A/N: This is my fave chapter so far ... I think it's really cute and funny, plus there's some story progression going on, so it's not JUST fluff, although there's plenty of that too! ;-p Hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! REVIEW, por favor, and I will luv you forever and ever and ever! )
Chapter Five
Everything's Perfect
They spent all day on the beach, Yuna and Tidus, Jecht and Braska, Wakka, Lulu, and Vidina. The sunshine was glorious, the water was shimmery, and the breeze was refreshing. Everyone laughed when Tidus smugly showed his dad that he had learned the "Sublimely Magnificent" Jecht Shot Mark III, and Jecht had been shocked.
"Well, I'll be damned," Jecht muttered under his breath. "Not bad kid, although your way lacks a little finesse, if you know what I mean."
Tidus just shook his head as he came in out of the water. "Whatever, Old Man," he retorted, shaking off his excess water on Yuna.
She squealed and pushed him into the sand. She stood over him, hands on her hips triumphantly as he looked up at her. "Yu-na," he whined. "What'd ya do that for?" With a devious grin, he pulled her down with him.
Laughing, she lay back in the powder-soft sand and stared up at the clear blue sky happily. "I wonder what Rikku and Auron are doing now?" she asked Tidus.
He sat up and shrugged. "Who knows?" Thinking for a minute, he made a face. "If what Dad said is right, I may not want to know."
Yuna punched him playfully, pulling herself up to sit beside him. "Be nice … don't you think it'd be sweet?"
"Auron? Sweet?" Tidus snorted. "I've seen sweeter Chimeras."
Yuna shook her head and giggled softly. "Rikku said he's different now."
"I don't know, Yuna," Tidus said doubtfully. "I've known Auron for a lot longer than Rikku has. I'd say he's not gonna change any time soon."
"You've known unsent Auron," Lulu said, walking over to them, Vidina trailing behind her. "I'm sure that had to have some sort of effect on his mentality."
Yuna nodded her agreement, and Tidus looked thoughtful. "I guess I didn't really think about that," he conceded.
Vidina plopped himself down in Yuna's lap and rested his head on her shoulder. She smiled down at him. "Hey, there, Vidina," she said to the boy.
"Hey, Yunie," he replied sleepily. He had adopted Rikku's nickname for Yuna as soon as he had been able to talk.
Yuna looked up and Lulu knowingly. "I can take care of him, if you want, until he falls asleep," she said quietly.
Lulu nodded. "Thank you," she said, walking toward Wakka.
Yuna smiled down at the drowsy child in her lap, and gently stroked his fiery red hair off of his brow until his eyelids began to droop. It wasn't too long until he fell into a sound sleep. Tidus looked at the two of them and smiled to himself. He wouldn't mind having a son of his own one of these days. Maybe he should talk to Yuna about it.
Yuna looked over at Tidus and wondered when she should tell him that soon, they'd have their own baby. It was still early, she was only two months along according to her calculations, and she knew it might be better to wait until the risky stage was over. It wasn't necessary to worry Tidus over it yet.
They were at the beach until almost sundown once again, and the airship hadn't returned yet. "I hope everything is okay on Bikanel," Yuna said, brow furrowed as they gathered their things and prepared to head back to the village.
"I'm sure it's fine, ya?" Wakka said, putting a reassuring arm around Yuna's shoulders. "You know how Cid can be."
Yuna nodded. "You're right, Wakka. Besides, Bikanel's been pretty calm since … well, since Home." It was true. The Guado destruction of Home during Yuna's pilgrimage had been the last catastrophe that had occurred on the desert island.
"See?" Wakka said jovially. "Nothing to worry about. Plus, Rikku and Sir Auron, they can hold their own, ya?" He lowered his voice and whispered to her, "Don't stress yourself out, okay, Yuna? It's not good for the baby."
Yuna's eyes shot to his face. "How did you –?"
Wakka's warm brown eyes twinkled. "Lu told me. Don't worry, I'm not gonna say nothin'."
"Thanks," she said quietly.
"Hey, you better not be telling secrets with my wife, Wakka!" Tidus called out good-naturedly from behind them.
