Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, Squeenix, or any of the affiliates.
Rikku, Saturday April 13, 1912
The day had gone rather slowly. Rikku's mother had refused to speak to her and her father had confined her to her stateroom as a punishment. Yuna had brought her food both at breakfast and lunch, but only so much entertainment could be found staring out the porthole for hours on end. She'd tried dabbling in some of Yuna's books, but she just couldn't bring herself to sit still long enough to actually concentrate on the words. Thus, she'd spent the last ten hours either sleeping or pacing, and she had to admit, she wasn't too fond of either action at the moment.
This was why she was rather surprised when there was a sharp knock on the door. She stopped her pacing, looking at the door as if she might be able to see through the wood to the other side. A few moments later, the knock sounded again and Rikku, overcome by curiosity, made her way across the room and stood next to the door, unable to open it due to the fact that her parents had locked her in from the outside.
"Yes, can I help you?" she called through the door.
"Rikku? Can you hear me?"
She paused for a long moment, frowning in uncertainty, before answering.
"Tidus? Tidus is that you?"
There was the sound of laughter. "The one and only. Who else could possibly possess the same dulcet tones as myself?"
She could hear Yuna's giggles on the other side as well now, and she just had to smile.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We're freeing you, dearest cousin. As it turns out, having friends amongst the stewards can be quite helpful if you ever have the desire to open locked doors."
With that being said, Rikku heard the door's lock click and then it was being opened. Yuna and Tidus stood in the hallway, both looking quite pleased with themselves.
"Mind you, you can't tell anyone I just did that. I'd lose my job for sure and then where would I be?"
Rikku grinned, feeling downright giddy at their blatant disregard for the rules.
"Don't you worry. Your secret is safe with me. What type of woman would I be to turn you in after you risked your job for me?"
"A right cruel one," Tidus grinned with flourish, clipping his ring of key back to his belt. Rikku noticed for the first time that he was dressed in his uniform and was obviously on the job at the moment.
"Excuse me for springing you and running off, but I've got my duties to attend to. I'll see the both of you later." He nodded goodbye to Rikku and kissed Yuna's hand before setting off down the hall at a quick walk, looking as if he actually had a purpose and hadn't been conspiring with two first class teenagers only moments before.
As soon as he disappeared around the corner, Rikku turned to look her cousin full in the face.
"Well Yuna? Is there any specific reason you decided to free me, or have you just decided you want to form a rebellion with me?"
Yuna smiled, looking the tiniest bit guilty, yet incredibly pleased with herself.
"I suppose that would be a little bit of both. You see, I've been thinking about what Uncle Cid and Aunt Arianna are doing to you. Well, to the both of us, really. Anyway, the fact of the matter is, I've decided that your rebellion is the only way that I will ever get what I want. So I've decided to join you. On the other hand, I just spoke with Major Masamune and he expressed an interest in speaking with you."
Rikku almost felt her heart explode with excitement. He wanted to see her? Why did that thought make her want to jump for joy? She kept herself as composed as possible, but she melted under Yuna's knowing gaze. She squealed like a schoolgirl, biting her knuckle to quiet the noise.
"Where was he, Yuna? Well…I suppose I don't want to just rush off and find him, that would seem too desperate, wouldn't it? But if I take too long, will that seem rude? Oh, and I'm hardly in any condition to be leaving the room…Yuna what do I do?"
The spunky blonde was nearly hysterical at this point. It was a good thing that clear-headed Yuna was around to keep her sane.
"Come, back inside!" Yuna instructed. "We'll get you looking like a decent lady and down to the dining hall…"
"But Yunie, if I go to the dining room Mother will most definitely see me! Being rebellious won't do me a bit of good if I get caught in the act straight away!"
Yuna shook her head calmly, pushing Riku into their room and closing the door behind her.
"You don't listen very well. I do believe I said dining hall, not dining room. Tonight, we will be dining in third class in order to avoid Aunt Arianna."
Rikku grinned, so pleased that her cousin had thought of everything. Rikku kept the same dress she'd been wearing, considering the fact that the third class passengers likely wouldn't care if she were dressed in a dinner gown or a burlap sack. Yuna set about brushing her long blonde hair, carefully not yanking on the curls too harshly. It seemed an eternity before Yuna deemed her fit for public.
Pulling on a pale blue overcoat, she followed Yuna down the hall. She wasn't exactly sure where the third class dining hall was. She had never actually thought to question where they might eat, though it was obviously not in the main dining room with the first class passengers. They took the lift down to D-deck and followed the flow of the crowd from there. Rikku was a bit surprised by the dining hall. There were somewhere around thirty long tables lined up along a large room, each table seating about fifty people. A food line was along the other wall, seeming to stretch on forever. The whole scene made Rikku think of a prison cafeteria.
"Ah, Miss Rikku, Miss Yuna. I worried I might not be able to find you in a such a crowd." Rikku turned and looked up at the major.
"Please, just call me Rikku," she implored, not liking the sound of the 'miss' in front of her name.
"Very well, Rikku. Then you shall call me Auron. I hope I wasn't too forward in collecting plates for the both of you. I thought that might be preferable then waiting in such a horrendously long line."
