Cracka Cracka Boom



"Aieeeee!"

I couldn't quite help the scream that escaped my lips. Alright, alright. Whatever. So what if I'm a crybaby who's scared of thunder? Well, everyone is scared of something. I just happen to be...more verbal about my fears. Yeah. That works.

I hit the ground of the thunder plains with a smack and wiggled my way over to Tidus, clutching his leg. He looked at me with a funny expression on his face. Auron scowled slightly.

"Please, please! Can we find somewhere to rest for a while...? I'm scared...of thunder."

"We must hurry through," Auron protested.

"I agree," Lulu said quietly.

"No, no no! Please? Yunie?"

"We had best continue," Yuna said slowly. "I'm sorry, Rikku."

I nodded slowly and crawled up Tidus's leg, clutching onto his chest. Auron glowered at me some more.

"You really should stop being so childish," he scolded.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Meanie."

We continued walking, or, more accurately, running like the fast and the furious. We took sanctuary and breaks to catch our breath underneath the thunder obelisks. I sagged against the one we were resting at now, the shop where I knew I could get them to rest just up ahead. I hugged my knees to my chest, trying to stop from shaking. It wasn't working very well.

Auron came to sit beside me, and I was surprised, to say the least. He looked at me with his eye, and the one with the scar through it would have regarded me blandly, I was sure. I tried not to think of it as creepy.

"Why do you fear thunder?" he asked me.

I jumped, that time not from the thunder. Auron, asking me about my fears? Twilight zone central.

"Um...it's kind of a long story," I said cautiously.

"I see. You should speak of your fears to help you release them, you know."

"And what about you?" I demanded of him. What did he think he was doing, schooling me like I was just a kid? Of course I knew speaking of things helped with them. Really. "I don't see you strutting around talking about what you're scared of."

"Hmph."

I watched as Auron stood and left to rejoin the others, now preparing to make a few minute pit stop at the shop. I hopped up and jogged quickly over to the others, not at all wanting a bolt to come my way. Whoever invented thunder and lightly should die, really. I mean, who wants to just zap things for fun, you know? Gods these days. Honestly.

Despite my not wanting to get struck by a lightning bolt, one came my way anyway. Did Ixion make those things? Damn that horse anyway. The bolt zapped the ground less than two inches from my toes, and I let out a little shriek, lost my balance, fell on my butt, and got zapped by another one.

I heard Auron chuckle from a distance and I couldn't stop the homicidal thoughts that entered my electrified brain. Poison, decapitation, beating the living daylights out of him...oh, so many choices. I gasped as I caught myself with these thoughts and smacked my forehead. Innocent Al Bhed girls do NOT go around killing legendary guardians.

I quickly regained my footing and started walking in circles, hoping my constant movement would stop any further attempts of the electrified Ixion to zap a bolt down my shorts. Ixion, once again, proved to have wonderful aim, and I fell over. This time, however...

I landed on Auron.

I screamed once more as I fell, feeling even more like a big baby. Well, maybe not big. But a baby nonetheless. I caught the man off guard which caught me off guard, and we both tumbled to the ground of the thunder plains. I yelped, currently only thinking of what would happen if I got shocked again, and stood up, running like lightning to the door of the small Al Bhed shop.

It was only later that the events caught up with me, when I was sitting in my room at the shop. Auron had been compassionate to me, something I had never seen him do before. And, when I landed on him...

Landed on him?

I gasped, sitting bolt upright in bed. Landed...on him. On. On top. I slapped myself on the cheek, trying to clear my thoughts, and not let the sneaky wisps of thinking slither into my head about how he had looked at me, the feeling of...

Oh, never mind. I chided myself about brooding over men when it was useless anyway. Well, unless they were your brother. Entirely different story there.

A stripe of white lightning blasted the ground just outside my window, and I let out a scream. The windows rattled from the vibrations, and one cracked a little. I started to shake, huddling into my blankets. I guess about five minutes passed before a soft knock came on the door to my room, and I jumped. Who would be bothering me at THIS time of night? Er, morning? It had to be morning by now.

"Uh, er, come in?" I asked, my voice sounding childish. I cursed it silently.

The door creaked open and I heard the sound of boots on the floor as the door creaked shut again. I didn't hear much else until I felt the depression on the bed, and my still sleepy and weak body leaned toward it, inadvertently falling into Auron's arms.

...Auron...

...AURON?!

I let out a little yelp and backed my head up, making sure it was indeed Auron who was sitting on my bed holding me. It was.