Wakka winked at Yuna. "And what if we are, huh?" Wakka joked. "Think you could take me?"
"Oh, I know I could!" Tidus shot back.
At that, Wakka laughed heartily. "You keep tellin' yourself dat, brudda," he said. He gave Yuna's arm a gentle squeeze before catching up with Lulu and Vidina.
Tidus caught up with Yuna and put his hand on her arm. "You sure looked cozy," he commented breezily.
Yuna looked up at him and blinked solemnly. "Yes. I'm sorry that you had to find out that way," she said gravely.
"Find out what?" he asked her.
"That Wakka and I are having a shady affair," she said quietly, still with a straight face. "It just happened … irresistible forces, you know?"
Lulu's laugh rang out from up ahead of them, and soon Tidus giggled as well. "You are a crazy crazy girl, you know that?" he told Yuna fondly.
Yuna smiled at him. "I take after my father," she told him, noting that Braska and Jecht had caught up with them.
Jecht chortled. "Please. Braska, crazy? That's a good one."
"I asked for you to be my guardian. Put my life in your hands. I'd say that makes me highly insane," Braska said good-naturedly.
Yuna couldn't keep the grin off of her face. This was exactly how life was supposed to be – everyone here, everyone happy and joking. And together.
When they entered the village, one of the Aurochs came up to Yuna. "A man came through here earlier," he told her. "He asked that I please make sure the High Summoner got this. Its from Bevelle."
"Thank you, Botta," she said kindly, taking the heavy white envelope from him. She opened it and read the enclosed letter. "Oh, wow!" she breathed. "It seems that Bevelle has heard of the return of you three," she explained. "There's to be a ball, in your honor, in two weeks' time!"
Lulu felt a knot forming in her stomach. "Let me see that," she said, holding out her hand. Yuna handed her the invitation, and Lulu read it over thoroughly. It seemed perfectly normal and okay, but something inside was screaming at her.
Wakka looked at her, concern all over his face. He knew when Lulu was feeling something. "Lu?" he said carefully.
She shook her head and handed the paper back to Yuna. "It's nothing," she told Wakka. "I'm sure it's nothing. It's just a party. It will be fun, for all of us to go," she said, hoping she sounded nonchalant. She wanted to believe what she told them.
What could go wrong at a party? There'd be lots of people there. Nobody would be stupid enough to try anything,right?
Omega RuinsSeymour smiled gleefully. Casting that glamour on himself and transporting into Besaid to deliver the summons had been tiring, but very well worth it. The whole plan had gone flawlessly, thankfully.
Once he had learned that Braska, Jecht, and Auron had also been sent back, he had had to come up with a plan quickly.
He had infiltrated Bevelle, disguised as an important political figure, and arranged the ball in honor of the three "heroes." And then, he had gotten to Besaid and delivered the invitation.
What more perfect way to kidnap the High Summoner than among a throng of drunken, party-minded people? No one would suspect him, and his revenge on the woman who had ruined him could finally begin in earnest.
Cid's AirshipRikku hadn't seen Auron since they had returned to Home after the incident at the oasis. Cid had been ready to go, and he'd been mad as hell that they hadn't been around.
Now she was on the airship's deck, hoping to avoid any contact. She was a little embarrassed about what happened, even though she had had nothing to do with it.
"He kissed me," she told herself. "So why am I beating myself up over it? I oughta march back in there and give him a piece of my mind." She stopped and then sighed. But what would she tell him?
The truth of the matter was, even though that had been the most chaste kiss she had ever shared with a man, it was also the most all consuming kiss she'd ever experienced. She had felt it all the way to her toes.
It had probably just been a moment of weakness for him, though. Why would the Legendary One want to kiss me Rikku wondered. I wish he'd do it again. She shook her head at the absurdity of her thoughts.
She stared out over the darkening sky. They'd be back in Besaid soon, but they'd probably have to wait until tomorrow to see the others. "I wish men made sense!" she cried out.
"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about women." The voice behind her caused Rikku to nearly fall over the edge of the deck.
"Oh, my gods, don't do that!" she cried out, putting a hand over her heart as she turned to regard her intruder. "How long you been there?"
