Road to Mount Gagazet
Late night. In the trees. Waiting for Raine.
Knowing it might be awhile, he got comfortable on the stump he casually referred to as "his stump," at least when he set out to look for it. It was just the right height for his legs and wide enough for his ass and far enough back in the woods to not be spotted at night, but still close enough to see the cliff-side view of Zanarkand City...
...and Jory's car. There were few students at Raine's school who had their own car and Auron often wondered if that was part of Jory's allure for Raine, who had been raised on a frugal budget. Most Zanarkand residents relied on public transportation, but those who lived ocean-side like the Drakes had one or two sleek machina vehicles at their disposal.
Jory was parked at an angle so the back end didn't hang into the scenic-view road. Auron knew this road best from pilgrimages. In Spira, the road lead up to Mount Gagazet, home to the Ronsos, but here, the road drove over a high bluff straight down into the rough ocean, like the mountain had been evenly carved away from Zanarkand with a colossal masamune.
Auron ended up here a few times a month during the high school Blitzball season, when Raine was allowed a later curfew to cheer at the late games. Jory would bring her here until it was time to take her home and Auron would admire Zanarkand's sprawling design of twinkling downtown lights, trying not to think too hard about what was happening inside Jory's car. In fact, he had himself foolishly convinced that all they were doing was talking and conveniently put any light petting that would likely ensue to the back of his mind. Thinking about it, he was liable to break a tooth from clenching his jaw.
Tonight, they were cutting it close. Usually by now, Jory had at least started the vehicle and turned on the headlights in preparation for the drive home, but the car was still dark. Still. A low sound Auron couldn't quite interpret mildly alerted him but he stayed seated on his stump and didn't interfere.
Auron, if this doesn't work, if I'm reborn as Sin, bring Raine back on your next pilgrimage.
I give you my word. I'll take care of your sister. I will protect her with my life.
It was the same promise he'd made to Jecht about Tidus.
He had been an active guardian to Tidus, more so than to Raine, but unlike Raine's mother, her great aunt and uncle were suitable caregivers and Raine was generally old enough to mind herself. Auron considered him little more than a failsafe, to keep Raine out of direct and unforeseeable danger. To Auron, this arrangement seemed the most appropriate.
Lifting his head to another low noise, Auron turned his head a fraction to better center his halved-vision on Jory's vehicle, noticing a small commotion in the back seat, silhouettes interposing the windshield against the luminous Zanarkand backdrop. His belly dipped queerly as he rotated on his stump, as though turning away could deny what was happening down below, and his mind scurried back to Tidus. How did he handle this with Tidus? Honestly, he didn't recall it ever coming up. Before Yuna, Tidus' love life was relatively modest and when women approached him for autographs, he regarded them with professional charm.
Recognizing Raine wasn't in immediate danger, Auron resolved to concentrate on his own business in this regard, but he forgot everything when Raine's shriek sliced the night. Everything blurred red as Auron bobbed under a low branch, vaulted over another, until he had the backseat door open and could better hear Raine's light giggles from within. By then it was too late. For the rest of his so-called life, what he saw in the backseat would often swim unbidden to the front of his mind.
Another scream from Raine, this time because of Auron, and a disoriented Jory tried to simultaneously look over his shoulder and wrench his pants up. Seizing him by the back of his letter jacket, Auron hauled Jory out of the backseat, ignoring his flopping genitalia, and inclined back inside for Raine. Fully dressed in her cheerleading outfit, she modestly pinned her knees together, before Auron saw more than he needed to.
"Auron," she said, more surprised than angry.
He extended his hand to her. "Come."
"Did something happen?" she questioned, taking his hand firmly and scooting out.
"Who do you think you are?" Jory cried. His belt was loose, but he had pulled his trousers up at least. "Do you know this joker, Raine?"
"I do," she said, holding up a hand to calm her boyfriend. "Can you just give me a second?"
Trembling with hostility, Jory buckled his belt and glared at Auron.
