A/N: My favorite chapter! I love Paine and her personality, I think you can do so much with it. This is my interpretation of just how bad-ass I think she is. :D

Chapter 2 - Paine

I was fretting.

I never fret.

I also never hug people, but I had hugged Rikku more times this week than I had hugged anybody in a lifetime. Which was never, by the way.

Oh Gods, I was going soft.

No matter, as soon as this 'Auron Situation' blew over, I could go back to being the tough woman I always was, never fretting, never hugging, certainly not while the other person was blubbering. Yeah, I sound like a hard-ass but all this stuff about 'feelings' really didn't sit well with me. The people that raised me had never shown me much affection so I had shown none in return. It sounds like a sad tale, but I was never bothered by it. I only knew two things: sword fighting and ass kicking. It's how I handled everything in life, from a bothersome chimera to an annoying bill collector that just so happened to have the misfortune of calling MY commsphere.

The 'Auron Situation' would be taken care of the same way. Yuna may have had qualms about marching up to some Legendary Guardian and telling him what was what, but I sure as hell didn't. I'M the one that had to deal with an upset Rikku, so I was going to give him the 'what for'. I may not be into all that mushy stuff, but nobody made my friends cry.

I idly flipped through a newspaper that had been left on the bench I was currently sitting at. The bench may or may not have been conveniently located across the street from Auron's old apartment building. I had it on good authority (ie the maintenance man told me after I'd throttled him a bit) that Auron had moved back into his old apartment, as the rent had been paid every month, even though he hadn't been in residence. I also knew what floor he was on, what apartment number he lived in, the side of the building it was located on, and which window was his. Yes, I'm that good. No, I'm not a spy, a private investigator or a super hero. It's just what I do. And I do it well.

A flash of red in my peripheral vision interrupted my thoughts. I carefully followed the figure with my eyes while appearing to be engrossed in the article I was "reading". I think sometimes I take my job a little too seriously, but I'm nothing if not thorough.

The figure slowed near the apartment building and then mounted the steps, stopping to retrieve a key for the front door.

Red coat? Check.

Sunglasses? Check.

Salt and pepper hair? Check.

It was him, alright. He entered the building and let the door slam behind him. I wasn't too worried about getting in. I had a copy of the key to that very door, tucked away in my pocket.

I smirked.

Thank you Mr. Maintenance Man.

Thirty minutes later, after I was sure he wasn't leaving again anytime soon, I set my newspaper down and made my way across the street, dodging a few people here and there. Taking out my key, I slid it into the lock and turned it until I heard the bolt 'click' and slide free. The door opened without a sound, probably due to the pomade I had rubbed on the hinges earlier in the day, after I had arrived on the scene. I always kept a tin of the stuff on me. Hair doesn't look this good on it's own.

Once I was in, I got a good look at the lobby. Nobody was around. Ok, so yeah, maybe I do go too far with the ninja stuff sometimes. I couldn't help it, this stuff had just been ingrained into my mind.

I noticed the elevator to my left and entered, pushing the fourth floor button a few times while waiting impatiently for the doors to close. A few seconds later the car dinged and the doors opened, revealing a hallway full of doors, all with their respective numbers on them. I found apartment number 42 quickly and wasted no time in knocking as loudly as possible.

Ten seconds passed. Finally there was a sound on the other side of the door, a lock being undone. The door cracked open just a few inches.

"Can I help you?" Sarcasm. Gotta love it.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could spare me a moment to talk to you about our savior, Yu Yevon?" His eye narrowed, but I didn't really give him time to make a smart ass reply as I put my hand on the door and pushed, shoving him out of the way enough so that I could slip in.

"Get the hell out of my apartment." What the hell was Rikku thinking? This guy was very rude. She could do so much better.

"Sir Auron, I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance. Perhaps you should have a seat. I have things I need to say and this may take awhile."

He looked positively wild at my boldness. Yes sir, you may have dealt with a fragile Rikku, but you haven't met the likes of Doctor P before. "Sit."

He sat. Smart man.

"You may or may not remember me, but I'm Paine, roommate and best friend to Rikku." His eye widened at the name and he opened his mouth to speak. I cut him off.

"No. You listen while I talk. I don't know what the hell possessed you to come back here, but there's a few things that need saying if you plan on staying here permanently. Don't talk to Rikku. Don't mention her name to anyone, don't ask about her, don't look for her. Don't even think about her. She's been nothing but upset since you came back. Hell, before that. Since you broke her heart and left her here all those months ago. Normally I'm not one to get in other people's business, especially when it comes to...ugh, 'feelings'. But she's my friend. And she's been through a lot because of you."

He had enough decency to look ashamed. "I never meant to hurt her."

"Ha. Well, guess what? You did. What did you expect was going to happen when she professed her feelings for you and you didn't return them? That she'd be all hunky-dory with it? Not a chance!"

"I..." He left his sentence hanging in the air. I calmed down enough to look at him, really look. He looked hurt. He looked haggard. In the past six months he'd aged ten years. There was something more here than what I'd thought. Maybe I shouldn't have just barged in here, ranting and raving like a lunatic. I suppose I should have thought this through more.

The awkward silence wore on for several minutes. Sighing, I sat down on the couch beside him, my elbows resting on my knees as I leaned forward.

"Look, I'm sorry for coming up here the way I did. I suppose...well, Rikku's hurting and I couldn't stand to see her this way again. She's seemed fine these past few months, but I knew she still hadn't got over you. It's just hard to see a friend suffer."

He winced at the word 'suffer'. "I didn't mean for any of it to happen. I just...didn't feel the same way she did at the time."

I nodded. "I know, but she doesn't see it that...wait. 'At the time'?"

He looked up at me, that one brown eye saying so much more than words could at that moment.

Well shit...