Yeeey! Finally I've had time to sit down and write the next chapter! I am SO SORRY it has taken longer than usual, my work has just gotten crazy mental busy and after a really long week of making every single type of coffee imaginable for impossibly Ridiculous customers my poor wee fingers refused to type for a few days *hangs head in shame*

Anyways...Asty you shall have one hundred happy dancing moogles with flowers because you are awesome for reviewing and I hope they keep you well entertained :] Your story idea sounds EPIC. EPICALLY EPIC. And I would be the first to read it! Cloud AND Auron in the one story? *shudders with excitement and drools a little* Also...I love wee Maechen, he's so old and he totally lost his marbles all over Spira, bless him. I'd love to be involved in FF some how, I guess that's why I'm writing this fanfiction!

Chapter 7

"Rikku, It's time we left."

Rikku snored herself awake, arched her back in an awe inspiring stretch that would make a coeurl jealous and sneezed her mop of blonde hair out her face, blinking her eyes furiously at the sharp light coming through the windows.

"Go away sun!" She mumbled into her pillow, throwing the one next to her in the direction of the light that had rudely awoken her and told her to leave. Auron watched with crossed arms from his customary resting spot against the wall and chuckled at the familiar scene. Seconds later he ducked as the second pillow flew directly at him followed by a string of volatile curse words aimed at the sun for laughing at the Al Bhed who was still wrapped in her duvet. Auron sighed with relief that this time it had only been a pillow, and not her claw, Wakka's blitzball, Lulu's moogle or anything else within arms reach on every morning during the pilgrimage. The only problem was that this time he didn't have his Ronso friend with him to subdue her. Rikku never had reacted well to a command given by Auron but she would do anything for the gentle, arctic Kimahri, who in this situation would have scooped her up, planted her half asleep on his back and proceeded to gather up her belongings. Since he didn't fancy another look from O'aka on the way out, Auron decided against scooping her up and started, instead, to collect her bags and spheres. Feeling brave, he asked her politely to get out of bed.

"Hu Cih! E fuhd tu ed!" She hollered at the sun in her own tongue refusing to get up and squirmed deeper into her duvet like a snail retreating into it's shell.

Adopting his most favourite tone he reserved only for Rikku's stubbornness on occasions like this, he issued her name firmly, his undertone strongly implying his patience had ran out.

Rikku's head popped out from under the duvet, her braids hanging half undone. "Auron?"

He made a recognisable noise at the back of his throat that signalled annoyance.

"Auron! I...slept in your bed?! What's going on? How did I get here?! Did you wake me up!? Where did you sleep!?" Her delirious questions flew at him like gunfire as she leapt out the bed and ran to the bathroom, grabbing a handful of clothing on the way. And he would have followed her in to give her a sharp telling off for being lazy and disrespectful had the door not been slammed in his face.

In the bathroom Rikku listened to the sound of Auron's boots pacing the floor and cringed with embarrassment. She couldn't remember falling asleep and certainly never expected to wake up in his bed. In an attempt to stave off the impending awkward silence that always seemed to hang between them she had a try at conversation through the bathroom door.

"Hey Auron," She said under the sound of the shower, "where we headed to?"

"Bevelle."

Rikku poked her head out from the door, her wet hair dripping on the floor. "Bevelle?" He nodded. "You know I heard Isaaru came home to help take control of the situation over there, maybe he can help us?" He nodded his head once again, never a man to waste his words.

"But you know...I had another idea." She said, stepping out fully clothed in a pair of warm woollen leggings and a tight fitting tunic in traditional Al Bhed pattern.

"Kimahri could use your help on Gagazet."

"Gagazet is far out of the way."

Rikku kicked a patch on the carpet, clasped her hands behind her back, and tried to look away from his glaring eye.

"Yeah but...he really needs some advice on getting to grips with a kind of scary situation...you know?"

Auron snorted. "I'm sure Kimahri needs no such thing."

"Awww come on Auron! Kimahri misses you! And I miss Kimahri!" She stepped close to him and looked up into his face. "Please Auron?"

He caught her gaze for a second and looked away quickly. Her face was only a few inches away from his, and he reluctantly enjoyed her invasion of his personal space.

"Fine. We go after Bevelle."

Rikku grinned and spun on the spot, stopping only when his glasses on the table caught her eye. Auron hadn't moved them from when he had taken them off the previous night. She picked them up and resumed her place just in front of him.

"If we're to go on a road trip again, you'll be needing these" She said softly and stood on her tip toes to place them gently on his face. Approaching Auron like this, she felt, was like approaching a wild drake on the Thunder Planes and asking for a hug. She half expected to feel the sting of an Auron-esque quip but instead he stood motionless, his expression dark and ignored her whilst she wiggled his glasses onto his face.

Happy to have survived free of a scolding and with her ego intact she stood back, clapped her hands together, spun on the spot, giggled and ran out of the room with her bags, boots and poncho in tow.

Auron stood gathering himself for a moment and savoured the smell he had caught from the close proximity of her wrists to his face. It was aromatic, spicy and warming, not unlike the wine they had shared the night before. Hearing the dynamic tones of her conversation with the innkeeper down the hall, he breathed in her natural perfume once more before it dissipated. Then, he adjusted his glasses, slung his sword across his back and followed her voice down the corridor.

