DISCLAIMER: I do not own Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy X, or any of the
lovely characters depicted in my little fanfiction here (though I do wish
Wakka and Lulu belonged to me). All that good stuff belongs to Squaresoft.
Author's Note: So there's chapter one! This is my first fanfiction on here, not to mention my first 'fic about Final Fantasy, so I hope I did good! This is a little romantic 'fic about Lulu and Wakka, or a "Lukka" 'fic. They're my favorite two characters in Final Fantasy. Period. And I seriously think they'll hook up eventually. This is just the first of several chapters, so bear with me. This will cover a broad range... drama, angst, fuzzy romance, and likely even some juicy stuff. Stay tuned. Since my computer is being a big meany and won't allow me to make an HTML file, thoughts will be in parenthesis and accented words in caps... instead of italics. Not as pretty, I know, but it will suffice. Many thanks to Talono, who helped me with the general ideas for this story, and his suggestions. This story takes place sometime after the party visits Guadosalam, yet sometime before the final showdown with Sin. Enjoy.
GUARDIAN ANGEL - Chapter One: Fear
It's funny... when your mind wanders. You sometimes dwell on the "what ifs" of life. Sometimes they nag at you when you least expect it, if you pay them any heed. If you let them in, then... sometimes you begin to want them to be real.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The beach of Besaid was a spectactular sight in the morning. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the brilliant rays of golden light showered onto the water, creating a dazzling reflective light show. It was here that Lulu sat parked in the white sand, not quite watching the natural beauty of the island on which she was born. Her eyes were closed to the day, satisfied with merely listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. The shade of a nearby palm tree gave her delicate ivory skin some protection from the powerful rays-- not that she ever burned, or even tanned, once in her life. She was here without her companion today, meaning she had left her stuffed doll at home in her hut when she went for a walk upon waking.
Her unorthodox attire seemed unsuited for the tropical climate, and certainly not for sitting on the beach... her trademark heavy gown, with leather and fur, didn't look like the most sensible thing in the world for her to wear. Nonetheless, the mage never gave complaint of the heat or changed her wardrobe, appearing more comfortable in this outfit than other Besaidian women seemed in their lighter, more colorful clothing. Lulu had surrendered to her carefree, Besaidian upbringing in one way today, though. She had removed her small pair of leather boots, and had even taken off the silky black thigh-high stockings she always wore... in favor of doing something she couldn't remember doing since childhood... wiggling her toes in the sand. The silent guardian appeared to be in deep contemplation, as she often was, until...
"'Ey, Lu!" A cheerful voice came floating across the warm island breeze to the black mage's ears.
Deep sepia eyes fluttered open as she heard him. That masculine voice with the distinct accent was unmistakable, even had he not used her fond childhood nickname. "Good morning, Wakka," she spoke softly, not bothering to turn to him.
The blitzball player approached Lulu, a rather silly grin spread from ear to ear. As she glanced up at him, she noted the ball tucked under his arm and beads of water glistening off his skin and his yellow blitz uniform. "Been swimming, have you?"
He spun the ball expertly on the tip of one finger. "Yeah... practice, ya?"
She already knew this, of course. Blitzball was the thing that always managed to make Wakka look like a giddy little boy. Her face remained expressionless, save for the slightest hint of amusement behind her eyes at his antics. He seemed so excited, so passionate whenever he spoke of the game... Lulu almost envied him for it. Almost. She sometimes wished she had something to be as passionate about... like Wakka had his blitzball.
Wakka carelessly plopped himself down in the sand next to where Lulu sat, effectively sprinkling droplets of water on her. "Wakka!" It was said in a mixture of surprise...and perhaps a little amusement.
"Eesh... sorry, Lu." Wakka was afraid he had made her angry again. He didn't want her to be angry with him just now. Anytime but now.
"...It's alright, it's just water," she assured him. Looking up into his face, she noticed his brow was furrowed, and a slight flush of crimson was on his cheeks. (Is he... embarrassed?) That was odd... usually Wakka could brush off his clumsiness with a smile. That somewhat disturbed her. "Wakka, are you alright?"