"Are you alright?" he asked me softly, his arms lax, ready to let me go if I wished.

"Um, er, um, yeah, I, uh, I think so," I stammered, much to my dismay, like an idiot. I was sure I sounded like the driver of the Shoopuf.

He patted me on the back, and I figured that was just about as much sympathy as I would ever get from him. He stood, preparing to return to his own room, and turned to smile at me. I smiled back, although by that time, he was already out the door.

The smile stayed on my lips through the night, and I didn't scream at the lightning anymore.



***





I was scared to walk in the place, it looked so fragile.

The forest of Macalania I was hesitantly standing in at the moment seemed like it would shatter at the merest whisper of a ghost. A forest of crystal and the purest of magic, butterflies danced and fairies sang and sparkled with their surreal light. Oh, yes, I was afraid to move.

But move I did anyway. I was too grateful of Ixion not shooting lightning bolts down my shorts for my awe to last long, no matter how impressive the forest was. Tysh ed, I wanted to get up and move!

Standing slowly so as to not wake the others (whom had recently gone out like lights) I wandered around the ever-twilight surroundings. I let my hand glide alone the "trees" and come away bathed in an other worldly dust that might as well have come from the Farplane.

I heard footfalls behind me, and was, for once, grateful that the crystal on the forest floor prevented any silent walkers. I turned slowly, still examining my now shining hands, feigning disinterest at the now approaching Auron. I hope he saw right through me.

"The fayth are a lot like this," Auron said slowly, sitting down on a nearby flat crystal of twilight blue that shimmered just like everything else. "Surreal. Like a dream."

"Maybe...it would be better if all of this were a dream," I said thoughtfully, not sure where this was going and not sure what had gotten into me. "It hurts that something this beautiful and terrible can exist."

"How is the forest terrible?"

I shook my head. He knew what I meant and we both were aware of the fact. What if the entire pilgrimage, and all of Spira, were only a dream? A dream of, say, Tidus, in his long lost Zanarkand. Maybe it would be better that way, so Yunie and all the other summoners could live, and Sin wouldn't exist, and the people would be happy...Even if it were only until Tidus woke up. Even then. It would be worth it.

Auron sighed wistfully. I went over and gave him a hug, letting him know that I couldn't agree more. Forlornly, we both stood and headed back to camp. I knew I would cry if I said anything else, I felt so strongly against this pilgrimage. I don't think Auron would have cried, but if he did, I would have been his shoulder to cry on. His pillar of faith, had he the need of one.

A pillar of faith...we all needed one.

When we returned to camp, Tidus and Yuna were also back, both soaked. I struggled to hide the laughter that bubbled in my throat, and the smug look I was sure my lips sported. Auron's eye crinkled as he smiled, and that made my grin widen. The laughter spilled out, tinkling off the forested crystals like chimes made of shells from the sea.

Lulu looked at me strangely, as did Wakka. Auron started to chuckle as I lost my balance from laughing so hard and fell on his foot. I tried to stand several times, only to fall over again, my laughter still pealing off our surroundings. Auron's chuckle deepened, with everyone looking at us like we were crazy. An Al Bhed thief and a legendary Guardian, laughing like lunatics. If I had said, "Ish ebillibuddy okay?" I would have turned into the Shoopuf driver. I was sure of it.

Auron sat next to me to help me balance myself the at my next feeble attempt to stand. He was still laughing, and so was I. It felt so good to laugh, bubbling all the stress away. If I had died right then, if not for guaranteeing Yunie's safety wherever she chose to be, I would have died happy.

Finally, the pair of us calmed down. Auron had silenced himself to only a smile, though little giggles still escaped me. They did through the rest of the night, and I must admit, I was very happy.

I woke about five hours before everyone else, and I had a plan. I was spilling with joy, and I had to do something with it, so I woke Yuna up. She blinked at me several times sleepily as I dragged her through the forest of Macalania to a frozen path of clear flowers I had seen. They were the strangest things, but I knew Yunie should have one for Tidus. They were eternal.

I picked one and held it triumphantly under Yunie's nose, as she sniffed gingerly at it. It smelled like a blissful combination of all the fruits in existence, with an addition of...something. Something special. Yuna's face shattered her sleepy expression into a smile as she gingerly cupped the flower in her hands.

"What do I do?" she asked me curiously.

"Stick that under his nose, and go back to sleep near him. He'll smell that before he opens his eyes, and the first thing he'll see if you from beneath the flower."

"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Yunie said with a smile as she hugged me. "Thank you, Rikku."

