Okay, here's the dealio, used my powers of (limited) addition and common-sense to figure out that…gasp Auron's only 27 or 28 years old. He tells Tidus in the game, "I was about your age" when he started the pilgrimage. So…Tidus is 17 because he is the same age as Yuna who is 17 and we know thatbecause FFX-2 is two years after X and she's 19 in that…therefore 17 plus the 10 year difference since Braska's pilgrimage equals 27…Why does he LOOK so old? That I don't know.
Thank you for reading, it took me so long because my laptop crashed and I didn't feel like going anywhere near a computer for a week. Thankfully this fic was nice and safe and sound on my flash drive. Anyway…sorry for the life story…ON WITH THE FIC!
Chapter 1
Auron awoke with a start from his dream, breathing hard. The dream always ended the same and it always woke him in a cold sweat.
"Hey Auron, are you okay?" Tidus asked from his bed. They where at a hotel in Luca as the airship and its occupants refueled for the evening. It was probably his proximity to his home that was causing this sudden onslaught of nightmares. It was the same one he had had since he was a child.
"Nighmare," he said by way of explanation.
"Well yeah I guessed that much, you where practically screaming. Who's Liren?"
"Never mind, sorry I woke you."
He rose, shivering slightly as the air hit his bare, sweaty skin.
"Where are you going?" The boy asked groggily.
"For a walk," he said by means of explanation.
"Be careful okay?" Tidus whispered as he drifted back off to sleep.
Auron didn't bother pointing out that they where in one of the biggest cities in all Spira, and the likelihood of running into a fiend in the middle of the city was slim to none. He made a non-committal noise he was sure the blond didn't hear, grabbed his robe, throwing it around his shoulders, his bad arm throbbing slightly; he didn't bother to fasten it. He was a private man, but he didn't feel like putting on neither the collar nor his shirt. The air felt good, and he permitted himself the wonderful feeling of temporary freedom. He strode from the room, careful not to wake Tidus again.
He could feel the soft carpet under his feet, and as he stepped outside, still barefoot, reveled in the smooth stone and coolness of the night air on his bare, scared skin. He stepped quietly and stealthily into the artificially lit street. The moons where full and large, high in the sky.
Must be about midnight. He thought to himself.
As he moved out onto the path that lead over the ocean, he heard a beautiful sound coming from up ahead and stood for a moment to listen. It was instantly recognizable who's voice it was. Yuna had always had a sweet voice and Auron suddenly found himself ten or eleven years ago, in a small tent in Besaid, listening to a little Yuna sing about a bug who went to party and got drunk and needed his friends to get him a doctor. The old man chuckled to himself at the memory, and he suddenly felt an old urge wash over him. This girl needed to be protected at all costs. This realization hit him full force. She had so much to live for, and even if it was for the blond boy he had all but raised, she needed a chance to live that life.
He also decided that she should be taught a small lesson for being out here all by herself. He crept up behind her, listening to the sweet voice grow louder, until he stood directly behind her smaller frame.
"Lady Summoner."
That did it too, the girl almost jumped out of her skin as she spun to face him, her green and blue eyes wide.
"Oh Sir Auron, it's you," Auron noted with some satisfaction, that there was nervousness in her voice.
"You shouldn't be out here by yourself," said Auron predictably.
"Yes I know, but I couldn't sleep and the moons are so beautiful."
Auron smiled and the girl didn't miss it. "What did I say?"
"You sound just like him," he said touching her cheek gently with his scared right hand, "You are like him in so many ways Yuna."
The girl smiled, "Coming from you, that is the greatest complement I could receive."
Auron dropped his hand from her face and leaned on the railing, looking out over the ocean, Yuna studied him quietly for a moment, "You have so many scars."
The man looked at her solemnly from his good eye.
The girl blushed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…I just uh….I'm sorry."
He laughed, easing her guilt, but not her embarrassment.
"It's fine Yuna. I indeed have many scars, but I have been in many battles, and my sight's not what it once was," he said, a hint of sadness to his voice as he touched the scar that veiled where another beautiful eye once resided.
"You're a great warrior Sir Auron," she said touching his arm gently, "I wouldn't change you for anything. I'm glad you're here, no matter what you are."
He turned and smiled at her, and it was a real smile, no matter how tinged with sadness it was.
"Your father said almost the exact same thing to me once, though under different circumstances."
Yuna looked deep into his eye, calculating what to say next, and how exactly to word it.
"Speak your mind plainly Lady Yuna, I wouldn't have you do otherwise."
The girl summoned her courage, "You loved him didn't you?"
This brought an unexpected response from the former warrior monk, a short laugh, "He was the only father I've ever known," the smile faded, "Yes…I loved him."
Yuna just stared at him in fascination; it had never struck her before how human this man was. He always seemed to her untouchable, even when she was a child.
"Auron?"
"Yes Lady Yuna?"
"I was wondering…about Tidus…" she never got a chance to finish her thought, for it was then that they attacked.
Auron had forgotten a very important lesson that his 27 years of experience had taught him, some fiends are not created by Sin.