Hazel eyes would open a little wider at this query. Lulu never appeared concerned about him before... his discomfort must have really been obvious. Today was just full of unexpected reactions for each of them, he supposed. He consciously adopted a sheepish grin and his hand left the blitzball on the ground in favor of scratching the back of his head. "Eheh... I just didn't want you to get mad, ya?"
"Why would I be mad? It was an accident." To Lulu, this was the obvious thing to ask... she didn't let things get to her, he knew that. Even if she appeared distasteful of others' actions on occassion... well, it was really all the time, to put it realistically.
"No, Lu... it's not that, ya? There's something I want to talk to you about... it's just something I'm not sure if I should bring up or not..." He gave her a sidelong glance, avoiding direct eye contact with the mage's own penetrating gaze.
"Well why don't you try me? I don't see any reason why you'd think I'd be-- " (Oh....) It was too late to bite back the question as she knew what the answer must be... nothing more or less than her grumpy reputation that had followed her all her twenty-two years.... and with good reason.
"Well...." Wakka began, then hesitated.
"Please...." Lulu's next move was an even greater suprise to Wakka... she placed one of her dainty hands on his arm as though in comfort or encouragement. Her unwavering gaze was upon him now. "...Go on."
"Uh... you know what today is, ya?"
"Oh...." Her fingers slipped off of him and hands folded in her lap. Wakka's heart sank as he looked at her now. The woman's gaze now rested upon the sand, head was bowed, and her raven hair was masking her expression from his sight.
(Wakka, you're stupid... you shouldn't have brought it up to her.) Of course she knew what he meant, and Wakka felt like a jackass for bothering her about it. The last thing he wanted from this innocent conversation was for her to become even more closed up because he couldn't keep his damn mouth shut. "Geez, I'm sorry, Lu. I should have known better, ya? I just--"
"It's okay." Wakka was cut off before he could finish. He watched Lulu's eyes as she lifted her pale face to stare out over the sparkling azure waves laid out before them. She had that faraway look in her eye again... it happened every time they spoke of him... without fail. "Chappu... he would have been twenty-two today."
"Yeah... hard to believe it's been a year, ain't it?" He tenatively ventured further, a little surprised that Lulu was actually talking about it, even though that was his hopeful intention to begin with. His was a selfish wish... he had woken up this morning and the first thing that floated into his mind was Chappu. Time supposedly healed all wounds, or so it was said. This one was going to leave a perpetual scar, he knew... judging from how much it hurt, especially today. Wakka had gone to practice blitz alone this morning, despite his retirement from the sport, in a feeble attempt to get his mind off his late brother... but he should have known that would only remind him more, if anything. He now wanted nothing more than to share his feelings of bittersweet nostalgia with the one person that not only knew him best... but also his brother.
"It is...." Lulu sighed. The mage usually brushed aside his efforts to talk about Chappu anymore, she found the whole thing rather pointless... but one glance at Wakka's face made something snap inside her. The man had a somewhat pained expression... so very un-Wakka-like. He looked as though he NEEDED her to speak with him. He was silent for a few moments, then...
"...Lu?"
"Hmm?"
"...What's your fondest memory of him?"
"I.... don't know," she answered truthfully. "...I remember many things." Wakka watched Lulu's face, noting nothing about her expression changed while she spoke, save for a brief flicker behind her eyes. Though his voice was thick with emotion right now, the mage's carefully maintained monotone reminded him of someone discussing nothing more important than the weather.
(She's hiding her feelings again... why do you do this to yourself, Lu?) The blitzer furrowed his brow, wondering this. He never truly understood why Lulu was no longer open with him about her thoughts and feelings... she used to be so much closer to him... they were all so close. Wakka gently prodded again. "Like what?"
Lulu's face raised to stare at him silently for a few minutes. Wakka felt as though her dark eyes, swimming with that lovely burgundy and brown color, were scrutinizing him as though looking for ulterior motives behind his innocent questions. (Why does she always gotta look suspicious like that?)
"...I remember what I thought after... the three of us became friends," she said at last, her breathy voice wisping out and being carried off by the wind, barely audible.
"What was that?"
"I wondered why we had become friends in the first place."
"Why?"
"Think about it, Wakka... how is it that two young boys into blitzball become friends with a quiet little girl that spends all her days indoors studying black magic? I was rarely outside, and you were always swimming." This was stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Wakka, however, had never put any thought into it. He just didn't spend all his time wondering the "why"of things, as Lulu did, but now she got him thinking about it.
