Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Final Fantasy X. They belong to Tetsuya Nomura and Squaresoft. This fanfiction isn't for profit; it's merely to satisfy my little non-canon fantasy.

Words of Warning: First of all, this is a lemon. A lemon, in the bizarre world of fanfic writers, is a fanfiction with explicit sexual content. In short, yours truly is doing naughty things with FFX characters. If you're not old enough to read such things (and you KNOW who you are) please do not continue.

Secondly, this story involves characters and story elements from the RPG Final Fantasy X. There will obviously be spoilers to some degree, depending on your experience with the game. Just to be on the safe side, do not read this story unless you've beaten the game OR at least know how it ends. Thanks, and onward!

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The air was, as it is perpetually in the Calm Lands, quiet. Other than the faint, distant kweh of a Chocobo or two, Auron heard nothing at all, let alone anything alarming or dangerous. Tidus and Wakka had snickered at his insistence on standing guard that evening. Auron merely grunted at them. Ignorant.

They did not realize at all. And it would be a while yet before they would. The still silence, though, stung at Auron's ears--more than any place in Spira, it was these plains that turned his heart to ice. The tranquility was a façade, and he, better than anyone living, knew it. He shuddered imperceptibly.

As the skies faded from dusky rose to a deep gray-blue, Auron performed another quick mental scan of the area. All of his companions had now abandoned the campfire and had, seemingly, ducked into their tents. The blaze, bright and roaring a short time before, was now smoldering, its smoke blending into the twilight. He nodded approvingly to himself.

Kweeeeeh.

Everything was all right, then.

But something subtle told him he was wrong. The cries of the great yellow birds were not alone in the valley. He now also heard...singing.

Faint, but there. He easily recognized the melody: the Hymn of the Fayth. He was slightly curious, however, about the voice that chanted it. Deep, but still beautifully, sweetly feminine; not honey-coated but far, far from bitter. Like an aged wine--most appreciated by those who recognize its maturity and uniqueness. Auron's eyes, still shielded by his sunglasses, hunted for the source of the singing and, after a moment, spotted it--or her.

"What are you doing awake?"

Lulu's singing halted abruptly as she turned and saw Auron standing above her, looking not at her face but into the sea beyond the cliff. His clay-red coat, shrouding his form, rustled lightly in the wind. She had been there for nearly an hour, at the edge overlooking the water, and was surprised that anyone, even the hawklike Sir Auron, had noticed her.

He answered her question before she could ask it, or even answer his. "I heard you singing. Not bad."

Despite herself, she flushed a little. "Thank you."

Auron took a few steps forward, his back now slightly to her. "I hope you're not having trouble sleeping. Our journey will be very difficult from here on, Lulu."

"You're right, Sir Auron." She did not get up. "But...this place...troubles me." Still talking to his back--or right shoulder--she frowned, disapproving of her own behavior. "I am ashamed to say that, but it's very true."

"What about it bothers you?" He glanced over his shoulder at her, sunglasses dipped slightly over the bridge of his nose, his eyes probing hers. It was an intriguing feeling...like he was studying her. Her concentration wavered for a brief moment, until she realized he was still speaking. "After all, you've been here before."

Lulu was unsure of how to answer that. She had always respected Auron--she knew his expertise and cunning would see them to Zanarkand safely. She certainly trusted him with Yuna...but could she really trust him? Enough to expose her most private thoughts?

In the end, it was the look in his eyes--the sense of curiosity and, yet, understanding she saw in them--that told her she could. Lulu sighed.

"Well?" That rich, deep voice played through her ears again. Auron was, as always, a man of very few words, but underneath the shortness of his tone, she felt his strange sort of compassion for her, something she could not quite explain. He wanted to know. So I should tell him.

"Perhaps...'troubles' isn't the best word," she began. "It's more like I'm...I'm...frightened."

Auron raised an eyebrow. He knew fear was very unusual for a woman like Lulu. But he said nothing, and allowed her to continue.

She looked away from him and out to the water. "Yes, that's exactly it. The Calm Lands terrify me, Sir Auron. Do you have any idea why?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "There's something...wrong about this place. So peaceful, and yet, so...so..."

