A/N: I wrote this YEARS ago. It was my first smut-fic ever. And I finally, after much tweaking, feel like sharing it here. Again, you are warned for mature content between Auron and Rikku. Don't like, don't read. RATED MOST-DEFINITELY M.

Nothing Sacred

Too young ... too young. It was like a mantra, running through his mind, over and over again until he thought he would go absolutely insane. But it was the truth. She was just a girl. Young, and perfect, and unspoiled, or so he thought, having no idea of the hardships she had truly endured. And he knew everything about what he was feeling was wrong ... he should be beyond all of these things.

He was dead, after all.

It didn't matter, though. Not one bit. It wouldn't keep him from her.

They'd been in Macalania forest for several days now. The woods were dark and unyielding, and even moving quickly, it could take a good week to get through them. Every night, the group camped somewhere different, someplace near the water that was so abundant in the shimmering forest.

Several days and several nights. And it was always the same. She'd take her watch, and he would pretend to doze until he was sure that everyone else was sleeping. And then he would join her, and they would sit on the low bough of one of the monstrous Macalanian trees.

At first, they hadn't spoken. Rikku had been bewildered, and a little irritated. What? Did he think she couldn't handle herself all alone on watch? Tonight, however, she was tired of it, and she asked him what his problem was, and he looked hurt. He hadn't realized that she would take his advances that way.

"No, Rikku," he said softly. "I just enjoy your company."

Rikku's green eyes widened at that. "My company?" she squeaked. "You want to be out here, with me, just because?"

Auron nodded, not meeting her dazzling eyes. He felt nervous around her, which was a first for him. Never, in his entire existence, had anyone made him feel as ill-at-ease as she did. It was a strange experience for him, but it also made him feel alive. That wasn't something that happened very often.

Rikku bit her lip and looked out into the darkness. Thinking, thinking ... what was she supposed to do now? She knew what she wanted to do ... but did she dare? She wasn't sure if it was friendship he desired ... or something else?

Finally, she took a deep breath and met his golden brown eye with her spiraled orbs. What the hell? she reasoned. This chance may never come again. And it's what I've wanted since, well, since I first saw him ... "Okay, then. Um ... I'm pretty sure I just heard a ... a fiend out there," she pointed in a random direction and hopped off of the branch. "Want to come ... check it out with me? Make sure it's not dangerous?"

There was a glint in her eyes, a teasing glint, and Auron caught on immediately. "Right," he said gruffly. "We should go investigate it immediately."

Rikku smiled beguilingly over her shoulder and led him away from the camp. She swayed her hips exaggeratedly as she walked in front of him, hoping that she was having the desired effect on the older guardian. If she was really going to go through with this ... well, then she was going to do it right. And it seemed that she would have to be the one in charge here ... well, that didn't bother her. In fact, she kind of preferred it that way.

Her "plan" was working perfectly. Auron had been denied so many things in his years as a monk, and there hadn't been any appealing offers on Braska's pilgrimage. And after his death, in Zanarkand, the thought had never even occurred to him. But he'd gone and done the one thing he had sworn he'd never do ... he fell in love on Yuna's pilgrimage. To a tiny, self-assured Al Bhed princess. And she had no idea.

To say this was unchartered territory for him was an understatement. But it was damned emasculating to think that she would be the one leading him. Not if he had anything to do with it.

Once they were at a safe distance from camp, Auron grabbed Rikku roughly by the upper arms and spun her around so fast that she let out a little squeak. It was all he needed. Without a further thought, he crushed his mouth down on hers. It wasn't a gentle kiss at all. He was damn through being stoic and cautious.

Rikku's eyes widened in shock initially, but then she realized how soft his lips were against hers, and she melted against him. Letting a tiny sigh escape, she gave Auron just the opening he was looking for, and he snaked his tongue between her lips to mate with hers.

Rikku's tiny hands worked quickly as she undid the belts and clasps that kept his long red coat fastened securely around his body. She discarded the garment on the ground behind them, and wasted no time in running her hands along the taut muscles of his biceps.

Breaking away from their kiss, Rikku cocked an eyebrow teasingly. "So, this is what's been hiding underneath that stupid coat all this time," she murmured. "Kinda makes me wonder what else you've been keeping secreted away."

"Hmph," Auron half-grunted, half-chuckled. Her tiny, soft hands had found their way to the button on his pants, and she had them undone before he even knew what hit him.

Sighing, she made a soft clicking noise with her tongue. "You really are far too overdressed for this, Sir Auron," she said coyly, as she slipped the black leather shirt he wore over his head, revealing his perfectly sculpted abdomen. Her fingers trailed lightly over the scar that ran down the right side of his abdomen.

He sucked in his breath ... no one had ever touched him like this. She stopped and looked up at him, for once feeling very protective towards him, instead of vice-versa. "Are you okay?" she whispered, suddenly terrified that she had made a huge mistake.

In answer, he pulled her back into his arms and brought his lips down to hers again. "Gods, Rikku," he said in bewilderment when they broke apart. He was shaking ever-so-slightly, but Rikku felt it.