"Ooh... good point, ya? ...But that doesn't matter anymore now, does it? We DID become friends, so there's no point in wondering why anymore, ya know?"
"That's an interesting take on it..." Lulu shrugged one bare shoulder. "I always felt... out of place with you and Chappu. Like I didn't belong on the same planet."
"How come, Lu? You were the best thing that happened to us, ya? Me and Chappu woulda got into a lot more trouble if you weren't around to be our voice of reason." The last was said with a small chuckle.
"Heh." The mage's lips quirked into an almost-smile. "I'm sure you didn't think so at the time... you boys always complained when I scolded you."
"Ahh, you knew what was best though." He gave her that irresistable grin, and Lulu knew that at least Wakka was feeling somewhat better about the touchy topic of discussion. "But you know... the same could be said for you. Why'd you wanna befriend us, either?"
"Well... " Lulu's fingertip traced a line in the fine grains of sand at her feet as though pondering it. "I suppose it was because I was captivated by blitzball at the time... you guys could play and I couldn't. It never ceased to amaze me how you and Chappu could hold your breath for that amount of time... it still does, actually," she said, cocking a brow at Wakka.
"Eheh..." Wakka scratched the back of his head again. "You gotta remember, too... blitz requires a lot of communication, ya? Even though you're underwater, ya still gotta let your teammates know what you're gonna do. I don't know if you'd be good at that sort of thing...." He trailed off.
She stared at him. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"
(Uh-oh...) Lulu had gone into defensive mode and Wakka winced, afraid his big mouth had gotten him into trouble again. His expression turned as serious as hers and he gave her a meaningful look. "It's just that... I know you don't like to talk much... and you don't like to have to rely on others. Like on a blitz team."
"I... see." For some reason, his words stung a little. Probably because they were true. People labeled her as 'stuck up,' and wrote her off from the start. That brought back a few painful memories. Wakka however, knew that she had always just been quiet, and eventually it had become a necessity for her. Even though he didn't fully understand it, he respected it. The mage's thoughts flickered back to their childhood when the temple priests would become exasperated with the young Lulu, scolding her for not playing with the other children. She had shown such fantastic magical prowess from such an early age, the girl wanted nothing more than to study and hone her skills. The other children in the village saw her as a know-it- all and a snob because she wouldn't associate with them, in favor of poring over spellbooks, but they never bothered finding out the truth. Her only friends then had been Wakka and Chappu... merely because they saw past the shy exterior of a lonely girl who missed her parents. They knew what it was like to be without them, too.
Then when Chappu was lost to them, Wakka kept accusing eyes away from the mourning Lulu. They would say that it was time to move on... even after a year, she was still so distant. If she was still in so much grief, they figured she ought to be more receptive of their symathy, too... but this was always met with silence. She stared at Wakka, wondering why he was even there right now with her. Even when Wakka had given of himself to help Lulu through the ordeal, she would thank him with a cold shoulder and by snapping at him. He was truly a good friend... and ever so much more than that to be able to put up with her all this time. Lulu knew that he would have liked her to be more open with him, like she used to be... but she didn't dare. She was afraid of being close to Wakka. Yes, afraid. (Afraid? ....Why am I afraid, anyway?) She was surprising herself, now. Now that she thought about it, she was feeling rather strange anymore when Wakka was around. She didn't seem to have the heart to 'bully' him like she usually did, instead it was replaced by a nervous uneasiness.
Lulu didn't have time to ponder this further. Several minutes must have passed while Lulu was caught up in her reverie, because Wakka's hand was suddenly waving in front of her face, much to her surprise. "Spira to Lulu!" She blinked and looked at him as though seeing him for the first time, a bit startled. "Hey, you okay? You looked like you kinda.. spaced out, ya?"
"Sorry," came the slow reply. Perhaps a bit too slow. He attempted to read her expression, or what little expression there was on her face, but it was masked by her hair as she stared at her lap. Before Wakka could blink, Lulu had scrambled to her feet a bit hastily, her heavy skirts sprinking grains of sand on him as she rose. The black mage stooped to scoop up her stockings and boots from the ground, but rather than donning them, she began to make her way towards the path leading back to the village. The blitzer was left staring after her, wondering what he had done wrong now.
