12: Truce

When they arrived back at the camp, Rikku noted with surprise that Jecht and Auron were talking to one another, rather than arguing or sniping as they usually did. Even more surprising was seeing Auron's Jug of Jolly Jiggers in Jecht's hands.

Jecht took an exceptionally long swig from the jug, then belched. He tried to hand it back to Auron, but the other man eyed him with a hint of disgust and refused, pushing it back.

"Keep it for now," Auron grumbled. "I'll have it disinfected at the next temple."

"Prig," Jecht muttered. He lifted his hand in a lazy greeting towards Rikku and Braska and raised his eyebrows. "You two back already?"

"Yes," Braska said; he smiled as though nothing interesting had occurred in the last half-hour, and Rikku marvelled at his acting skills. Braska noticed Rikku's scrutiny and tilted his head; she could see the message he was delivering beneath his placid expression. Speak with Auron. It wasn't a request. "So, Jecht," he said said, seating himself near the fire. "How much do you know about the Guado?"

Auron looked nonplussed at Braska's interruption of his conversation, and Rikku took the opportunity to sit down next to him. She continued to wriggle and scoot herself over until her thigh was touching the edge of his red overcoat.

Try and ignore that, buster, she thought with a smirk.

Auron glanced down, then pushed himself up and strode to the edge of the firelight. He leaned against one of the thicker trees, crossing his arms. On anyone else it might have looked like a hasty withdrawal; he, however, managed to make the change of position seem like an attempt to better guard their camp.

Rikku: two, Auron: two bazillion, she groaned. Then, gathering her courage, she leapt to her feet. Auron met her eyes and frowned. Before she could reach his side and accuse him of avoiding her, he was already moving, disappearing into the shadowy forest.

Rikku rolled her eyes and set out after him, quickening her pace to keep up with his long strides. Auron's getaway might have been successful if he bothered to employ the stealth that she knew he was capable of; instead, he stomped through the crystal, creating a path of destruction that even a half-blind bunyip could follow. Considering the violence of his retreat, Rikku thought it best to concern herself with avoiding the splinters rather than trying to stop him. After a while he slowed down, and Rikku took a moment to absorb their surroundings.

It wasn't as quiet or peaceful as the small pond Braska had brought her to. There was nothing vaguely romantic about the dark, intimidating forest surrounding them; there was no good place to sit and have a talk, and it wasn't even pleasant to look at considering Auron had ruined half of the scenery just to get there. She resettled her eyes on the back of his red coat and waited.

"Go away," Auron said, not bothering to face her.

"I can't." Rikku dipped her head and scuffed at the ground. "And I'm not sure if I want to."

She looked up and saw that he had turned and was now gifting her with the full intensity of his glare. "You make more noise than a shoopuf in a glass cage."

Rikku's mouth dropped open. "Hello? Excuse me, but did you just forget how we even got here?" She made a flamboyant gesture at the crumbled path behind her.

"Despite that I still heard you following me." Auron scowled. Rikku guessed his complaint was sparked more by disgust with himself for listening for her rather than any clumsiness on her part.

"I hope you're a better Guardian than you are a thief," he added with spite.

"Ouch." That was a cheap shot! It wasn't any cheaper than the ones she'd fired at him while in her Alchemist dressphere, though. Swallowing her pride, Rikku lowered her eyes. "I guess I deserved that."

"Hnn," Auron huffed with an air of superiority, and Rikku decided that her pride didn't taste all that great anyway and needed to be regurgitated.

"... I know how to be a good Guardian!" she snapped. "I learned from the best."

Auron raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You, an Al Bhed, have been on a Pilgrimage before? Let me guess, you even helped defeat Sin once. If you're going to lie to me anyway, why not make it interesting?"

Rikku's nervous sway slowed and she tried to ignore what felt like a punch to her gut. "I didn't follow you to talk about being a Guardian!"

"Then why did you come here?" Auron asked. "That's all we have in common."

Rikku shook her head. "No it's not!"

