"And so I grabbed the sphere and ran!" Rikku related, doubled over laughing as Yuna giggled and Tidus guffawed. Laughter seemed ill-placed at a time like this- Yuna about to marry Seymour, on her way to go and die for an ungrateful Spira- but it was the only way to keep from despair. They had to laugh. There was no other way.

The woods sparkled strangely around them, the very trees alight with the mystic spirit of the fayth. It was said that the land of Macalania- the forest, the lake- revolved around the fayth and her song, but one really couldn't understand what it was like until walking through the woods, hearing the sky and air sing around. Fiends inhabited these woods, but even then, they seemed calmer, somehow. No less aggressive, but more… resolute, somehow. At peace with themselves.

But Rikku knew the woods wouldn't last forever. They'd reach the end, and Yuna would marry that creeper Seymour. And Auron was going to let her.

She looked back at him now. She couldn't help but notice how the woods seemed to make him stand out more, with their melancholy leafy backdrop and bluish tree trunk columns surrounding the path they walked on. His face was set in its usual grimace, and she couldn't see any vestiges of real emotion hidden behind the dark glasses and the leather collar. And why should he? She thought in fuming frustration. I thought he might care about Yunie, but I guess not. He only cares about beating Sin again.

In fact, she'd been glad when they'd run across Barthello, a guardian for a summoner that the rest of the party had met in Kilika. He'd been worried because she'd been kidnapped (by the Al Bhed, of course, but the rest of them didn't know that), and Auron had told him forcefully to calm down, but it was obvious that none of them had known who was behind the kidnappings. It gave Rikku a sort of sick enjoyment. Of course, she wished that they didn't have to do this- that the summoners would give up and look for another, less doomed way to defeat Sin, but as it was, she was fine with it.

Now, looking at Auron, she felt a terrible sort of childish triumph.

He glanced up at her, and she whipped her head back around to where Tidus was flirting heavily with Yuna. She could tell at this point that they were heavily interested in each other, which was back news for either one. Yuna was on a mission to die- which she was fairly sure, by this point, that Tidus had no idea of. He was constantly saying things like, "After we beat Sin, we have to…"

It hurt her a little. And she could tell that it hurt Yuna.

"Yunie," she said, interrupting Tidus as he went off about something that made no sense. "What kind of flowers do you think you'll wear at your wedding?"

"Oh," Yuna said, putting a hand to her mouth in thought. "I… hadn't thought about it."

"Well, you can't let Yevon pick for you. They have terrible taste in colors." Rikku teased, plucking at Yuna's hair. "Well, if Seymour doesn't care, I call getting to help."

Wakka pulled up next to them. "Wait, Yuna's flowers for her wedding? Jeez, I didn't think about that. It's kinda weird still, ya?" He scratched his head, ruffling his flame jet of hair.

"Seymour probably won't care, will he? Or wait, is there some kind of Yevon standard?" Tidus leaned over, looking into Yuna's face. "I… still think this is all too weird. Getting married out of the blue?"

"I… suppose." Yuna seemed overwhelmed. Kimahri loomed up behind her, his furry arm ready to protect her from any offending fiend.

"Yeah! I mean, can't Seymour wait until after we've beaten Sin?" Tidus' ill-spoken comment was ignored.

Lulu spoke up. "I suppose if a summoner has poor taste in flowers, Yevon wants to cover it up." Everyone gave her odd looks until they realized she was teasing- an odd occasion for the dark magician.

"Right! If Yuna picks ugly flowers, that'll embarrass Yevon!" Rikku teased her cousin until the younger girl turned red. "Right, Auron?" She turned around, dropping back by the trailing guardian.

He replied slowly, not without a smile, "I suppose Seymour will let Lady Yuna choose whatever she wants."

Thank you, Auron, Rikku thought gratefully. It would have killed the mood if Auron had chosen to be his usual serious self. The guardians continued walking up the tree branches, but in a lighter, more hearty mood. Tidus touched Yuna's arm gently, and Yuna looked at him affectionately. Worried, Rikku dropped casually back to walk beside Auron.

"I think Tidus has a crush on Yuna," she said softly to the older guardian, out of the others' hearing range.

"I know." He kept walking, not looking down at her.

"What do we do?" She turned her gaze up to his face, stolid, a foot above her own. "When we get to Zanarkand, she'll… she'll be…"

"Yuna knows her responsibility."

Rikku sighed and clenched her hands into fists. There was really no way around this. She had to do something.

Suddenly, she felt warm skin against hers. Auron's forearm was resting against her upper arm, his fingers brushing her skin. "And you know yours," he said, his eyes looking firmly down into hers, "as Yuna's guardian."