Auron regarded her languidly. "Not long," he told her, arms crossed, leaning against the side of the airship.
"Well …" Rikku said, starting to feel like a blithering idiot. "Well, if you want to stay out here, that's fine, but I think I'm gonna head in and get ready for bed – I mean, get ready to go to sleep." She walked toward the door that led to the airship's interior, but Auron caught her upper arm with his strong hand.
Rikku looked down at his large hand on her slender upper arm and then back up at him. He still didn't have his coat on, and he was also without the cowl and sunglasses that had once been a part of his "uniform." This afforded her a very good look at his face. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
"I don't really know," he said honestly. His hand began to lazily caress her arm, and Rikku fought the urge to close her eyes and get lost in the sensation.
Shaking her head in disgust, she smacked his hand. "Stop it!" she told him in a fierce whisper.
Auron raised his eyebrow. He noted the genuine confusion on her face and immediately released her arm. "I apologize," he told her softly.
"For what?" she asked him. "For trying to hold me hostage or for … for …"
"Kissing you?" he finished easily, pushing himself off from the wall. "Should I apologize for that?" He stared at her evenly with the same cool gaze he had given her four years ago:
"Show me your face. Look at me." Auron's voice had been gruff, but kind.
"Oh, okay," Rikku had said warily. She lifted her face to him, eyes closed.
He had bitten back a chuckle. "Open your eyes," he said firmly. She opened one swirled eye and looked up at him. "As I thought," he remarked.
"Um, no good?" she had asked him in her sweetest, cutest voice.
"Are you certain?"
"One hundred percent!"
Rikku shook her head to clear her mind. Funny how that memory had suddenly taken on a whole new meaning for her. "Should you apologize for kissing me?" she reiterated. "Yes! And … no."
Auron shook his head and rolled his one good eye. "Well? Which is it?"
Rikku crossed her arms in front of her huffily. "I don't know!" she admitted glumly.
"Rikku," Auron said wearily.
"Well, you should apologize for kissing me if it was just a 'caught up in the moment' kinda kiss," she told him, suddenly hating how immature she was sounding. "But if it's something you plan on doing again …" She looked up at him coyly.
Auron raised his eyebrow at her again. "I see," he said simply. "Well, then I apologize."
Rikku's spirits sank. That wasn't what she had expected at all … she had thought for sure …
Without warning, she found herself in Auron's arms. One of his strong hands rested on the small of her back, the other one was on her cheek, stroking the soft skin with his calloused fingertips.
Her eyes widened, and her heart began to race. "Auron?" she whispered dreamily, closing her eyes in anticipation.
He smirked a bit, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, letting his lips linger for a long moment. "I guess I just got caught in the moment," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
Then, as suddenly as he had grabbed her, he had released her, and had disappeared through the door, leaving a very bemused and furious Rikku alone on the deck.
"Oooh!" she cried out in frustration, still shaking from the close contact. She kicked the side of the airship, irritated. "Very sneaky, Sir Auron," she said to herself. "Fine, I'll give you points for that one. But you just wait!"
Auron stood on the other side of the door, waiting and laughing. Sure enough, less than two minutes later, the door slid open and an absolutely livid-looking Rikku came through it.
He wasted no time in seizing her and planting his lips on hers. Rikku melted against him and sighed into his mouth.
At that exact moment, Cid's voice came over the intercom. "We're back in Besaid. You two gonna go into the village tonight?"
Auron groaned as Rikku pulled away from him. She shook her head in complete irritation, turned to the intercom and pressed the button. "It's late, I think we're just gonna stay onboard tonight," she told her father.
"All right then," Cid said.
Rikku turned back to Auron, and he made a move toward her again. She shook her head, though, smiling devilishly. "Apology accepted," she told him smugly, backing out of the small alcove they were in. "G'night, Auron," she said over her shoulder, heading toward her own cabin. "Sweet dreams!"
Auron laughed to himself as he watched her walk away. It probably serves me right, he conceded to himself. "Touché, Rikku!" he called out after her, shaking his head in amusement. What have I gotten myself into?