Another humorless smile graced his face. "So then you admit to sharing traits with a Yevonite?" His voice dripped with sarcasm.

Rikku winced, but held her ground. "I know you're not a Yevonite." Inhale, you can do this Rikku. It's just an angry Auron. He'll make sure your death is quick and painless. "I - was out of line. I'm sorry for insulting you and Braska like that."

The ferocity of Auron's glare was unchanged despite her apology; he didn't trust her. Well, no wonder, but it still hurt.

"I mean it!"

Auron managed to look away, his jaw working as he ground his teeth together. Then, brows furrowing, he nodded at her. "Very well."

The wind blew. A dangling shard of crystal hanging off one of the destroyed trees succumbed to gravity and broke off. The tinkle it made as it shattered filled the awkward lull in their conversation.

"That's it?" Rikku said, flabbergasted. She expected something more dramatic to happen for some reason. Something involving a lot of yelling and perhaps a few pointy edges and most definitely a confrontation. Instead, Auron was accepting her apology too easily. "You mean I just snap my fingers and you forgive me?" she prodded. If there was one thing she had learned, it was that something that seemed too good to be true usually was.

Auron shrugged, the annoyed tilt of his eyebrows remaining fixed. "I can't have you disrupting the group. We need to focus on our duties as Guardians if we want Braska's journey to be successful, and I'll have enough troubles babysitting Jecht as it is. I don't have the time or patience to deal with you, too."

Rikku felt something unpleasant churning in her stomach. It struggled its way up her lungs, growing uglier by the second. Finally it burned her throat, connecting in a sharp, pounding headache between her eyes and spilling out through her lips. Auron thought she and Jecht were problems to be dealt with, not Guardians.

"I don't need to be babysat and neither does he!"

Auron turned away from her. "Hnn," he said again, and Rikku wished she had an Auron primer to translate all of his monosyllabic grunts into a comprehensible language.

"I get that you're mad!" Rikku told him. "I lied to you, okay? I admit it, I lied, and it was a big fat whopper, too. I can't cast all that much black magic and I don't use my daggers to fight unless it's an emergency. Stealing and tooling armor are the only things I can do well on my own. I just… I didn't want you to know and judge me, okay? It's hard enough being Al Bhed in the first place!"

Auron recoiled at her outburst, as though she had physically slapped him with that much honesty. The surprise registered on his face proved he wasn't expecting it from her; that disappointed Rikku more than anything else. Being who he was, of course, Auron recovered from his shock and levelled her with a cool glare.

"A confession, now?" he observed. "I don't want to be your priest, nor do I want to be your nanny." He shook his head with a look of weary disbelief. "Rikku. You spin so many falsehoods that I sometimes wonder if there's any truth left in you at all."

"I'm not lying this time, honest!" She winced at her choice of words and ignored Auron's pointed look. "I really do want to protect Braska. And..." She trailed off, her resolve wavering despite her uncle's unspoken order.

"And?" he said impatiently.

"... I didn't mean to hurt you."

Auron stiffened and his face closed; whereas he had been at least registering anger before, now he was unreadable. And then, he spoke.

"Presumptuous, to assume your actions would do anything other than offend me." He paused before continuing with narrowed eyes. "But I warned you to be careful with Braska."

"Well I'm not talking about how Braska feels right now! I didn't want to hurt you," Rikku repeated, trying to catch his eye. She did, and huffed in frustration when he didn't respond, throwing them into yet another staring contest. She was considering blinking rapidly just to add a little variety to it when he answered her.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Rikku echoed.

Auron's exasperated sigh cut through the air. Well, it wasn't quite the smile she'd been hoping for, but considering his cold shoulder from before, any emotion was progress. "Why didn't you tell me about your weapon?" Auron said, clipping off each word to make sure she understood him.

Rikku fingered her garment grid. "It's not a weapon."

"Fine, your armor," Auron shot back.