Auron needed no further elaboration: he knew exactly what she meant. "It's like a graveyard."

"Yes." She regarded his understanding with a nod in his direction, then diverted her gaze again. "But that is not all. I cannot feel at peace while I'm here." The skirt of her charcoal dress hung over the edge of the cliff, the embroidered hem flapping idly in the sea breeze. Lulu stretched her right calf, which had also been hanging over the edge, into the air, daring her shoe to slip off and fall to the craggy boulders below. "I don't want to stay, but...I don't want to go on, either."

The shoe dangled precariously on her big toe.

"I've been thinking more and more as we drew closer to this point," she said. "Thinking about why I am here. About my purpose in this group." Auron heard her deep sigh. "And here, I start to question if I have one at all."

She swiveled her head sharply toward the older man. "Why are you here, Sir Auron?"

Though he didn't show it--much--he was very taken aback by her sudden question. Not yet. She has to find out for herself. They all do. He answered, lamely in his opinion, "I knew Yuna would need my assistance."

If Lulu detected him hiding something--and, Auron thought, that was entirely likely--she decided to refrain from saying so. "Of course that's why. That's the reason for every single one of us." A pause, and then a light, nervous laugh. "I suppose I have an ulterior motive, though. I...I...wanted to see if I could make it."

"Make it?"

"To Zanarkand." The slightest tinge of annoyance crept into her voice. "Twice, I've made this journey. Twice, this...place"--she seemed disgusted--"has been the end for me." Her eyes were hardened, but Auron saw shiny tears welling up in those ruby-colored orbs. Tears, he could tell, that she loathed and resented shedding. She stood, suddenly, shakily, and set her angry glance upon him, as if she had only stood to be on even ground with the older man. "What kind of guardian am I, Sir Auron, if I cannot even trust myself to know what's in store for us?"

Before she knew it, Auron had grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and was staring her directly in the face, his sunglasses fallen to the ground and forgotten. Lulu, her eyes filled with tears, wanted to flinch from his naked gaze, but felt it...captivating. She found herself unable to look away, even to blink.

"Lulu." His breath, hot and sweet, evaporated the wet trails on Lulu's cheeks. "Lulu, I am only going to say this once. Don't think, even for a second, that you want to know what's beyond that mountain. Once you do..." Auron's grip loosened, as he recalled, with bittersweet clarity, his friends' words some ten years ago. His jaw set, his eyes misty, Lulu saw an emotion in him at that moment that she would have never thought possible for him. "Once you know," he managed to continue, "your heart and your body and your soul will all scream for it to be a lie."

She had no idea what he meant, or why he had told her...she couldn't have known. But the conviction of his every word gripped her heart in an embrace of slow, cold fear. Because she knew, deep down, he was speaking the truth. Her hated tears dripped onto her bare collarbone. But she was unable to stop their flow.

Auron realized he may have been too harsh with her. Her anxiety is understandable...with all these kids are about to go through, I shouldn't make it worse. His strong hands broke contact with her pale limbs. "I apologize."

"Don't."

"What?"

"Don't...let go."

He felt more than a little uncomfortable, and stupid, standing there and gripping her upper arms, but those three words were spoken with enough quiet and agonizing force that he did as she asked.

"I hate this," she whispered angrily, her eyes focused on the ground. "I hate being worthless. I hate thinking I'm worthless. I hate thinking that there's...there's..."

"That there's nothing you can do to make things better." Auron gave her a small, sad, rare smile. "I know." His right hand left her arm to brush a tear from her face with his thumb. "Believe me, Lulu, I know."

"So you understand." Another tear rolled over Auron's thumb, down his gloved hand and wrist. "I didn't think anyone would. I...I...I just want to be valuable...somehow."

"You are." He only said it to reassure her, but even so, he could feel a faint flush in his cheeks. She was valuable, as far as he was concerned--invaluable, even--and it bothered him on some deep level that she couldn't see that.

She drew a little closer to him. "Am I?" Now her eyes were the penetrating ones. "On this journey, I've tried to be the rock for Yuna. She is so... uncertain, and all I could do was be there for her, and keep her confidence up. Because I had experience. If I don't have that, what do I have?"