"Wait, Lu!" Wakka got to his feet as well and began to chase after her, seeing that she was paying him no heed. When Lulu wasn't wearing her shoes, she sure could move fast. He wasn't able to catch up with her until she had nearly reached the village gates. "Wait, I said!" His hand shot out and got one of her slight wrists in a firm grip. Surprised as she struggled to free herself, he whirled her around to face him, a bit more forcefully than he had meant to. "What's gotten into you? You left me without a word!"
"Let me go!" Her face turned away from him, her curtain of bangs veiling her face to his gaze again. Her voice had an odd note to it and Wakka realized he was gripping her a bit too tightly. As he released her wrist, he saw red marks where his fingers had been.
"Oh, geez! I'm so sorry, Lu!" Panicked at what he had just done, he picked up the wrist again. Gently examining it, his fingers traced along the flesh. He either didn't know his own strength, or Lulu was very delicate. Likely a mixture of both. "You... okay?"
A small sigh was heard from the mage as she stood there, a heavy silence hanging over them both. Fingers left her wrist and reached under her chin to tilt her head back gently so he could see the expression she was hiding from him. He felt a stab in his heart as he looked at her... she had a peculiar expression on her face. Was it... fear? He couldn't put his finger on it, whatever it was, but it wasn't good. That look he saw there behind her eyes bothered him. (Dammit... I got her upset again.)
"I... I have to go home, Wakka." With that, Lulu backed away from him, giving him one last look, and turned on her heel. Wakka helplessly watched her take her leave, and her duck into her hut. He figured it was best not to bother her now, because he knew he must have been the cause of whatever mood she was in, right?
"What have I done?" He brought a palm to his forehead, cursing his own insensitivity. He only now could imagine what it must have been like... to be upset by a painful discussion then being grabbed by a big oaf such as himself while trying to go be alone. Why had he done that? He just... grabbed her without thinking, as if letting her leave was the last thing in the world he wanted. ...Why?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note: Expect lots more drama and suspense in chapter two, along with some romance and other good stuff. It would make me very happy if you'd read and review, so get to it!
Author's Note: So there's chapter one! This is my first fanfiction on here, not to mention my first 'fic about Final Fantasy, so I hope I did good! This is a little romantic 'fic about Lulu and Wakka, or a "Lukka" 'fic. They're my favorite two characters in Final Fantasy. Period. And I seriously think they'll hook up eventually. This is just the first of several chapters, so bear with me. This will cover a broad range... drama, angst, fuzzy romance, and likely even some juicy stuff. Stay tuned. Since my computer is being a big meany and won't allow me to make an HTML file, thoughts will be in parenthesis and accented words in caps... instead of italics. Not as pretty, I know, but it will suffice. Many thanks to Talono, who helped me with the general ideas for this story, and his suggestions. This story takes place sometime after the party visits Guadosalam, yet sometime before the final showdown with Sin. Enjoy.
GUARDIAN ANGEL - Chapter One: Fear
It's funny... when your mind wanders. You sometimes dwell on the "what ifs" of life. Sometimes they nag at you when you least expect it, if you pay them any heed. If you let them in, then... sometimes you begin to want them to be real.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The beach of Besaid was a spectactular sight in the morning. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the brilliant rays of golden light showered onto the water, creating a dazzling reflective light show. It was here that Lulu sat parked in the white sand, not quite watching the natural beauty of the island on which she was born. Her eyes were closed to the day, satisfied with merely listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. The shade of a nearby palm tree gave her delicate ivory skin some protection from the powerful rays-- not that she ever burned, or even tanned, once in her life. She was here without her companion today, meaning she had left her stuffed doll at home in her hut when she went for a walk upon waking.
Her unorthodox attire seemed unsuited for the tropical climate, and certainly not for sitting on the beach... her trademark heavy gown, with leather and fur, didn't look like the most sensible thing in the world for her to wear. Nonetheless, the mage never gave complaint of the heat or changed her wardrobe, appearing more comfortable in this outfit than other Besaidian women seemed in their lighter, more colorful clothing. Lulu had surrendered to her carefree, Besaidian upbringing in one way today, though. She had removed her small pair of leather boots, and had even taken off the silky black thigh-high stockings she always wore... in favor of doing something she couldn't remember doing since childhood... wiggling her toes in the sand. The silent guardian appeared to be in deep contemplation, as she often was, until...