"It's not armor either! It's... more complicated than that." She didn't want to explain the garment grid in detail; it had already produced an unexpected result in Braska, and she was beginning to worry about the effect Shinra's ingenious invention might be having on the rest of the Pilgrimage.

"Complicated?" Auron moved towards her and eyed the belt. "I have never in my travels encountered anything like that before. Is it a new secret the Al Bhed are developing to fight Sin?" Rikku didn't answer, and his face pulled into a mild frown. "Is that thing the reason you're an exile?"

Rikku grabbed one of her braids and played with it. "Well, you see… it's complicated."

Auron waited for an explanation that never came. "Isn't it always with you," he growled to himself. Her unwillingness to elaborate led him to make what he thought was the obvious conclusion. "You stole it and now you're running."

"Bite me!" Rikku yelled before she could stop herself. Her temper flared; if she had any doubts about what he thought of her, that certainly cleared the air. He was close by, and she was taller than before, so if she spun quickly enough, there was a good chance that her elbow might connect with his nose before he could dodge - Bad Rikku! Hitting Auron won't solve any of your problems, it'll just make you feel better... until he hits back! Shaking her head, Rikku focused on less dangerous outlets for her annoyance.

"I didn't steal it! This was a gift, for your information." Auron didn't look convinced, but Rikku continued anyway. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it at all," she admitted. "I know... I already told you all about my fabulous skills, huh. I guess it was pretty stupid of me to think I could get by without it. I just..." She swallowed. To her surprise, Auron was still listening to her. The frown had eased off of his face, and he watched her, waiting.

"... Well, you know," Rikku mumbled. It was easier to get the words out afterwards, knowing that she hadn't blown all her chances with him. "Using it would be like giving up. Admitting that I can't go back anymore, for real." She held her breath, wondering if the truth would be enough, if he would understand.

"I see," he said.

Rikku fidgeted. "Huh?"

"This is about Sin." He dropped his piercing gaze, his mouth twisting into a strange half-smile that looked more like a grimace. "You are damaged, just like Braska. You lost someone, too."

Rikku stared at his profile, outlined by the light of the surrounding pyreflies. If she squinted, his features blurred and darkened, blending together in the shadows - almost invisible, almost hidden. It would be easy to mistake the shine highlighting his temple for a tuft of grey. She swallowed. "Yeah, you could say that."

Auron shifted and Rikku jumped. "No, don't!" she pleaded. He froze at her words. "Stay like that for just a little longer, okay?"

Instead of listening, he stood to his full height and moved in front of her. "Hnn. Why?" Light cut across his smooth skin and made his eyes glitter; the hard expression on his face chased away the memory of his older self.

"Because you - ! Ugh, nevermind." Be careful with Braska, he told her. Why can't he take his own advice? Or perhaps he could; maybe that was why he shifted when she all she wanted was for him to stay still, his all-too-familiar features tearing at the barely-scabbed wound in her heart.

Auron looked at her, puzzled. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You looked like someone I knew for a minute there," Rikku told him.

Auron's curiosity dissolved into mild disapproval. "Get your head out of the clouds and stop pretending I'm someone else."

Rikku flinched. Why can't you be a little more like your old self? He made no apology for puncturing her illusion. It was unfair, perhaps more than it would have been with anyone else. Not even the man himself could compare with the untouchable legend Rikku had created in her mind.

"If I could do it," Rikku said, sinking to her heels and wrapping her arms around herself. "I mean, if I had the chance to get back the person I lost, I don't know if I would anymore. I thought that's what I wanted, but now I'm not so sure." She felt a weight settle on her shoulder and realized that it was his hand. She was mesmerized by the feel of his strong fingers; their warmth seeped through her clothing, burning an imprint onto the skin below. She never remembered him being warm before.

"Happiness is a rare and temporary thing in Spira," he told her. "You shouldn't feel guilty for opening your heart to your friends, no matter how brief the encounter."

Rikku smirked, wondering if Auron could know how incongruous that advice was, coming from him. "Even if I knew I'd just lose that person all over again?" she asked, prodding at her own wound. "It took me five years to get over it. I don't know if I'd survive a second time."