He stared right back, unblinking. "You have yourself. What else do you need, other than your heart and your dedication?"

Lulu inched closer still. Her hand moved toward his face. Gingerly, she gripped the tall, stiff collar attached to his crimson coat and pulled it down, to see the entirety of his rugged features. Her own face was mere inches away. "Sir Auron...do you really believe that?"

Strangely, she now savored the feel of his breath on her cheeks and lips as he spoke to her. "I believe in you."

Neither was quite sure who moved first, but after a moment the the two figures, silhouetted against the last traces of the sunset, were pressed to each other, in a hard, deep kiss. Auron felt her chest heaving, so very close to his body. It had been a long time, a long time, since he had felt anything quite like it. His free hand circled slowly around Lulu's waist and drew her closer. The smell of the perfume in her hair, and the taste of her lips--unsurprisingly like red wine--intoxicated him. He wanted more.

Lulu sighed heavily into Auron's mouth as he tightened his embrace. She, too, had not been touched or held or loved in so long...all she could do was melt into his strong body further, allowing herself to relish the moment. Their kiss deepened, her warm tongue slipped slowly around his, as her hand left Auron's collar to caress his throat and neck. She felt him voice his pleasure in a low rumbling groan.

Auron's hand left Lulu's pale, tear-stained cheek and moved past her temple through her ebony hair, loosening the dark tresses from a jumble of ornate pins. It fell in loose clumps over her snow-white shoulders. He slowly pulled his mouth from hers, soliciting a slight murmur of protest, and held her at arm's length, taking her in with his eyes. With her hair down, framing her soft face, and every inch of her body clearly yearning for his touch, he wondered if he had ever seen such a beautiful woman.

No words needed to pierce the quiet. They each knew what the other wanted. There was a mutual desire between them--to help each other feel better about the bleak and desperate situation they found themselves in. Neither would ever verbally admit the loneliness in their hearts, or the emptiness in ther souls. It took something physical, tangible, for both of them to feel as if they still had a purpose in living, in going on.

Still without speaking, Auron reached behind Lulu's back and untied the laces that held her corset-like dress to her body. He stepped back again, as the fur hem of her garment slipped down to the grass. It pooled around her ankles, a dark pile of fur, leather, lace and silk. She stood vulnerably before him, only her shoes, thigh-high black stockings, and black silk panties keeping her from full nudity. Her many beaded necklaes dipped into the area between her breasts. Auron stared dumbly for a brief moment before he embraced her again. His coat fell open, billowing in the breeze around them. Her bare breasts rose and fell softly against his chest.

She closed her eyes and let Auron's hands wander over her bare back, around her hips...but something was amiss, she thought. She gently stopped him and broke away, to his surprise. But it was only for an instant, so she could take his right hand and remove the single thick, black glove and the silver gauntlet adorning his wrist. Her voice was so soft and faint that Auron almost thought he imagined it: "I'd like to feel your bare hands...both of them...if you don't mind." He didn't.

Now overly aware of his hands, Auron couldn't help but think they were too rough to touch her petal-soft skin. Lulu quickly put this fear to rest and pressed his fingers to her lower back. He bent his head to place light kisses on her shoulder and throat, his hands wandering over her lithe body. He could just feel the swell of her breast against his stubbled chin. Lulu arched her back, barely enough for one pink nipple to brush Auron's lips.

Auron could no longer resist. He drew his right hand around and cupped her beautiful, creamy breast in his hand. A soft moan, and then another, escaped her as he took it into his mouth, caressing the hard, rosy peak with his lips, tongue and teeth. His left arm, free of his overcoat, held her tight against him as she raked her fingernails against his bare shoulder blade, leaving raw red lines on his skin.

Subtly, he felt Lulu guiding him to the ground with the pressure of her hips and legs. He obliged, and leaned back in the soft green grass. She knelt over him, straddling one knee, and smiled.

"Have you...?"

"It's been quite a while."

He thought he saw the faintest blush in her alabaster cheeks. "You could have fooled me, Sir Auron."