Rikku smiled softly and backed away. She blinked in seeming innocence, reached up and pulled her hair out of it's ponytail. The long golden locks spilled across her shoulders, and hung down over her breasts. Auron stared at her in wonderment. Not hesitating, for fear that she'd lose her nerve under the scrutiny of the man who meant so much to her, she quickly undid the buckles on the side of her shirt, and then closed her eyes as she reached up over her head and pulled it off. She tossed it over by Auron's coat, and froze. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes.

It wasn't as though she'd never done this before. She had. The age of maturity and consent among the Al Bhed was fourteen. She knew girls her age who were married with babies. It was the way of their world … they lived in fear of Sin, they lived in fear of the Yevonites … but at least they lived.

So yes, she'd done this before, and more than once. But she'd never done this with Auron. And Auron meant just about everything to her now, even though she hadn't wanted to admit it until just that moment.

"Rikku." Auron's voice broke her out of her reverie.

"Hmm?" she said nervously, eyes still squeezed shut, arms crossed over her breasts protectively.

"Look at me," he whispered, and Rikku felt an odd sense of déjà vu and comfort wash over her. She tilted her head up, and she heard his footsteps cross the ground between them. He carefully took her hands in his own, pulling them away from her body. "Open your eyes," he whispered, his face mere inches from her own.

Taking a deep breath, she did as she was told. His rough, calloused hand touched her cheek softly, and she turned her head to kiss his fingertips. "I don't know why I'm so nervous," she confessed with a small laugh.

He kissed her longingly then, and his hands reached up to cup her perfect breasts. Rikku sucked in her breath as he touched her, but he was so gentle, so careful, that she didn't have time to be afraid. He ran his thumbs over her already hard nipples.

She moaned softly into his mouth, and Auron pulled her closer to him, pressing their bodies together. He just wanted to feel her skin against his. "Are you certain?" she whispered in his ear. "Because I ... I don't really want to stop."

"Neither do I," he whispered back. "Rikku, I love you."

Rikku's eyes flew open at that, but he didn't give her time to answer him. Her back was up against the trunk of a tree, and Auron took her hands and held them above her head as he kissed her again. This time, he allowed his lips to trail down her jawline, to her neck, and finally to her breasts.

Her back arched when he took one of her nipples into his mouth and flicked it with his tongue. He did the same to the other, and she moaned again.

His hand trailed down to the junction between her thighs, and he could feel the heat and moisture through her shorts. Growling low in his throat, he pushed her shorts down her legs, and she stepped out of them. He plunged one of his fingers into her, and she cried out in ecstasy. "Oh, gods!"

Her hands trailed down his torso, and into the waistband of his trousers. Finally she grasped him in one hand, while tugging his pants off with the other. Her eyes widened when she got a good look at it. Yeah, it was true, all right ... the bigger the sword, the bigger the ...

He gasped at her touch, and at the way she moved her hand, and he knew that if they kept going, all of this would be over before he wanted it to be. And while it felt amazing, he knew that there was more to be done.

Without waiting, his strong hands grasped her ass firmly and lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him instinctively, and lowered herself onto his shaft. They were a perfect fit ... as if they had been made for each other. Instinct took over for both of them at that point, and they moved their hips rhythmically.

The bark of the tree scraped against Rikku's back, but she didn't care. At this point, all that mattered was Auron ... inside of her, filling her up and making her completely whole for the first time in her life. And he loved her ... as she thought about this gorgeous man, loving her, she felt herself nearing the edge. She just needed one thing ...

"Auron, tell me you love me again," she whispered against his ear.

"Rikku, I love you," he cried out as he felt himself come within her.

Hearing his voice pushed her over the edge as well and she felt the waves of her orgasm rock her entire body. "Oh, Auron!" she breathed.

He released her lower body, and she slid down the trunk of the tree limply. She looked up at him with wide, bewildered eyes. "Whoa," she whispered imperceptibly.

"I apologize," he said, almost sheepishly, looking down at her.

"Apologize?" Rikku asked. "For what?" She began to worry that he regretted having sex with her.

But ... he couldn't ... could he?

"I wanted it to be ... perfect, for you," he said.

Rikku stood up and looked at him in disbelief. "And what makes you think that wasn't? For your information, buddy, you happen to be just about the best ..."

He cut her off by kissing her again. "I feel like an amateur," he confessed.

She smiled at him, finally understanding. "Well ... that's okay," she said brightly. "Stick with me, and we'll have you going pro in no time."

He laughed heartily at her exuberance. "I meant it, you know," he said softly. "I do love you."

Rikku's features softened, and she crossed to him and placed her hand on his right cheek -- the scarred cheek. She caressed it lovingly. "Well, that works out pretty well, because I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you."

The way his face lit up when she said that warmed Rikku all the way to her toes. How sad, to be him, and to never have known love. Rikku vowed to make sure that he knew, every single day, that he was exceptionally loved.

They kissed again, and then dressed and returned to camp. It was almost time for Wakka's shift, and they knew they'd better be back or else have to make up excuses.

After that first night, it seemed as if they couldn't get enough of each other. And by the time they left Macalania, several days later, they really hadn't left too many places in the forest sacred ...