"There are no guarantees in life. There's no such thing as a happy ending for anyone in Spira right now." The hand on her shoulder tightened. "But you would survive." His tone was firm, rather than patronizing; he said it as though he was stating a simple fact, which left Rikku all the more confused.

"Auron?" she queried, daring to look at him.

"You are strong enough," he reassured her, filling her with hope and dread. Then he let his hand fall from her shoulder and looked away. "It's late," he said.

"Yeah," Rikku agreed. Neither of them moved. She focused on the undamaged portion of the forest before them, letting herself drift off in the peaceful silence. Macalania was a place of memory, not just regret. Dangerous as the waters were here, there was no denying the forest's beauty.

"Braska and Jecht are waiting for us. The longer we delay -"

Rikku rolled her eyes and cut him off. "I know, I know. The more stupid jokes we'll have to put up with from Jecht."

Auron grunted, annoyed, and Rikku giggled.

"I want to stay here a little longer," she said. "I have some thinking to do." To her surprise, Auron only sighed and settled into a more comfortable stance. "Uhh… you don't have to wait up for me, you know," she added.

"Hnn. As if I'd let Jecht dictate my actions. Take as long as you need, I'll wait."

Rikku hid her grin, touched by Auron's concern for her welfare. Even with the beauty of the surrounding forest half-ruined by his own hand, he still managed to charm her into caring about him.

Maybe that was the magic of Macalania. Dangerous as it was, it forced people closer together, if just for a little while. Yuna and Tidus shared their first kiss here, after all. Together they found something to smile about, even when it seemed like there would be nothing but tears left for any of them. Of course, it was all dashed to pieces by the end. But eventually, Yuna smiled again, and more sincerely than ever before. It took awhile, but she survived. Tidus' return to Spira had been the proverbial icing on her cake; Yuna would have been capable of moving on whether he returned or not.

Auron stirred, and Rikku glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She felt a bit jealous, wishing she could siphon off her cousin's strength and just forget about the man who stood at her side.

Maybe that was why Shiva made this beautiful, artificial forest. To remind us to keep dreaming of better things. Looking at Auron, Rikku wondered how strong she was. "So are we friends again?" she asked him.

Auron's lips twisted into a tiny smirk. "We were friends?" But there was no malice in his voice. And was that - ? Rikku peered, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks on her. It looked almost as though his expression was melting into a genuine smile. Did she even want to hope for that much?

"We should return to the camp," Auron told her gruffly. He offered her a hand, and Rikku hesitated. She slipped her palm into his, and his fingers wrapped around her and tightened. Then she was being pulled to her feet and fighting to control the broad grin on her face.

This is gonna hurt like hell.

.x.x.x.

When Rikku woke the next morning, the first sight that greeted her was Jecht, playing with the recording sphere she'd given him. She shot out of her bedroll with a jolt of surprise; the sun hadn't yet risen. But if Jecht was already up that still meant she was late.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" she squeaked, bundling together her things in a haphazard rush.

"Ah, relax, will ya?" Jecht told her, playing with the controls on the sphere, a look of intense concentration on his face. "Braska and Auron are scopin' out the place for fiends. Red told me not to wake ya."

"Huh?" Rikku said, gaping. "Are you talking about the same Auron I know?"

Jecht only smirked at her. "Yep. Guess he took one look at you and decided you needed all the beauty sleep you could get."

"Jecht!" Rikku screeched. Then she groaned and grabbed her head. "It's too early to wake up to you in the morning."

"Relax, I'm just foolin' ya," Jecht said, a trifle too contrite to be sincere. "Besides, you can stop actin' so surprised, Blondie. I already said he's got a thing for you."

"No, he doesn't!" Rikku yelped, feeling her face turn bright red.

Jecht paused to smirk at her. "That so? Then why d'ya look like you just been caught with your hand in the cookie jar, huh?"