"'Ey, Lu!" A cheerful voice came floating across the warm island breeze to the black mage's ears.
Deep sepia eyes fluttered open as she heard him. That masculine voice with the distinct accent was unmistakable, even had he not used her fond childhood nickname. "Good morning, Wakka," she spoke softly, not bothering to turn to him.
The blitzball player approached Lulu, a rather silly grin spread from ear to ear. As she glanced up at him, she noted the ball tucked under his arm and beads of water glistening off his skin and his yellow blitz uniform. "Been swimming, have you?"
He spun the ball expertly on the tip of one finger. "Yeah... practice, ya?"
She already knew this, of course. Blitzball was the thing that always managed to make Wakka look like a giddy little boy. Her face remained expressionless, save for the slightest hint of amusement behind her eyes at his antics. He seemed so excited, so passionate whenever he spoke of the game... Lulu almost envied him for it. Almost. She sometimes wished she had something to be as passionate about... like Wakka had his blitzball.
Wakka carelessly plopped himself down in the sand next to where Lulu sat, effectively sprinkling droplets of water on her. "Wakka!" It was said in a mixture of surprise...and perhaps a little amusement.
"Eesh... sorry, Lu." Wakka was afraid he had made her angry again. He didn't want her to be angry with him just now. Anytime but now.
"...It's alright, it's just water," she assured him. Looking up into his face, she noticed his brow was furrowed, and a slight flush of crimson was on his cheeks. (Is he... embarrassed?) That was odd... usually Wakka could brush off his clumsiness with a smile. That somewhat disturbed her. "Wakka, are you alright?"
Hazel eyes would open a little wider at this query. Lulu never appeared concerned about him before... his discomfort must have really been obvious. Today was just full of unexpected reactions for each of them, he supposed. He consciously adopted a sheepish grin and his hand left the blitzball on the ground in favor of scratching the back of his head. "Eheh... I just didn't want you to get mad, ya?"
"Why would I be mad? It was an accident." To Lulu, this was the obvious thing to ask... she didn't let things get to her, he knew that. Even if she appeared distasteful of others' actions on occassion... well, it was really all the time, to put it realistically.
"No, Lu... it's not that, ya? There's something I want to talk to you about... it's just something I'm not sure if I should bring up or not..." He gave her a sidelong glance, avoiding direct eye contact with the mage's own penetrating gaze.
"Well why don't you try me? I don't see any reason why you'd think I'd be-- " (Oh....) It was too late to bite back the question as she knew what the answer must be... nothing more or less than her grumpy reputation that had followed her all her twenty-two years.... and with good reason.
"Well...." Wakka began, then hesitated.
"Please...." Lulu's next move was an even greater suprise to Wakka... she placed one of her dainty hands on his arm as though in comfort or encouragement. Her unwavering gaze was upon him now. "...Go on."
"Uh... you know what today is, ya?"
"Oh...." Her fingers slipped off of him and hands folded in her lap. Wakka's heart sank as he looked at her now. The woman's gaze now rested upon the sand, head was bowed, and her raven hair was masking her expression from his sight.
(Wakka, you're stupid... you shouldn't have brought it up to her.) Of course she knew what he meant, and Wakka felt like a jackass for bothering her about it. The last thing he wanted from this innocent conversation was for her to become even more closed up because he couldn't keep his damn mouth shut. "Geez, I'm sorry, Lu. I should have known better, ya? I just--"
"It's okay." Wakka was cut off before he could finish. He watched Lulu's eyes as she lifted her pale face to stare out over the sparkling azure waves laid out before them. She had that faraway look in her eye again... it happened every time they spoke of him... without fail. "Chappu... he would have been twenty-two today."
