'Believe - Staind' - This song played twice during this chapter. Not that I took that long to write it, but I did (Sorry!)

Twenty-Two:

Two weeks. Two weeks without seeing his face; Two weeks without hearing his voice. Rikku felt numb, sheltered, and depressed - the combination of the three emotions did no good for her. Nearly every day, every night, was an argument with her father. Despite Braska's wishes that she returned to the University, Cid simply wouldn't. Even Brother begged he let her return. She was bright, the most intelligent Al Bhed anyone had ever seen, and yet, Cid said No. 'Not until that murdering drunk is far away from my daughter,' - was all he would say.

Rikku only managed to pack her back once Braska gave Cid the affirmative answer - Auron would never teach again, ever. He was banned from all schools and Universities. Cid pressed further, of course, to find a way to keep Auron away from his daughter all together. Braska said he would try, but couldn't make any promises. Cid, though reluctant, accepted the circumstances and returned to Rikku all her electronic devices. The connection to her phone was turned back on, and the passwords that locked her laptop were removed. She booked a train ticket back to Balamb faster than she could press the power button on either of them.

Only, that Sunday morning was the longest of mornings. The very second Cid was out of sight, and off the platform, Rikku video called Auron at the same speed of the moving train. But it went unanswered. 'Maybe he's not presentable yet?' She thought to herself, and tried a regular phone call instead - Voicemail. Her heart sunk to the lowest pits of her belly. She chewed on her bottom lip until it bled. She tried to calm herself, braided her hair, and stared outside at the trees that skimmed past the windows, but not luck. She tried the next best thing - A video call to Yunie, the best cousin in the entire world.

It didn't even finish its initial buzz, and Yuna answered. Rikku was met by the bright face of her older cousin. She was outside, in the sun, wearing a tank top from what Rikku could tell. "Rikku!" Yuna beamed from the screen of the phone. She hadn't talked to her in days. Clearly, she was a sight for sore eyes.

"Hi Yunie." Rikku said; She tried to sound as chipper as the older girl, but couldn't find it in her.

"What is it, Hun?" Yuna held the phone close to her face as she seemed to walk. Rikku could see she was near the university, outside on the open campus. There were students out on the grass, with books in hand. Rikku eyed them curiously, "What's going on there?" She pointed her finger so Yuna could see.

"Oh." Yuna spun around to give Rikku a better look. "It's the first exams. Everyone is studying"

'Shit,' Rikku thought to herself. Exams. And she was out so many weeks from school, there was no way she could pass. As though Yuna had read her mind, Rikku heard a gentle laugh from phone, "Don't worry! Dad's made sure you'll be okay. Every professor has sent in make up work to your room."

There, there was the word. Professor. "Every Professor?"

Rikku watched as Yuna plopped down on the steps outside the University's main doors. For that moment, Yuna was her only form of light. A tunnel had envelope the train and darkness filled the cabin area. It happened at the perfect moment. Yuna was unable to see the sadness on her face as she fought the urge to cry.

"I know you know..." Yuna sad sadly and leaned her head on her hand, "He's been emptying his office all morning."

Rikku's eyes went wide as the sun entered her cabin once again. "He's there? Like, right now?"

Yuna nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. Anyone in his class has been given a passing credit, and a free period, considering it's too late to replace the class."

Rikku glanced down at her watch. Based on the time, she would be at Balamb within twenty minutes. If she would hurry after to the University, hopefully she could catch him. "How long would he be there? Do you know?" Rikku asked as she looked back at her phone. Yuna shrugged, glancing behind her at the main doors. "I don't know..."

"Can you stall him?" Rikku asked, inching to the edge of her seat. She stared at the curiousness that settled on her cousin's face. Yuna scratched the side of her face before smiling at her phone screen. "Leave it to me." Yuna said as she stood up and turned to walk in through the doors. They gave each other a silent wave as a goodbye, and Rikku's phone went black. Her heart raced a million times a minute.

The minutes tarried on slower than she could handle. Rikku tapped her feet, played with the drawstring to her bag. She flipped through the few photos she had of Auron on her phone, over and over again. She did anything she could to make the time speed by faster. And once she heard the Balamb stop sound within the cabin, an even mixture of excitement and nervousness took over her, but not enough to stop her feet. She scooped up her bag and darted out of the train, shouting 'Thank You!' to the young stewardess who asked if her train ride was as expected. She didn't care to answer the woman's questions. She needed to see him.