Rikku slapped her palms to her cheeks and glared at him. "No hands have been in anyone's cookie jars, Jecht!"

"Not even your own?" Jecht gave her a pitying look. "Man, no wonder you're so bent outta shape."

Rikku's mouth opened and closed a few times. "I'm… just gonna pretend you didn't say that for my own sanity."

"I'm just sayin' -"

" - and my supply of bullets," she added meaningfully, but Jecht only smirked. "No really! How can you think that? We're always fighting and stuff!"

"Foreplay," Jecht replied, still fiddling with the sphere. He was interrupted by the tightly bundled sack of bedding that Rikku sent hurling towards his head, knocking him over. "Shit!" he yelled, nearly fumbling the sphere. "What the hell do you think you're doin'? I almost dropped it!"

"You - you - shaved ogre! I don't know how you managed to convince your wife to marry you, 'cause it sure wasn't for your personality!" Rikku sputtered, wishing she had a spare grenade on hand.

" 'Course not! Everybody knows the women love me for my body," Jecht boasted, lifting his arm and kissing his bicep. He grinned as Rikku seethed at him. "Sorry babe, but you're gonna have to settle for the Stiff. This specimen's spoken for."

"Augh! You're so full of yourself!" Rikku yelled, searching for another projectile to lob. "I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face with... this... ahh... this stick!" She grabbed her last-minute weapon and brandished it menacingly. The mission to maim Jecht was waylaid by crunching sounds coming from the direction of the forest; Auron broke back into the camp, with Braska trailing behind him. He shook the excess crystal shards off of his boots and looked at them, not at all surprised to catch Rikku chasing after Jecht with a stick.

"Good, you're finally awake," he observed. "Do I want to know why you two are getting along so well this morning?"

Rikku might have believed in Auron's ill humor had he not bothered to let her sleep in. As it was, she beamed and tried to figure out how to casually dispose of her stick so she could approach him. She felt giddy and nervous, and wondered if she should act nonchalant, as though nothing had changed, or bubbly and cute to try and catch his eye. So great was her dilemma that she almost missed Jecht's next words.

Never one to pass up an opportunity to needle his favorite target, Jecht opened with a promising parlay. "Well, I was just tellin' Blondie here how you got the hots for -"

The stick problem relieved itself quite readily when Rikku chucked it at Jecht's head, forcing him to duck before he could finish the sentence. She turned to Auron, sure that her face was flaming red, and fumbled for words as he lifted a bemused eyebrow.

"Jecht and I were just talking about how hot you are!" she blurted out. Then she winced.

"What?" Now it was Jecht's turn to yell in chagrin, and that was almost worth her embarrassment.

Auron's lips quirked, but it disappeared, only to be replaced by a disturbed expression. "Is that so," he deadpanned, turning to glare at Jecht.

" 'ey! I don't swing that way!" Jecht protested.

"Pity," Auron grunted, and Rikku's jaw dropped. Jecht was even more shocked; he lost a few shades of tan on the spot. Recovering when Braska began to laugh, he stomped over to the smoldering fire pit to fiddle with his sphere in a sullen funk.

"Auron!" Braska said, joining them. "Did you just make another joke? You had better be careful or it may become a habit."

Auron shrugged, his eyes lightening with a mild spark of amusement. "The ability to offend Jecht can make almost any indignity bearable," he replied. "Besides..." Then he turned and looked at Rikku. "It isn't necessary to be honest all of the time."

Rikku gave Auron a weak smile, one which didn't go unnoticed by Braska. Then, she heard a familiar hum and a click and spun around to look at Jecht. He was still playing with the sphere's controls; it was glowing in his hands. "What do you think you're doing with that thing anyway?"

Jecht looked up at them. "Well, you said these things were like cameras, didn'tcha?" He pressed another button on the sphere and it began to record.

"What are you taking?" Auron tensed, scowling at Jecht as the sphere centered on him.