"Yeah... hard to believe it's been a year, ain't it?" He tenatively ventured further, a little surprised that Lulu was actually talking about it, even though that was his hopeful intention to begin with. His was a selfish wish... he had woken up this morning and the first thing that floated into his mind was Chappu. Time supposedly healed all wounds, or so it was said. This one was going to leave a perpetual scar, he knew... judging from how much it hurt, especially today. Wakka had gone to practice blitz alone this morning, despite his retirement from the sport, in a feeble attempt to get his mind off his late brother... but he should have known that would only remind him more, if anything. He now wanted nothing more than to share his feelings of bittersweet nostalgia with the one person that not only knew him best... but also his brother.
"It is...." Lulu sighed. The mage usually brushed aside his efforts to talk about Chappu anymore, she found the whole thing rather pointless... but one glance at Wakka's face made something snap inside her. The man had a somewhat pained expression... so very un-Wakka-like. He looked as though he NEEDED her to speak with him. He was silent for a few moments, then...
"...Lu?"
"Hmm?"
"...What's your fondest memory of him?"
"I.... don't know," she answered truthfully. "...I remember many things." Wakka watched Lulu's face, noting nothing about her expression changed while she spoke, save for a brief flicker behind her eyes. Though his voice was thick with emotion right now, the mage's carefully maintained monotone reminded him of someone discussing nothing more important than the weather.
(She's hiding her feelings again... why do you do this to yourself, Lu?) The blitzer furrowed his brow, wondering this. He never truly understood why Lulu was no longer open with him about her thoughts and feelings... she used to be so much closer to him... they were all so close. Wakka gently prodded again. "Like what?"
Lulu's face raised to stare at him silently for a few minutes. Wakka felt as though her dark eyes, swimming with that lovely burgundy and brown color, were scrutinizing him as though looking for ulterior motives behind his innocent questions. (Why does she always gotta look suspicious like that?)
"...I remember what I thought after... the three of us became friends," she said at last, her breathy voice wisping out and being carried off by the wind, barely audible.
"What was that?"
"I wondered why we had become friends in the first place."
"Why?"
"Think about it, Wakka... how is it that two young boys into blitzball become friends with a quiet little girl that spends all her days indoors studying black magic? I was rarely outside, and you were always swimming." This was stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Wakka, however, had never put any thought into it. He just didn't spend all his time wondering the "why"of things, as Lulu did, but now she got him thinking about it.
"Ooh... good point, ya? ...But that doesn't matter anymore now, does it? We DID become friends, so there's no point in wondering why anymore, ya know?"
"That's an interesting take on it..." Lulu shrugged one bare shoulder. "I always felt... out of place with you and Chappu. Like I didn't belong on the same planet."
"How come, Lu? You were the best thing that happened to us, ya? Me and Chappu woulda got into a lot more trouble if you weren't around to be our voice of reason." The last was said with a small chuckle.
"Heh." The mage's lips quirked into an almost-smile. "I'm sure you didn't think so at the time... you boys always complained when I scolded you."
"Ahh, you knew what was best though." He gave her that irresistable grin, and Lulu knew that at least Wakka was feeling somewhat better about the touchy topic of discussion. "But you know... the same could be said for you. Why'd you wanna befriend us, either?"
"Well... " Lulu's fingertip traced a line in the fine grains of sand at her feet as though pondering it. "I suppose it was because I was captivated by blitzball at the time... you guys could play and I couldn't. It never ceased to amaze me how you and Chappu could hold your breath for that amount of time... it still does, actually," she said, cocking a brow at Wakka.
"Eheh..." Wakka scratched the back of his head again. "You gotta remember, too... blitz requires a lot of communication, ya? Even though you're underwater, ya still gotta let your teammates know what you're gonna do. I don't know if you'd be good at that sort of thing...." He trailed off.
She stared at him. "What is THAT supposed to mean?"
(Uh-oh...) Lulu had gone into defensive mode and Wakka winced, afraid his big mouth had gotten him into trouble again. His expression turned as serious as hers and he gave her a meaningful look. "It's just that... I know you don't like to talk much... and you don't like to have to rely on others. Like on a blitz team."
