew to calm the boy down. He even used the belly-tickle trick, something he swore he would never do again. The trick failed.
Lulu bit her lip, then pulled out a moogle doll, brushing a paw against his tear-streaked cheek. "Auron, look what I have for you. Don't you want to play with the doll?"
Auron's eyes pried open, still wailing. The cries ceased as he beheld the doll. "Mwine," Auron grasped for the doll. Lulu surrendered it with no protest; she hoped the moogle would understand the urgency of the situation.
The three men sighed a relief. "He's finally quiet," Wakka reveled. "Man, the kid's got some lungs, huh?"
"RIKKU! COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"
A giggling, soapy, and naked Rikku ripped through the hall. An extremely aggravated Yuna chased Rikku in a bathrobe, drenched and soaped.
Tidus, Cid, Wakka, and Lulu watched until the girl and woman had turned a corner. Auron amused himself with the doll, his misadventure in the water forgotten.
Wakka whistled. "Man, I thought we had it bad."
Tidus shook his head. The sight of a naked Rikku was something he had never wanted to see; seeing a naked, six-year old Rikku seemed much more perverted. "Someone should help Yuna. Lulu, why don't you go and help?"
The mage rolled her eyes, but followed Yuna's wet footprints. The men exchanged shrugs and arranged themselves on the couches provided by the Agency. Auron escaped Cid's grip and seated himself on the floor, contorting the doll into unnatural positions and mouthing on an ear.
A half hour later Yuna, Lulu, Kimahri, and Rikku joined the group, Rikku still giggling. Yuna collapsed on the closest resting spot which happened, intentionally or not, to be Tidus's lap. Lulu joined Wakka on the couch, and Kimahri stood guard by the doorway. Auron ignored the Al Bhed girl as she plopped next to him, but protested when she tugged at one end of the doll.
"Mwine!"
"I wanna play, too," Rikku said, pulling once more.
"No! Mwine!" Auron yanked his way. Incensed, Rikku pulled harder.
The doll disappeared from their hands. They looked upward, to where Lulu stood with the moogle. "If the two of you can't share, then you can't play with this."
Rikku looked properly contrite. Auron simply looked ready to cry again.
"Wan'!" Auron demanded, arms lifted.
"Play nicely," Lulu told him firmly.
"Wan'!"
As the war waged on between the three, the others watched with exhausted bemusement. "Who knew Auron was such a crybaby?" Tidus remarked.
"He's only three," Yuna admonished. "Let him be a child. Father said he entered training at a very young age, too young to thoroughly enjoy childhood."
"Warrior monks usually start trainin' at about nine," Cid answered Tidus's unspoken question. "And it's a good thing Braska got Auron out of there; who knows what kind of loony the man would've turned int— huh?"
Auron began to do something very eerie. He turned to stare at Cid oddly, eyes strangely focused. The child rose to his feet and tottered deliberately to Cid, gripping the Al Bhed's pant leg with two tiny fists. The boy glared upward with eyes reminiscent of his former self and lisped in a harsh voice, "Where Bwaska? Nee' fin' Bwaska!"
Everyone stared. Even Rikku gaped, having never seen a three-year old act in such a way.
Auron continued to huff at Cid, determined to learn Braska's whereabouts. As abruptly as the behavior started, it stopped.
Auron became unfocused and oblivious to the larger cares in the world, wandering off to the bay window. Still stunned, no one realized Auron was finding himself into some very appealing trouble. All except for Rikku, who joined him on the cushions.
"Thiny," Auron mumbled, reaching up for a crystal bob attached to a cord. He grabbed the sparkling bob, and sat. His weight pulled the cord taut.
"You can't have that," Rikku told him in a very sisterly fashion. "It belongs to Rin." She took the bob out of his hand and let it go.
The taut cord whipped upward, allowing the tarp hanging over Cid, Tidus, Yuna, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri to loosen, fall, and tent them. Rikku and Auron watched as they struggled underneath, Auron curious and Rikku slightly anxious.
"We should probably go," Rikku whispered. "Let's find someplace fun to play."
"Pway," Auron clapped his hands. "Pway fun."
Without further ado the duo left, Rikku in the lead and Auron following dutifully.
Barely a day and the children are already wreaking havoc. This doesn't bode well for our party.