Auron had called for his classroom to be cleaned four times over, but nothing could remove the alcohol stains from the carpet. He stared at the stains where his desk once sat and sighed with his hands in his pockets. He figured he would convince Braska to leave the desk where it was, and not mention it to the next Professor who took over the room. Perhaps they would be newly hired and wouldn't know of the drunkard who taught there previously. Braska could play off the stain as a chemical mistake from a science class, or janitor error. Anything but his drinking problem. Or him.

He stared at the box of papers that sat on one of the desks. Next to it was his phone, that had buzzed twice, but he didn't bother with it. He tried to ignore it. It was either a reporter, or Braska, or Khimari - and he was tired of it. He understood his situation very well, even if it destroyed him more than his past had done. He couldn't teach at Balamb. He couldn't live in Balamb. He was shunned, an outcast. The price to pay for involuntary manslaughter. He accepted it; It took him days, but he accepted his fate. It seemed Braska was right all along - he wouldn't have been able to protect him forever, and he took the shelter for as long as he could.

"Excuse me, Professor?"

Auron turned around to see Yuna's smiling face. She held flowers in her hand. They looked fresh, as if she had ripped them out from the school garden herself minutes before. The dirt on her knees confirmed it in a way, or she could have just been a messy young woman that day. Still, he returned her smile, and nodded at the yellow tulips in her hands, "For me?" He asked.

"Ah." She laughed and handed them to him. "Sort of." She said.

"What does that mean?" He looked down at the flowers in his hands. They smelled sweet. He never knew what flowers could smell like. He supposed his senses were more awake while being sober.

Yuna skipped past him, and looked down into his box of papers. She flipped through them, scanning the notes of Aeons and Spira, and sighed. "Ah, sucks." She said as she dropped them back where they had been, "I was interested in learning about Shiva."

Auron blinked, and nodded his head towards the sheets she had dropped. Within them was a learning plan on the Ice Aeon herself. "You can have it." He said as he walked over towards his desk, which was now pressed against the far wall of the room.

"Can I?" Yuna asked as she rushed back to the box before he could confirm. She scooped the papers back up into her arms and grinned as she flipped through the printed images of the Aeon and what she was supposed to have looked like. Auron couldn't help but smile. "You're as bright as your father." he said as he leaned against his desk, "Maybe, one day, you'll oversee the University."

"One day." Yuna said as she glanced down at her watch. Rikku's train should have arrived ten minutes before, which would only mean she would be rushing over to the school grounds. Her stalling tactic had worked. She distracted him with Rikku's favorite flowers, and conversation of studies. Anything that kept him from closing the box and locking the door.

"Yuna, was there a reason for these flowers?" Auron asked as he shook them in front of his face gently. A petal fell to his feet.

"Yeah." Yuna said as she stepped towards the door. "There was a reason." She could hear shoes skidding down the halls.

"And it was?" Auron grabbed his sunglasses from on top of his desk and put them back over his eyes. He didn't need to block out the light, but it was a force of habit.

Yuna turned her head out the door. She saw Rikku turn the corner before starting down the hall with the quickest of feet. She smiled at her younger cousin, and looked back at Auron, who inched his head to see who was running towards his class. "You'll see." Yuna said as she left the room with a small turn, clutching the papers to her chest. Auron opened his mouth to stop her from leaving, but the moment she left, Rikku took her face. The red face, panting young woman looked at him with bright eyes that rimmed with tears. He gripped the flowers in his hands. He couldn't say a word, not as she rushed to him and trapped his mouth in a deep kiss. He found he couldn't fight her, not that he wanted to. His free hand found its way around her waist as he pulled her close against him. He was dreaming, he had to have been, but he gripped her so tight that even if it was, she wouldn't be able to leave not even able he awoke.

"How did you know about my favorite flowers?" Rikku breathed against his lips as she slowly pulled the small bundle from his hands. He looked at them while he mentally thanked Yuna. He figured he could do so personally the next time he saw her. "Lucky guess." He said as he sucked on her bottom lip.

"Mhm." Rikku giggled as she raised his glasses away from his face. She traced the scar along his eye and down to the scruff that bordered is mouth. She looked eyes with him again, and whispered quietly against his lips, "Did you miss me?"

"More than you'll ever know." Auron responded as he flipped her around and onto her back.