And then he did something else he hadn't in a long time: he grinned. It felt great, to put it mildly. So much of the worry and burden Auron had forced himself to bear seemed to simply float away, though he knew it would return. His goal--his only goal--was to see Yuna and her friends safely to Zanarkand...and wherever they chose to go, beyond there. He had resisted the urge to think of anything else, though so much--memories, promises and pain--fought for control of his weary mind. But, he thought, for this one night, I can focus my attention on something else. Something that needs it. Someone that needs it.

Lulu leaned closer, aligning her body over his. She felt the thick, heavy fabric of his coat give way to the soft, yielding blades of grass under her knees. She found herself simply wrapped up in the sheer sensation of the moment. It had been so long since she had felt or experienced anything like this...so long that she was unsure of what to do with herself. But looking at Auron's handsome, rugged face, she could tell he had the same thought in his head. Lulu was bemused to discover this side of Sir Auron that she had never seen before...but in a way, it was the same man. Intense, focused, passionate. But now those emotions were focused on her. That thought lingered nicely in her mind. Auron understood her--this plain truth, which she had subconsciously felt and regarded throughout their journey, was crystal clear to her as she lay on top of him, physically and emotionally exposed.

Both of them were so deep in thought that they scarcely noticed they were locked in another intense kiss.

Hunger in her eyes, Lulu shifted her full weight onto Auron, pressing her near-nakedness against him. She allowed her hands to move on their own, unfastening the various hooks and buckles of his light armor. Auron sat up, holding up Lulu in his lap, and shrugged out of his loosened chestplate, letting it hit the ground with a thud alongside his coat. They sat that way for a moment: Auron holding her gently, one hand tight around her waist, the other supporting her thighs. Lulu seemed very relaxed to him as she trailed kisses along his strong jawline...more at ease than he had ever seen her. Underneath the cynicism and icy demeanor, he thought, was a woman that wanted to be held.

But Auron could not go for long merely holding her. The feel of her skin, so soft and sensitive near her inner thighs, was tantalizing. He felt his hand drift upward, between her legs, toward the radiating heat concealed only by a thin layer of black silk. The tips of his middle and index fingers brushed her there, lightly, and she trembled violently. He felt his own body heat rise by several palpable degrees, but kept himself in check as much as he could. He wanted to slowly savor this moment, and allow her to as well...after all, who knew when, if ever again, they could indulge in these feelings?

A throbbing ache surfaced in Lulu's body and heart...an all-consuming need to fill the emptiness inside her. Another shudder passed through her with a second, stronger caress from Auron's fingers. She suppressed a loud moan, for fear that their companions would awaken and discover them, but inwardly, she shouted for more. It felt so...so liberating to drown in her hedonistic thoughts and sensations. A small pang in the back of her mind reminded her that it would eventually end, that she would have to return to her loneliness and heartache soon. But she ignored it--for once, she could ignore it.

While he did not want to stop what he was doing--Lulu's muted cries were doing quite a bit to arouse his own hormones--Auron paused for a moment and slid his momentarily free hand up to her hip. Gently, slowly, but with the patience of a man who was dying to get the damn things off, he slipped her silky black panties over her hips, down her stocking-clad thighs and lower legs, until she kicked them away.

There. With Lulu exposed, and eager, Auron could not hold back his desire a minute longer. His hand moved swiftly from its brief resting place at her left shin to her humid center. Her breathing, already ragged, stopped completely for a split second at his touch. His middle finger penetrated the part in her flesh, rubbing her in, he guessed from Lulu's increased, lovely moaning, the perfect spot. Auron stroked her harder, more passionately, while he kissed the tender area of skin under her earlobe, near her hairline.

Lulu writhed against him, forcing his fingers deeper and deeper inside. Auron was pushing her--no, she was pushing herself toward the edge, toward that moment of release that she so longed for, that she knew he wanted, too. But she made herself relax for a minute or two, to feel Auron's smooth, beautiful touch, his mouth now on her breast, the wind playing upon her skin. She wanted to remember, and cherish, all of it.

