AN: Woo! Chapter 3!

Finally some proper interaction between Auron and Rikku... I promise more in the next chapter. The problem is is that I hate fluff, I don't really feel that it's true to character. But there is a little because we all need a little bit of fluff in our life. Just a little.

To my lovely reviewer Asty once again:: You are awesome. and you're right, too often these things do fizzle out. But since I'm using fan fiction as creative writing practice I'm trying to structure it out so that there is a proper end. I hate to be left hanging!

And everyone else who is reading, let me know what you think! The good, he bad and the ugly, I want to know it :)

Chapter 3

You can do this Yuna, she told herself before stepping out onto the deck of the Celsius. She smiled nervously to her two friends at either side of her, their faces mirroring hers. They showed a mixture of worry, nervousness and confidence. This was the moment they were going to unite Spira. Yuna turned to the audience.

As she began Rikku scanned the people gathered hoping to see a flash of his red coat. She strained her eyes through the looming darkness but saw no one, the Thunder Planes were shrouded in heavy clouds and the only thing illuminated for miles was the airship they were standing on. That was until Yuna started singing.

She opened her mouth and out cascaded a melody neither Paine nor Rikku had ever heard her sing before. They watched as the sphere screen around them flickered and came to life, echoing the words of the tragic end to the love story of Lenne and Shuyin in vivid pictures of ancient Zanarkand. And there, on the deck of the Celsius stood Lenne herself next to Yuna, urging her on, urging Spira to come together. As Paine watched the crowd fall under the story of the song she found even she was blinking back tears. Rikku watched her and smiled, If even Paine sheds a tear to this song, there can't be a soul in Spira who isn't moved by it, she thought to herself.

"Go Yunie..." She whispered under her breath, grinning with admiration at her cousin who was saving Spira once again. And just as if the whole world agreed with her, the song ended, the clouds parted and the sun bathed the Thunder Planes and all those in it in its warm glow.

For the days that followed the Gullwings continued their observations of Spira, tracking carefully the fallout of the concert across the CommSpheres. Had they indeed made a difference? The crew gathered around Shinra's desk watching various messages they were receiving, but Rikku found she couldn't draw her attention away from the small golden sphere in her belt pouch. She had peeped Auron a message saying she had pertinent information from Maechen that they received after the concert days ago but had yet to hear anything back from him. She had taken to absentmindedly playing with it whenever she felt stressed or whenever she was bored on the bridge. She rolled it back and forth across her fingers like Gippal had shown her how to do with Al Bhed coins back when they were children growing up in Home, wondering how the golden haze inside formed images.

Gippal...where are you? She thought to herself, and immediately regretted it as a waved of guilt washed over her for spending so much time in her thoughts and daydreams about the return of her katana wielding teenage crush, and not on the disappearance of her cocky adult crush. She held the glowing ball up to the window of the cabin to catch the sunlight and smirked as her mind wandered off to the day dreams she was having all the time, now that Auron had returned.

"Rikku" barked a distant voice, "Why are you looking at me like that?" Auron's defined features came into focus on the mini sphere. He wasn't wearing his usual sunglasses and Rikku could see his scarred face easily. Her heart back flipped.

"Holy Chocobos, Auron, doesn't this thing give you any warning about when you tune in?! I could have been in the shower or something..." She felt the colour rising in her cheeks as he admittedly caught her on the mini sphere mid-thought about all the things they could get up to stuck in the travel inn in a Macalanian blizzard...

Auron's familiar face in the mini sphere screen cocked an eyebrow. "This mobile sphere isn't a toy Rikku, why on Spira would you take in into the shower with you?" He barked at her again. Yevon, did that man know how to aggravate her.

"Well of course I didn't take it into the shower, Sir Auron" She retorted, childishly emphasising his name just like she knew would annoy him. "Anyway, I sent you a message days ago, didn't you know it's rude to keep a lady waiting?" She flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"My apologies, my Lady" She definitely detected sarcasm on that one, "But I have been busy determining the whereabouts of the next Spiran destruction" He was definitely patronising her.

"Well, did Sir have any luck with that?" She said, blinking her emerald swirls at him. This time she wasn't sure if that was sarcasm of flirtation. And what she was thinking flirting with the unflirtable? She had no idea.

"As a matter of fact, no." Ha! You so need me and my info Auron. Rikku internally high-fived herself.

"Well, it just so happens I might be able to help you with that Auron. When can I meet you?"

"I'm waiting for you in Macalania." He delivered in cool sincerity. Thank Yevon she was sitting down, because her legs just about forgot how to stand up.

"We're flying over Guadosalam right now, so I can be there in an hour or so. I'll get Brother to drop me off. I'll tell Shinra I'll do some CommSphere maintenance or something. Macalania's is broken."

"Very good...Oh Rikku?"

"Yes Auron?"

"You might want to find something a bit ...warmer to wear, there's a blizzard coming in over Lake Macalania. I'll meet you in the inn, there's a room booked for you as you may have to stay here if the blizzard doesn't break." That was the man she knew, the one who gave out casual advice with a distinctive Auron undertone that offered no option but to follow what he said.

"Th-that's fine Auron, I'll let the girls know I might be a while..." She felt her cheeks warm as a few for-her-eye's-only images of her earlier daydreams flashed into her head. And without a word of goodbye, the mini sphere clouded over with golden haze once again and she tripped over herself to her closet to pack a bag.

What in Yevon are you thinking, Auron?! He mentally scolded himself as he charged around the spacious room at the Macalanian Inn.

You're pathetic, and maybe even perverted. With the mini sphere there was no need for Rikku to visit him in person, if an unsent man could even call himself 'a person'. What made him ask her to come? Was it loneliness? Did he miss working as part of a team towards a common goal? Or did he just miss the company of a woman, as his body told him. That idea was preposterous, not only was he old enough to be her father, but he was technically dead. Not only that, but she was a young, wild, adventurous and admittedly sexy woman with a full life and many admirers ahead of her. There was no chance in hell she would respond to any advances he made, if he was stupid enough to. Stupid or lonely.

Yet he never missed once the way she looked at him. In fact, Auron never missed a thing. He knew exactly which direction the swirls in her eyes went, he knew exactly which side of her hair she braided first, he knew exactly the sound of her soft footed walk on any terrain in Spira for they had walked together on the same path to Sin's demise. They had spent months together on a journey that changed the very course of this planets history. And despite her emotional immaturity grating on his nerves for most of the time, this petite blond woman who had grown up and was no longer the high strung girl he knew, had stayed in his thoughts nearly every single night since they had met. He had told himself, yet not believed, that the desire he felt to protect her was a paternal instinct since she was the youngest member of the group. Looking at her now, he knew that was definitely not the case.

He regarded his worn face in the mirror and signed deeply having the same internal argument he had always had with himself when he thought about Rikku. Was he so weak that he couldn't control his own feelings? He was a warrior monk of maturing age for crying out loud.

This fools chase after Vegnagun was a pathetic excuse to leave the Farplane, he told himself. Especially when the High Summoner and her party who brought the Eternal Calm were here to guard over Spira.

Yet he told himself once again that he was a Guardian too, and that strengthened his resolve. It was his duty to guard life on Spira, and she was alive, and she was on Spira. He was just going to have to do so whilst keeping his carnal lusts to himself, as he had done two years ago.

Auron took a swig from his ceramic sake bottle before placing it on the side table and looking out of the window. The blizzard was blowing in thick after all.