Rikku walked beside Tidus, watching his hair flutter in the slight early morning breeze. They had decided to see the beach one last time before continuing their journey. She plopped down in the sand near the shore and felt the waves tickle her toes, sending little shivers up her back each time the tide came in. Tidus stared out to the orange sunrise, no doubt thinking about Yunie back in Spira. His muscular frame was accentuated by the shadows cast by his clothes, and he held a stern expression on his face. He looked manly, Rikku thought, in the soft light of sunrise, and she found herself thinking that she wanted to kiss him. She thought about this a lot, actually, and she blushed as the object of her lust and affection opened his mouth.

"Rikku, you, uh… You okay?" He asked, noticing her stare.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. I was just thinking about stuff." Rikku replied, blushing. Tidus walked over to her and sat down, then kicked off his shoes and relaxed his feet near Rikku's in the water. He was sitting so near to her that she could feel his body heat, and she felt her cheeks get hot every time his feet grazed hers.

"There sure is a lot to think about." Tidus said, leaning back. His vest opened up more, offering a nice view of his pectorals and some of his abs. The sight of those perfect bumps under Tidus' clothes was almost overwhelming for her. Ever since he found her on the Moonflow that day three years ago, Rikku had harbored some pretty strong feelings for Tidus. Thinking of her cousin back home, Rikku sighed and looked off into the distance. Rikku loved Tidus, but she also loved Yuna like a sister, and there are lines that sisters just do not cross.

"What in the world are we gonna do?" She said, lying down in the warm sand. "I mean, it's not like we even know where this Yur-whatever guy is!"

"Still," Tidus said, his voice stern and deep. "The people of Spira… Even the people here in Mysidia… They're all in danger and they don't even know it. Who's gonna save everyone if not us?" Tidus plopped his back down in imitation of Rikku and watched the clouds roll by overhead. Rikku smiled, admiring Tidus' heroic words. That was one of the traits she loved most about him. He was always so heroic, so dependable.

"You're right." Rikku said. She put her arm around Tidus' and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm just scared, y'know. What if we can't do it? What if… What if we fail, and everyone dies… Yunie, Brother, Pops, Wakka, Lulu, Paine, Kimahri… everyone… gone because we couldn't do it."

"Rikku…" Tidus looked down at her with sympathetic blue eyes and put his free arm around her shoulder, locking her in a soft embrace. "I know how you feel. But we've saved the world before, right? You did it twice! I know we can pull through this time."

Rikku looked up at him, her green eyes meeting his blue ones, and she felt this little tinge in her chest as her heartbeat grew faster. Rikku just stayed like that, staring into Tidus's two ocean blue eyes, barely able to breathe. In that moment, Rikku couldn't feel the fear of failure, the overwhelming pressure of saving two worlds, or even the air around her. All she felt were Tidus' strong hands moving to her shoulders and her own hands traveling to his neck. It was as if she wasn't in control anymore.

The next thing she felt were Tidus' lips against her own, begging to go deeper. Rikku let him, feeling his tongue enter her mouth and press against her own. She moaned softly as their tongues intertwined and danced together, parting for short breaths as if spinning away from each other as they danced, only to come back for more. Tidus' lips melded with Rikku's as she sucked on his tongue and he sucked back, then moved to her lower lip. Rikku felt an overwhelming flood of guilt and pleasure as she let her body take over, swinging her leg over Tidus', straddling him and pushing him down. If Yuna knew what was going on here, what would she do? Would she silently let it happen and go off somewhere to deal with it alone? Would she scream and yell at Rikku and demand that they never speak again? Both situations burned her to the core, enough to bring her back to her senses and stop kissing the blond man underneath her.

"We can't…" Rikku said, moving off of him and looking away. "It isn't right. What about Yunie?"

"Shit." Tidus said, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Shit, you're right, Rikku. I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me." He sighed and rested his hands on his knees. Rikku could hear the regret and guilt in his voice, and while it hurt, she knew that kissing him wouldn't have ended up another way. How could she let herself get carried away like that? I'm such an idiot, she thought.

"I know… I'm sorry too. We just got caught up in the moment. It didn't… It didn't mean anything." Rikku was lying through her teeth. It had meant something. It meant everything to her, and she had fantasized about it for three whole years. She turned back to Tidus, who was looking at her with these eyes that seemed to be searching the air around them for something to say. He opened his mouth as if to do so, then shut it, and opened it again, hesitating once more. Finally, he let out the words that hung on his lips.

"What if…" He started, pausing as if deciding whether or not to continue. "What if it did mean something?"

Rikku's heart froze for a moment, and a flood of emotions swam through her head. She felt happiness that he had felt that something too, sadness that he had cheated on Yuna with her, frustration that he even would… How was she supposed to react? What was she supposed to say? She wanted to jump back into his arms and let him hold her some more, but she knew that wasn't fair to Yuna, who was back in Spira crying her eyes out in worry for the two of them.

"It doesn't matter. You're with Yuna… Nothing good would come from us being together," said Rikku, holding back tears.

"I know, but…" Tidus ran a hand through his perfect blond hair. "But I just have to say it. I've felt this way for a really long time now, and, well…" His voice trailed off as he gathered his thoughts.

"Well?"

"I love you, Rikku."

The Al Bhed girl hung her head as the shame and guilt attacked her brain like a swarm of hungry piranha. She knew logically that being with Tidus was wrong and immoral and a violation of the dear friendship she had with Yuna, but the sharp pain in her chest and the butterflies in her stomach drowned out the protests from her conscience. Rikku fell back into Tidus' arms and hid her teary face in his chest, softly hitting him with a clenched fist.

"I love you too, you big dumb idiot."

Short(er) chapter, but finally, the moment you've all been reading for has arrived! I figured it was about time something happened between them, since its already chapter 11 and all. As always, review/fav/follow and thanks for reading!