When she felt ready, and when she could sense Auron growing eager, she pushed him away gently, and merely gave him a look. Imploring. Ready. He smiled at her, as if he had been waiting years to see that face. He set her down on the grass as he removed his pants. He wondered, in a fleeting moment of panic, whether he would even be capable of doing this, but the telltale bulge he saw let him know it would be all right. Lulu didn't realize why he seemed worried, but she laughed softly just the same. A man looking less than confident must be funny depsite the reason, Auron thought.

Now naked himself, he knelt down beside Lulu and picked up his coat, shrouding both of them in it. With both Auron's coat and Auron himself on top of her, Lulu felt warm and secure. On her back, she stared into the heavens, and for the first time in a long, long while, she noticed how amazingly beautiful the stars in that navy sky were. It was truly a wonderful sight. She sighed contentedly.

Auron noticed. "Is that sigh because of me?"

"Perhaps it is." She smiled and thought, If not for you, I wouldn't have noticed anything to be happy about just now.

One hand on her hip, one on her shoulder, Auron settled a little more of his weight onto her body. She could feel his hard length pressing against her thigh. Lulu's expression gave him unspoken affirmation. Without any further hesitation, he slid inside her.

Lulu's nails tore up the grass, as she arched her back and hips in rhythm with Auron's slow strokes. It felt powerfully good...her other hand, near the small of his back, pulled him closer to her. Their lips locked together as Auron rocked his body against hers. His pace quickened, and Lulu felt her mind slip away--all she could feel was the pulsating heat between her legs and the wild thumping of her own heart.

Auron, sweating from the passionate heat between them and his own exertion, nonetheless wanted to feel her more. He scooped up Lulu in his arms and, without missing a beat, rolled her on top of him. Auron's full length pressed into her depths, causing her to groan loudly. He sat up and held her by her hips, guiding her slowly. Lulu threw her head back in pleasure as she rolled back and forth in his lap. After a few minutes her instincts took hold of her, and she started to move faster. Her chest heaved and her thighs squeezed tightly against Auron's hips; as she pushed herself down as hard as she could against his throbbing manhood, Lulu could feel herself coming closer, dancing the fine line between passion and ecstasy. She could feel him also start to lose his control, letting his desire overwhelm him.

Another seemingly infinite moment of union between them, and Lulu finally felt that sweet climax. Stars flashed before her eyes and she nearly fainted into Auron's arms. He felt the tension escape throughout her body, felt her convulse on top of him. The sensation of her orgasm sent him over the edge. He felt himself pour into her, wave after wave of his own sexual buildup, gone in a matter of seconds. His head rested against her chest, her own head sleepily drooped over his shoulder. The euphoria they had both felt at nearly the same moment...gone nearly as soon as it began. This time, Auron let out the sigh of satisfaction.

Exhausted, they both lay back and took a good, long look at the sky. Reality was slowly creeping back to both of them, but they had a little while longer. Lulu pulled the brick-red coat over herself and nuzzled into it.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He didn't remove his gaze from the stars. "For what?"

So many answers flitted through her mind...how nice it was to just share with another human being...words, feelings, even sex...it was hard to put her finger on it. "I don't know, exactly. But it doesn't matter." She paused. "So...thank you."

Again, that understanding that transcended voiced words. "Thank you."

Lulu decided to leave it at that. Her shadowed eyelids were starting to become heavy, anyway. She knew she would wake up to a world that she didn't always care for, where things had gone wrong, terribly wrong, for her. But at that moment, she was content in knowing she wasn't alone.

Peacefully, she drifted off to slumber.

Auron let her sleep for a while as he dressed. It would be at least a few hours before anyone else would wake up, and they would all have to resume their journey. Sitting down again, he circled his knees with his arms and stared out over the cliffs. He wondered to himself, as he glanced at Lulu, sleeping quietly under his coat, if all their effort would be in vain...

"Sir Auron."

He saw now that she was staring back at him through half-open eyes. "May I ask you one thing?"

"Go ahead."

"Will we find what we're looking for...in Zanarkand?"

He knew what she meant, and he believed with all his heart when he told her, "By the end of this journey...we'll all have our answers."

"I'm glad you think so," she replied. With a groggy half-smile, she turned over and went back to sleep.

He had his answer at that moment. He knew, if they tried, if they believed, the answers would present themselves.

Then...things will turn out right this time...

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