"Well, you said it was gonna be a long trip. We'll be seeing lotsa of neat things, right? So I thought I'd record it all in this. To show to my wife and kid, you know." He tilted the sphere and gestured at Auron. "Well don't just stand there like a Stiff. Move or talk or somethin'!"

Auron snorted. "You nearly died yesterday. This is no pleasure cruise!"

Jecht only rolled his eyes in response. "I'm still here. Besides, the fans go crazy for blood!"

"Impossible," Auron muttered, stalking off towards the forest. "Fetch me when he's done acting like a spoiled child."

After Auron left, Braska frowned at Jecht. "Auron doesn't like being filmed. Perhaps you should acquire a different target next time."

"I got one already!" Jecht answered, lifting the sphere to his eye and squinting through it. "Hey, Braska. Ain't this whole Pilgrimage thing supposed to be a grand occasion? Where're the cheering fans? The crying women?"

At this Rikku stomped her foot on the ground. "What am I, chopped liver?"

"You don't count," Jecht answered.

"Hey!"

"Besides, in your case it's more like whinin' than cryin'," he observed.

"HE-EY BUSTER!" Rikku formed a fist, fully intending to show Jecht just how big of a fan she could be. She stopped at the sound of Braska's quiet voice, low and serious.

"This is it." Braska folded his hands together. "Too many goodbyes - people think twice about leaving." His face betrayed nothing, but thoughts of Yuna hung in the air between them.

"Hmm..." Jecht said. "If you say so." Then he frowned at the oppressive silence that drifted around Rikku and Braska. "Well, it better be a lot more colorful when we come back. A parade for Braska, vanquisher of Sin!"

Rikku winced; it was easy to forget that Jecht didn't know the truth. She wondered what they would tell him when he discovered it for himself. The enormity of their lie made her own spat with Auron seem inconsequential by comparison. She glanced at Braska; having made the same mistake with Tidus, Rikku believed in breaking bad news to others sooner rather than later.

Braska met her eyes and shook his head minutely. So he didn't want it to be known, then. He was just like Yuna, in so many ways it made her ache. He smiled at Jecht, and she marvelled that there wasn't even a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"We should go. The day grows no younger. Gather your things and follow when you're ready, I will find Auron." He left and Rikku sank to the ground, feeling defeated. She looked up when she heard Jecht shut the sphere off. He was eyeing her.

"Am I missin' somethin' here?" he asked, glancing after Braska. "Level with me, Blondie. What are those two hidin' anyway?"

Rikku was at a complete loss for words, feeling a sick sense of déjà-vu. She didn't have the heart to tell Jecht the truth; she couldn't do it any more than she could to Auron. Jecht was still too new to Spira, too full of piss and vinegar and most importantly hope. "They'll tell you when they're ready."

Jecht glowered at her. "I thought you were different from them," he said, the accusation written across his face. "Guess I thought wrong. I'm just another crazy old fool to you too, ain't I. Thanks a lot."

"Hey, I trust you!" Rikku protested.

"Nice way you got of showin' it," Jecht replied, rolling to his feet and grabbing his sword.

Rikku kicked at the ground, angry at herself for disappointing him. "Jecht!" She chased after him. "Hey, wait up!"

"Why? You got somethin' you wanna say to me?"

Rikku nodded. "I... I can't tell you because it's Braska's decision. Please... you have to understand that, Jecht. He's the Summoner, he's the one you have to ask."

"Sure," Jecht sneered at her as they caught up with the others. He passed Auron and tossed a familiar-looking white jug towards the other man.

Auron snatched it out of the air and shook it. Then he looked at Jecht in shock. "This is empty," he noted.

"So?"

"It was almost full last night," Auron pointed out.

Jecht stopped and looked at him, his face schooled into a careless frown. "Well excuse me for bein' thirsty. Maybe I'll save you some next time."

Auron fixed the jug to his belt. "If this is how you normally drink, there won't be a next time." Jecht only shrugged at him and continued his moody tramp through the forest. Auron lingered and waited until Rikku caught up with him. "Is there a reason for Jecht's behavior this morning?" he asked her under his breath.