"No prob, cuz! Be happy forever, you know?"

Yunie nodded with a smile. "I know. Oh, and Rikku?"

"Yeah?"

"When you want something good to happen, call the lightning."

"Huh? Whaddya mean, Yunie?"

"Just say, Crack and Boom, or something like that. You'll get a wish from the lightning."

I didn't understand that at all, but from Yuna, what did I understand? A mysterious summoner of the far off Isle of Besaid, on a journey to save the world. Granting wishes. Sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it?

But, maybe this is a fairy tale.

"Will do, Yunie!" I agreed.

With that, I left her with the path of flowers, intending to get at least an hour of shut-eye myself. Arranging myself on a spot of soft looking earth not infested by gorgeous crystals, I lay down for what sleep the dawn wouldn't take from me.

The next thing I was aware of was a cross between the smell of the flower I had given Yunie and something...strong. Not strong smelling. On the contrary, it was just soft enough...but it felt like physical strength, you know.

I peeked an eye open to meet a bronze one. After that, I was aware of arms around me, the feel of body-to-body contact, and a flower shoved under my nose.

I yelped and threw myself a few inches back in surprise, only for the grinning faces of Yunie and Tidus to come into view. Auron's arms were still around me, and the others thought he was still asleep. I knew he wasn't, and he knew I knew. I sniffed at the flower under my nose, recognizing it's clear misted petals.

"It was a great idea, Rikku. Thank you," Yunie said.

"Yeah," Tidus said, winking at me. "Worked like a charm. Now, why don't you get some more sleep? It'll be cold if you move, and I doubt Auron will mind if you stay."

The tips of Auron's lips began to curve. Damn, I was caught in my own trap! Not that I wasn't happy about it, and I was indeed warm. I started to protest, but Tidus and Yunie had already begun walking away to the lake. Auron's arms tightened around me, and I felt like I had the butterflies dancing and the fairies singing in my stomach instead of in the forest around me.

"I don't mind," he whispered languidly in my ear.

I started to shake a little, but I'm not entirely sure what it was from. I scooted up against Auron, closer than I was before, with the flower pressed between us. "You're supposed to be asleep," I whispered back.

"Hmm."

I fell asleep too quickly that night. I wanted to savor every breath and moment of time with him, but the sleep came eventually. I know that Auron was still awake by the time I fell asleep, because his right index finger kept moving around my shoulder. I drifted into sleep with that thought in my head, more content than ever.



***



"Ahhh!" I cried out as a bolt of stay lightning from the Thunder Plains zapped the ground several feet away. Auron was awake faster than Chronos, almighty got of time, could have said "Hi" in fast forward.

Auron noticed the scorch marks on the once white crystal near us. He smiled a little and patted me on the shoulder, where he hand still lay.

"Sorry," I whispered. "We should, er, move. You know, before the others get here."

Auron nodded slowly and disentangled his limbs from mine. Or tried to, anyway. I had no idea how tangled arms and legs could possibly be, but I learned that day. As soon as we thought we were free, a hook on his scarlet cloak caught on the loop on the back of my shorts, and we fell, meshed together again. I sighed happily. Auron sighed grumpily.

My eyes widened as his arms slid around my waist and his hands fiddled with my shorts. Wait, no, that wasn't right. The clasp on my shorts. My shorts. The clasp, trying to untangle our clothing. Clothing.

Stupid mind. Why don't you just shut up? Tysh ed. To hell with the keywords that keep popping into my head...

Auron sighed again, his breath tickling my neck, making me shiver. All this silly nonsense flooding my already flooded and not-very-functional brain, and THEN he has to go and breathe on my neck...

When the clasp was finally released, we both tried to stand, a little wobbly from sleep. I was truly surprised when, as we started to move, another lightning bolt landed right behind Auron, and I ducked into his cloak, making him fall over. We were, once again, tangled.

"Damned lightning," Auron swore.

Secretly, I didn't mind at all. Not one bit. My usual fear of the lightning hadn't come back. Well, not to it's usual extreme, anyway.

"We seem to stuck," I said dumbly.

"So we do."

"Do you...um...want to talk or something?"

He chuckled lightly at what seemed to be a memory. "Speaking of talking, you talk in your sleep."

I gasped a little. "I do?!"

"Yes."

"...What did I say?"

"I assume you'll know what it means, since I don't have a clue."

"Well, tell me already!" I said with a grin. I hadn't really been prepared for him to tell me that I had made my wish without knowing it.

"You said 'Cracka Cracka Boom'."



~Owari~