The storm from the previous day had stopped, but not without leaving a reminder of it's brief visit. Snow had banked up along the path and crystallised against the bark of the trees. With the sheen of the rising sun reflecting on every surface it touched and casting an airy, blue-tinted light on the travellers, Rikku felt she was walking more on the surface of clouds than through a forest. She gave Auron a sidelong look and observed him secretly as he walked beside her. His face was hidden behind his dark glasses and tucked slightly into his collar. They hadn't spoken since they had left his room in the inn, but since spending the night in his company she noticed the silence didn't seem to bother her so much. Perhaps they had become accustomed to each other, she thought to herself.

"Hey Old-timer," She joked at him.

"...Old-timer?"

"Oh yeah, you ready for all the fiends on the road?" She felt brave enough to elbow his sleeve.

"Of course."

"It's just that... I hope all that time chilling on the Farplane hasn't left you out of practice." she jeered at him, her mouth curling up at the corners.

Auron arched a brow. "I am ready, as always." He said simply, shifting the weight of his sword on his back with his good arm.

"My bad, Sir Auron, I forgot." She giggled.

Auron gazed at the young Al Bhed beaming next to him. "And you Rikku?" She felt a warmth run the length of her back at his informal use of her name. "It seems like the Eternal Calm suits you."

Rikku stopped walking, her face aghast. "Is Sir Auron implying I'm getting fat?!"

He continued walking ahead. "I'm only implying that if your dedication to training is the same as it was two years ago, I wouldn't be surprised if you were a little...rusty." A hint of a smirk played on his lips.

"Rusty?! The only thing that's rusty here is your sword!" She threw at his back. He laughed and stopped to unhook the sword in question, an equally sharp remark ready on his tongue. But as soon as he saw her, he decided against using it.

Rikku was stood a little down the path in full samurai armour, her deep maroon robes loose against her arms and torso revealing her bandaged chest, the sun reflecting off her helmet and her sword she held in her arms. Auron stood silently, his attention on the sword she wielded that mirrored his own katana. Catching his line of sight a satisfied smile broke across her face. She had decided to engage her garment grid whilst his back was turned, something she had been desperate to do since they had left the inn.

He regarded her completely. "Impressive." He muttered.

"I knew you'd like it," she said quietly to herself and, without warning, broke into a run directly at him, weapon at her side.

Auron pushed out his arm from it's resting place under his robe and braced himself with his legs squared. She flew down the path and, seconds before impact, she kicked herself off a tree stump to his right and brought her sword down on a direwolf stood right behind him. The fiend uttered a sad wail and slumped on the ground, his body evaporating into a mist of pyreflies before their eyes. Auron watched Rikku's silhouette come into view as the pyreflies dissipated.

He raised his sword to his back "That attack..."

Was yours, Auron.

She disengaged her garment grid and bounced lightly on her heels, hand behind her head.

"Tidus and I weren't goofing off the whole time you were training us..." She said. "But you know, I prefer these things anyway." She winked at him as she pulled out a couple of grenades and juggled them.

"Shame." He said, resuming his walk down the path. The Eternal Calm isn't the only thing that suits you, Rikku.

By mid afternoon they had almost reached Bevelle. Although the walk hadn't been an arduous one, Rikku sighed with relief as she saw the great city looming over the roof of the forest. The snow had melted in the warm afternoon sun and she had spent the last half hour avoiding the many pools of slushy mud that had taken over the path.

"We're almost there..."

Auron nodded. Their journey through the forest had gone swiftly with minimal rest stops or encounters with fiends. He was satisfied and had been using his time to go over his plan for entering the heart of Bevelle unnoticed. Up ahead the track split off into two directions and from one path they could hear the conversation of two bored guards posted at the gates to Bevelle.

"It was amazing, really! I mean who could have guessed she'd have such a great voice!"

"Yeah man, she's got everything...the voice...the looks.."

"Yeah...that outfit..."

"Those shorts...who'd have thought she was hiding that cute little ass under her summoners dress..."

"Hey! That's the High Summoner you're talking about! We'll get fired if anyone hears you!"

Auron thrust his arm out to stop Rikku who was set to give the guards a piece of her mind for talking about her friend in such a way. She looked at Auron, her mouth open in question as to why he wasn't three meters down the path marching towards them with his sword out, but he simply shook his head and raised his finger to his mouth. Understanding he meant silence she ducked down into the under bush with him and he quickly explained his plan.

"Whilst those guards are distracted, we will take the path to the left and enter Bevelle through the Via Purifico."

Rikku's heart sank. She didn't mind swimming, but did not want to swim down that particular memory lane.

"Once inside, we will head to the heart of the Bevelle underground. I must investigate the cavern where Vegnagun was kept. I understand there is a tunnel there that was created by the weapon itself?"

Rikku nodded, fearful for what was to come next.

"I believe it goes to the Farplane, to Shuyin."

"Huh..."

"I shall return to the Farplane and investigate where he is hiding and gauge the full extent of his power."

Rikku's eyes dropped to her crouched knees.

"You're going back, so soon?" she whispered.

"For a short while." He said, a tenderness creeping into his fierce expression.

"But what about Kimahri and Mt. Gagazet... " She said, clutching at an excuse she had created to keep him on this plane a little longer.

"I shall return for that, but first we must deal with the mission at hand."

"Okay..." She conceded, reluctantly.

After a pause he asked her, "Are you ready?"

Auron watched with interest as she clicked her garment grid into place. Her samurai armour engaged, she looked into his brown eye.

"As always."