Rikku sighed and nodded. "He wanted to know what will happen after we defeat Sin."

Auron narrowed his eyes at Jecht's back. "It is... more difficult that I thought it would be," he mused.

"Trying not to tell him?" Rikku asked.

"Trying to tell him," Auron corrected her.

Rikku nodded. "Because he's growing on you," she supplied. Auron grunted, a look of distaste splashing across his face, and Rikku giggled. Then she sobered and looked at Jecht again. "Braska doesn't want us to tell him, you know. But Jecht knows something's up. He's gonna totally blow a gasket when he finds out."

"Braska's decision is unwise. Problems like these only fester if left unattended." Auron frowned. "But if that is what he wants, then I will speak with Jecht. He should learn how to handle his sword; maybe it will be enough of a distraction." He began to move forward, but Rikku caught his arm and held him back.

"Lemmie talk with him first. I need to settle something before you beat him up."

Auron peered at her, but nodded. She sprinted down the path and slowed by Jecht's side. He gave her a cursory glance and continued walking, not bothering with a greeting. Rikku clasped her hands behind her back. "Hey."

"So, are you gonna talk yet or what?" Jecht asked her.

Rikku nibbled her lip. Maybe she didn't have to tell him anything. "You know, that sphere you just made," she said, and felt Jecht's eyes on her. "You should leave it behind."

"Huh?" Jecht fished the sphere out of his pocket and looked at it. "I thought you said these things were expensive! Now you want me to just throw it away?"

Rikku nodded at him. "You made that for Tidus, didn't you? If you want him to find it, you should leave it here." Now she knew she had his full attention.

"What do you know about my boy?" he asked her suspiciously. "You sure you ain't from Zanarkand? I never saw you around the house..." Then he blanched. "You... you ain't one of them celebrity stalkers, are ya?"

Rikku rolled her eyes. "Trust me, if I wanted to stalk celebrities, I would've picked one." She dropped her head. "I am different from them, you know," she whispered, tilting her chin at Auron and Braska. "I know things they don't. Stuff about you... stuff about Sin. And," she added, cutting him off as he opened his mouth. "I can't tell you, either. But it's enough that you at least know. Because I trust you. And I know you're not a joke, Jecht."

Jecht shook his head. "Why?" he asked her. "I thought this was supposed to be some damn dangerous trip. Why not just tell 'em what you know? Wouldn't it make things easier?"

"Sometimes," Rikku said carefully, "keeping things quiet is the only way we have to protect our friends. So... don't get so mad at Braska and Auron, okay? They're just looking out for you."

Jecht looked unconvinced. He did relax enough, however, to cross his arms behind his head. "I'm gonna find out, ya know," he assured her. "Sooner or later, I'm gonna figure out Braska's big secret whether you want me to or not."

Rikku nodded. "That's your right. Just don't worry so much about it for now."

Jecht slid his eyes over towards her. "I'm gonna find out your secret, too," he added. "How you know about my boy, why no one else believes in my Zanarkand." He tossed the sphere he was carrying into the air. "But for now, just tell me why I gotta ditch this thing."

"This is a forest of dreams," Rikku replied. "If you try hard enough, I'm sure your dreams will reach Tidus here. He's your son, so he'll find them one day." She smiled at Jecht and shook her head at his puzzled expression. "You don't have to if you don't want to. But I think the least you could do is trust me back."

Jecht fell silent, pacing at her side through the glittering forest. Eventually, Rikku tired of his company and scampered ahead down the path. Auron passed him and mumbled something about training, but Jecht waved him off, preferring instead to study the sphere in hands. Finally, with a sigh, he shook his head. "I must be crazy," he said out loud. Then, drawing his hand back, he threw the sphere as far as he could into the dense forest. A small plip sounded as it landed in one of the many pools of crystalline water, and he imagined it sinking to the bottom.

"I hope I find you before you ever find that, boy," Jecht muttered, then rejoined Braska's side.

edited 6/16