"Rikku," Auron said, turning toward her from across the ice of Lake Macalania. "Does this work?"

"Yes!" She raced across the ice and skidded to a stop next to the overturned glider. In truth, she really couldn't care less that Wakka was racist against her. It had hurt a little that he'd trusted her until he found out that her blood ran in Al Bhed and decided to walk away, simply because he hated her family. Hated her home. Hated her.

"We're not going to use that, are we?" She heard Wakka's disgusted, disdainful voice coming from behind her. His brown eyes bored into her spine, trying to destroy her with only a gaze. It was as if he felt he could destroy the entire despised Al Bhed race by simply destroying her.

"Do you have a better way?" Tidus defended her. She lost herself in the circuits and switches, trying to prove herself. If she was a failure as a being, maybe she could be useful as a resource. Finally, she felt the spark of activation.

"It's ready to go!" She jumped back up, her usual bouncy self. She felt the skin of her legs prickling in the cold, finally sensing the bitterly cold air. Tidus sent her a confident grin as he headed for one. "Are you sure you know how to work this thing?"

"Better than Kimahri does," he said ironically as the Ronso powerfully flipped one and sent it running toward the temple with little or no effort. In frustration, Wakka stormed off toward the temple on foot, muttering rebelliously about false faith to Yevon. She shook her head as his bright read head receded into the snowy distance.

Tidus and Lulu hopped aboard one of the lifts, which left Auron and herself to the other. With slight hesitation, she swung one leg over the back and wrapped her arms around Auron's warm form. She realized dimly as Auron started the lift and it jolted awkwardly off that this was the closest they'd ever really been. She joined her hands palms-down over his waist, touching his warm stomach in search of comfort. Wakka's hurtful words had torn a deeper heartstring than she cared to admit.

"Auron?" She looked over his powerful shoulder, talking loud enough to be heard over the rumbling engine.

"Yes?" His low tone was barely discernable from the engine's roar.

"I know that people hate the Al Bhed because we use machina… but that can't be the only reason, can it?" The look of betrayal in Wakka's usually warm eyes was now coming back to haunt her. "I mean.. there must be another reason."

"The Al Bhed have never been the friends of Yevon." She could feel him breathing beneath her fingertips, and she savored the feeling of closeness and life. "Machina use was just the excuse that Yevon used to brand them official enemies."

"But there's no reason for Wa- any Yevonite to hate us… is there?" She bit off the word Wakka at the stem, not wanting to be petty like that. She felt childish- why should one more Yevonite hating her be anything special? Was it just because they'd been friends? Or was it like the straw that broke the camel's back?

He rumbled in something that she interpreted as a chuckle. "Rikku, you don't need to constantly look for everyone to like you." He spoke naturally in her native tongue- she had almost forgotten that he spoke it. "Be who you are. Don't try to be someone else to please everyone."

"He-ey," she said, trying to dismiss the dejected tone from her voice. "Did you write that? Or did you steal it from someone?"

"Does it matter?" He shifted, pulling his arms in, letting his elbows rest against her arms, folding her in after a fashion. He fell silent, and they rode peacefully together toward the ice temple for a few moments before she spoke again.

"Auron?"

"What?"

"Did you… did you mean what you said, outside the Farplane?" She had to know.

"Yes."

"Do you… really want me to not act that way?"

He didn't answer for a moment. If she could have seen his face, it would have made no difference; the debate was in his convoluted mind. She couldn't see the turmoil that tumbled behind his snow-speckled eyes. Unaware that he was unsent, she couldn't have imagined at that point the conflict inside him- to stay and try to live a half life, or to go and leave behind the world for something that might or might not be better. Finally, he spoke. "No."

"…I don't believe you." She laced her arms tighter around his waist. "I know this isn't exactly the best place, but I wanna know. We're guardians. But we're humans, too- and I want to know you. Okay?"

He didn't answer.

"You're always talking about stories," she said petulantly, aware that she was probably irritating him. "Well, the thing I like most about stories is that I can always change the ending if I don't like it. And I don't like this, so I'm changing my story to where I can do what I want." She rested her cheek against his back. "Okay, so… now you know."

"Rikku," he said with an Al Bhed inflection. "I am…"

"Don't tell me anymore about what I can't do," she said, shaking her head in stubborn defiance. "Auron, I want what I want. And even if… even if you don't… even if Yuna's journey comes first… just know." She stopped there, determined to not say anymore.

After a moment of silence, Auron replied softly. "Thank you, Rikku."

Breaking her vow, she whispered in reply, "You're welcome."

You need me as much as I need you.