"Yes, thank you," Yuna said politely with a small smile.
Their meal was had without much talking, though it was not for lack of trying. Over the din of everyone else in the room, they soon realized having any sort of conversation would be nearly impossible. So, instead, they waited until they were done eating and back strolling along the B-deck to have an actual conversation. Yuna was only with them for ten minutes before Tidus showed up, back to his off duty clothes, and whisked her away. None of them really minded the interruption all that much.
"So," Riku spoke as they strolled, watching her breath puff in front of her face. "Is there a specific reason you wished to see me tonight? I must admit, I'm quite curious."
He gave a gallant shrug, his hands deep in the pocket of his overcoat.
"In all honestly, Mi-Rikku, I did want to ask you about something, but really I just enjoy having you around.
He didn't look at her when he said this, giving Rikku the acute impression that he wasn't used to admitting such things aloud.
"I enjoy being in your company as well. What is it that you wish to talk to me about?"
He was quiet for a long moment, gathering his thoughts as they walked, passing very few people on their way. "I spoke with your father today."
Rikku raised an eyebrow, turning to look at her companion.
"My father? Whatever about?" she frowned.
"He…requested that I not see you anymore, something about our continued contact being bad for both our reputations. I don't know how you feel about the matter, but I honestly don't have much of a reputation to uphold."
Rikku clenched her fists angrily. "Ugh! That makes me so angry! I can't believe he'd go behind my back about something like this! I'm really sorry, Auron. If it's worth anything, I don't plan on discontinuing contact with you. I find your company rather pleasurable and I shudder to think what I might be doing if not spending my spare time with you."
She wondered if she had sounded too forward, but he didn't say anything, so she shrugged off the thought. She sighed quietly.
"I do believe I told you last night that my parents have decided to betroth me to a man I've never met. I have absolutely no intention of going through with it, even if that means I must run from my parents and make my own way. Somehow, I'll manage if I must."
His brown eyes studied hers for a long moment before he smiled and shook his head.
"You're a brave girl. I too have recently made a decision that I know my parents will not agree with." Intrigued, Rikku looked at him in curiosity.
"Oh?" she prompted.
"Yes. I have…decided to retire from a life in the military. After spending so much time with my grandmother, hearing all the stories of everything she did merely because she was a free spirit…it makes me want to see the world in some other way then as a soldier. When the Titanic docks in New York I am going to part ways with my parents and…I suppose I'll decide what to do then. I'm not going to live by any sort of schedule or plan…I will simply…be."
It sounded like such a wonderful dream. Rikku desperately wished to be a part of it, but she knew she couldn't invite herself along. He would deal with his life and she with hers. She hadn't realized that they had both stopped and were staring intently at each other. They stood so close she could see the pattern of the stitching in his jacket. She suddenly had the strangest desire to kiss him, though she knew that she shouldn't. He took another step toward her, a hand come up to cradle her cheek. A small gasp of breath escaped her lips and she tilted her head back, offering her lips up to him. He leaned toward her and her eyes had just slipped closed when she heard a shout.
"Rikku! Rikku, come, we must go!" Yuna appeared in front of them, Tidus close at her heels, looking panicked. "Your mother is headed back to the stateroom, possibly as we speak! I'm having Lulu distract her, but she can only keep it up for so long. We need to go, now!"
Silently cursing the world around her, Rikku looked apologetically at Auron.
"I'm really sorry. I have to go. I'm sorry."
"Rikku…I don't understand…"
She looked at Auron, Yuna, and then Auron again.
"I don't really have time to explain. I'm just…not supposed to be here right now. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow, though, right?"
She barely waited to see him nod before dashing off after Yuna. They pushed through people without bothering to apologize for their rudeness. As they made their way, Rikku could see her mother through the glass of the deck, heading toward an elevator. Cursing quietly, Tidus lead them through an employee staircase as a shortcut. The pair dashed into the room, listening to Tidus lock them in before Rikku ripped off her dress and had Yuna help her with the corset. She'd just yanked her nightgown over her head when there came a gentle knock on the door before it opened to reveal Arianna. She looked in at them before snapping the door shut tightly. Rikku assumed that meant she wasn't yet forgiven for her actions the night before. Not too surprisingly, though, she found that she didn't care. She'd had a wonderful, if not short, time with Auron that night…and she could tell that things were progressing a way she might have never imaged. But she welcomed the unknown, ready to plunge headfirst into it. As she drifted to sleep that night, all she could think about was the image if him leaning toward her to claim a kiss. If only they hadn't been interrupted.
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A/N: Yeah…so I watched Titanic again tonight. I know I said that in the last author's note…but I wrote that three months ago, so it really is a big deal. Guess what? I cried for the very first time while watching that movie. I'm not exactly sure why, but I blame sleep deprivation and the fact that I was at a funeral this morning. Okay. I hope you liked it, even if it was a bit short. I'm exhausted and I have church in the morning so…yeah. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. By the way, please excuse me if I write Riku instead of Rikku. I've been writing a lot of Kingdom Hearts fanfiction lately.