"Are you hurt?" Auron asked her.
"Hey, I didn't hurt her!" Jory said, pointing Raine out to Auron.
Auron overlooked him, swatting ambiguously.
Apparently unaccustomed to being ignored, Jory slammed the back door of his car and squatted down to wipe something imaginary from his shiny paint job with the ribbed cuff of his jacket. When the speck was gone, he resentfully tisked and circled around to wait in the driver's seat.
"Me? I'm fine," Raine said, more focused on Auron than the childish rants of her boyfriend. "What's happening?"
"I...heard a scream."
"Oh." Raine glanced distractedly at the car as Jory started it and flipped on the headlights, then flinched apologetically at Auron. "Oh."
"I thought—" Auron began and tightly shook his head. He realized his gauntlet had curled into a fist and he forced himself to relax it.
Circumstances seemed so much more somber in the dim light of roving Pyreflies, after a hysterically reluctant Summoner had sentenced a Guardian to become Sin. "I will protect her with my life" seemed a perfectly legitimate promise to make then, but now, he just felt silly.
"Shit, Auron," Raine said with a great exhale of relief, sagging, her hands on her knees. "I thought someone died."
"It wasn't my intension to frighten you."
She skewed her head slyly. "What was your intension?"
He shifted away and didn't answer.
The white brake lights blinked as Jory put the car in gear.
"You should go," Auron said and angled his head towards the vehicle.
Straightening, Raine put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing out here, Auron? Do you need a ride back to town?"
Before he could say no, the wheels on Jory's car spun in the gravel as he punched the accelerator and a moment later, his red tail lights disappeared down the curve of the dirt road.
"Really, Jory?" Raine muttered to herself. "Well, there goes my ride." Holding her elbows, she hurried into the cloud of dust.
Auron followed her. "Where are you going?"
"My curfew's in twenty minutes. If I hurry, I can catch the train."
"Trains stopped running an hour ago."
"Dammit." Her speed increased just enough for Auron to notice and he lengthened his strides. "I hate it when Jory gets like this. So moody."
"I'm sorry I interfered. You've been very...patient. More than I deserve."
"No worries," she said with an insouciant shrug that reminded him of Tidus. In her profile, Auron recognized Tidus' slightly upturned nose, the contour of his chin and, of course, the bleach blonde of his hair, but her likeness to Tidus faded promptly when she said: "It was the blind leading the blind in Jory's backseat. It wasn't going to end happily for me, if you know what I mean."
"I do," Auron said grimly. "More than I care to."
"Sorry," she said, although the twist of her lips as she smothered a smile told Auron she was not as sorry as he was supposed to believe. She began rubbing her arms.
"Don't you have a jacket?"
"I did. I had underwear, too, until Jory drove away with them."
Auron pursed his lips, swung forward his katana, stabbing the end of the scabbard into the dirt. "Hold this," he said to her.
The sword was almost as tall as her and she hugged it against her uncertainly, like she was struggling to hold a drunken stranger on his feet.
Auron unclasped his obi belt and removed his great coat. "This will keep you warm," he said as he handed it over and took back the sword. He slid his arm back through the sheath's leather strap and flipped the sword to his back.
"What about you?"
"I don't get cold."
Sliding her arms into the sleeves, her hands didn't quite reach the cuffs and he had to buckle up the sleeve he usually kept loose so they were both functional. She wrapped the cloak around her like a robe, not bothering to cinch it with the belt, the hem almost dragging on the ground. "It's lighter than it looks. Soft inside. Satin?"
"I think."
"I've never seen you without your coat," she said, eying the sleeveless leather cuirass he wore underneath. "You seem...younger."
Auron didn't know how to respond and listened to the rhythmic crunch of gravel under them. At the bottom of the mountain, the faint dirt road transitioned into cobblestone for a few hundred feet, then smoothed into a basket-weave of multicolored brick that covered most of Zanarkand's street level.
"What were you doing up there anyway?" Raine asked.
"Nice view."