"I... see." For some reason, his words stung a little. Probably because they were true. People labeled her as 'stuck up,' and wrote her off from the start. That brought back a few painful memories. Wakka however, knew that she had always just been quiet, and eventually it had become a necessity for her. Even though he didn't fully understand it, he respected it. The mage's thoughts flickered back to their childhood when the temple priests would become exasperated with the young Lulu, scolding her for not playing with the other children. She had shown such fantastic magical prowess from such an early age, the girl wanted nothing more than to study and hone her skills. The other children in the village saw her as a know-it- all and a snob because she wouldn't associate with them, in favor of poring over spellbooks, but they never bothered finding out the truth. Her only friends then had been Wakka and Chappu... merely because they saw past the shy exterior of a lonely girl who missed her parents. They knew what it was like to be without them, too.
Then when Chappu was lost to them, Wakka kept accusing eyes away from the mourning Lulu. They would say that it was time to move on... even after a year, she was still so distant. If she was still in so much grief, they figured she ought to be more receptive of their symathy, too... but this was always met with silence. She stared at Wakka, wondering why he was even there right now with her. Even when Wakka had given of himself to help Lulu through the ordeal, she would thank him with a cold shoulder and by snapping at him. He was truly a good friend... and ever so much more than that to be able to put up with her all this time. Lulu knew that he would have liked her to be more open with him, like she used to be... but she didn't dare. She was afraid of being close to Wakka. Yes, afraid. (Afraid? ....Why am I afraid, anyway?) She was surprising herself, now. Now that she thought about it, she was feeling rather strange anymore when Wakka was around. She didn't seem to have the heart to 'bully' him like she usually did, instead it was replaced by a nervous uneasiness.
Lulu didn't have time to ponder this further. Several minutes must have passed while Lulu was caught up in her reverie, because Wakka's hand was suddenly waving in front of her face, much to her surprise. "Spira to Lulu!" She blinked and looked at him as though seeing him for the first time, a bit startled. "Hey, you okay? You looked like you kinda.. spaced out, ya?"
"Sorry," came the slow reply. Perhaps a bit too slow. He attempted to read her expression, or what little expression there was on her face, but it was masked by her hair as she stared at her lap. Before Wakka could blink, Lulu had scrambled to her feet a bit hastily, her heavy skirts sprinking grains of sand on him as she rose. The black mage stooped to scoop up her stockings and boots from the ground, but rather than donning them, she began to make her way towards the path leading back to the village. The blitzer was left staring after her, wondering what he had done wrong now.
"Wait, Lu!" Wakka got to his feet as well and began to chase after her, seeing that she was paying him no heed. When Lulu wasn't wearing her shoes, she sure could move fast. He wasn't able to catch up with her until she had nearly reached the village gates. "Wait, I said!" His hand shot out and got one of her slight wrists in a firm grip. Surprised as she struggled to free herself, he whirled her around to face him, a bit more forcefully than he had meant to. "What's gotten into you? You left me without a word!"
"Let me go!" Her face turned away from him, her curtain of bangs veiling her face to his gaze again. Her voice had an odd note to it and Wakka realized he was gripping her a bit too tightly. As he released her wrist, he saw red marks where his fingers had been.
"Oh, geez! I'm so sorry, Lu!" Panicked at what he had just done, he picked up the wrist again. Gently examining it, his fingers traced along the flesh. He either didn't know his own strength, or Lulu was very delicate. Likely a mixture of both. "You... okay?"
A small sigh was heard from the mage as she stood there, a heavy silence hanging over them both. Fingers left her wrist and reached under her chin to tilt her head back gently so he could see the expression she was hiding from him. He felt a stab in his heart as he looked at her... she had a peculiar expression on her face. Was it... fear? He couldn't put his finger on it, whatever it was, but it wasn't good. That look he saw there behind her eyes bothered him. (Dammit... I got her upset again.)
"I... I have to go home, Wakka." With that, Lulu backed away from him, giving him one last look, and turned on her heel. Wakka helplessly watched her take her leave, and her duck into her hut. He figured it was best not to bother her now, because he knew he must have been the cause of whatever mood she was in, right?
"What have I done?" He brought a palm to his forehead, cursing his own insensitivity. He only now could imagine what it must have been like... to be upset by a painful discussion then being grabbed by a big oaf such as himself while trying to go be alone. Why had he done that? He just... grabbed her without thinking, as if letting her leave was the last thing in the world he wanted. ...Why?
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Author's Note: Expect lots more drama and suspense in chapter two, along with some romance and other good stuff. It would make me very happy if you'd read and review, so get to it!