Tumultuous | By : FairyArmadillo Category: Final Fantasy X > General Views: 1033 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
Title:"Tumultuous"
Author: Fairy Armadillo
Email: fairyarmadillo@comcast.net
A/N: As of Feb 9, 2007, only about half the story shows up. Hopefully this will fix it. *crosses fingers*
Disclaimer: It is my opinion that disclaimers offer no legal protection to writers of fanfiction or sites that host such works. Since this pointless exercise is now *mandatory* on all stories archived on aff, I will state that I do not hold the original copyright to these characters, and I make no profit from them or this story. Whee.
Pairing: Tidus/Auron
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: LEMON male/male interaction. Angst.
Summary: A storm. Smut. Angst. Blitzballs. Hot tubs. Some other stuff.
Author's Notes: Uh... not real happy with this. Can't tell what's wrong with it.
Zanarkand was a pleasant city, Auron reflected, almost idyllic, but not during the summer storm season. He braced himself as another huge wave crashed, tossing the small houseboat like a toy.
"The storm's getting worse!" Tidus shouted, struggling to be heard over the roar of wind and thunder.
Auron barely made out the words, and nodded his reply, not bothering to speak. The next wave struck, and he lurched a step forward, fighting for balance as the houseboat dipped nearly twenty degrees with an ominous shudder. At this rate, the storm surge would swamp the boat and crush it against the Zanarkand docks.
"The moorings!" Recognizing the problem at the same time he had, Tidus was already making his way unsteadily to the panel that controlled the little boat's functions. With the moorings loosed, the boat would be free to ride the waves instead of being dragged under the rising surf. They might still wind up broken over the docks, but with any luck the storm would carry them out to sea.
Tidus punched a control, did it again, then slammed the panel with his fist. "It's stuck!"
Auron leaned close to the young man's ear. "We'll have to cut the line!"
Tidus nodded, and Auron led the way to the deck. As soon as the door was unlatched, the wind tore it from Auron's grasp. They both flinched as a torrent of wind and water buffeted them. The storm had seemed fierce from within the relative safety of the cabin, but now it howled around them in raw fury. Already drenched to the bone, Auron blinked seawater out of his eyes and unsheathed his katana. Speech was impossible. Auron pointed to himself, and then at the aft quarter of the ship, where the mooring line lay. Tidus nodded his understanding.
The few yards to the mooring seemed like miles. The deck bucked and shuddered under Auron's feet, and waves were already breaking over the top railing, the water pulling at his legs with eager savagery. Simply breathing was difficult, every lungful of air filled with spray.
Auron choked and sputtered and made his way aft, katana held at the ready. He reached the mooring and would have cursed if he'd had the breath to do it with. He'd forgotten that the line attached to the ship was a good two feet below the railing's level.
Auron shrugged his left arm free of his coat and grabbed the railing, then leaned over and struck at the line with his right. The angle was awkward and unwieldy, and his first blow glanced off the line. Auron shook spray from his eyes and struck again, more carefully. The line sang, a deep note that Auron felt in his hands, the sound lost to the storm. He struck again, and again, and finally the line snapped free.
Before Auron could appreciate his success, the next wave struck. A wall of water rose up and inundated him, yanking him free of the railing. Auron struggled and flailed, his warrior's instincts to hold onto his sword doing him no good at all when he should have used every limb for swimming.
The wave receded, dragging him with it into the seething black tumult. Auron fought to remain conscious as long as possible, his lungs burning with the need for air. He swam for the surface, then realized he had no idea which direction that was. The currents tumbled him like a rag doll, disorienting him, and all around lay darkness.
When his breath ran out, Auron finally surrendered to it.
"Auron!"
From the safety of the hatchway, Tidus had watched the wave pick up the older man and wash him overboard. Without thinking, Tidus sprinted for the railing and dove over, into the storm-tossed sea. It was too dark to see, and the currents were murder, but Tidus dove and searched anyway, hoping to catch some glimpse of red.
He dove until even his blitzer's lungs burned, and kept on searching. There was no sign of Auron at all. The waves had swallowed him up with a terrible finality. Tidus felt himself beginning to panic. What if it was too late? What if Auron had drowned?
Tidus shook his head violently and kept looking. He could do this. He wasn't the star player of the Zanarkand Abes for nothing.
As if fate had rewarded his resolve, Tidus spied a glint of something out of the corner of his eye. Auron's sword. He kicked like a fish and shot toward the glint. Yes, Auron's sword, with Auron attached to it, limp and sinking slowly.
Tidus got his arm around the older man, stopping his plunge into the depths. Auron seemed unresponsive and very close to drowning, if he wasn't there already. He needed air, and quickly. Tidus turned Auron around, fighting the currents and the man's own limp body. Taking Auron's head in his hands, Tidus called on the blitzer's trick he'd inherited from his father, pulling water into his lungs and converting it to air. This air he then transferred to Auron by fastening his lips to the older man's and exhaling carefully. Bubbles rose around them, tickling their cheeks before dancing upward for the surface.
A second breath, and the figure in Tidus' arms moved feebly, and lips flexed under his own. Relief flooded Tidus with new strength. He pulled away and was glad to see Auron watching him, his eye unfocused and barely tracking.
Tidus kicked for the surface, towing the semi-conscious man with him. It would be a struggle to get them both back onto the boat. Naked and dry, Auron weighed a ton. With waterlogged clothes and still clutching his damned sword, he weighed two. As they broke the surface and Tidus heard the ragged gasping next to his ear, he didn't care. He whipped his hair back from his face and laughed at the thunder.
Auron woke to sunlight and the cry of gulls. His chest and lungs ached, and he felt as if he'd taken a beating from some large and ill-tempered fiend, but seemed otherwise intact. He lay dressed in loose trousers and nothing else, blankets pulled up to his shoulders and soft against his skin.
He was warm and dry and in familiar surroundings: one of the narrow fold-away bunks in the houseboat's main living area. The only problem was that Auron couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. On the whole it seemed a minor mystery, one best solved later. Auron closed his eye and let his tired body pull him down into sleep.
Auron roused a second time, feeling marginally more energetic. He groaned and managed to sit up, though the effort decided him against standing unless it was an absolute necessity.
"Hey, you're awake." Tidus stuck his head outside the tiny galley and grinned. He crossed the living space to Auron's bunk, carrying with him a cup of something warm and fragrant, which he offered to Auron. "Here, drink this."
Auron took the proffered cup and drank, tasting potion-laced tea. He swallowed gratefully, the warm liquid soothing to his abused throat. Thus fortified, he felt capable of asking questions. The slant of sunlight told him it was late afternoon, but he had no idea what day it was.
"How long was I out?"
"Most of the day. The storm blew itself out around dawn. We drifted pretty far out to sea, but we'll be back in Zanarkand before nightfall."
The storm. Auron began to remember now: black water and a strong arm around him, the blessed solidity of the deck against his cheek and the smell of damp wood. Another memory started to surface -- lips pressed to his own, breathing sweet air into his lungs. Auron raised his hand to his lips without thinking, absorbed in the recollection.
"Um." Tidus was watching him, a faint blush spreading across his cheekbones. Auron dropped his hand. "I guess I'll let you rest some more. Unless you're hungry? There's soup."
Tidus had learned to be a fairly competent cook, but Auron didn't have the strength to tackle anything more complicated than the tea. "Perhaps later."
"Okay. Take it easy, then." For an instant Tidus looked as if he were about to pat his shoulder, then seemed to think better of it.
Auron lay back and closed his eye. "Tidus." It needed to be said.
"Huh?"
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