Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X is (c) Squaresoft. This story is for entertainment only.

Pairing: Rin/Braska

Warnings: implication up the wazoo, but no real action. The only lemons you want from me are the kind that grow on a tree in my backyard. ^^;

Notes: I make a few assumptions about the Al Bhed, but I don't think it's anything unreasonable. I'm wary about the characterization, but it's a raw draft. ^^ Comments would be appreciated. This is a first for me.


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Even after years, Braska's habits were unchanged.

The lamp still flickered on the table near the window, left to drown in its own oil. A book lay abandoned beside it, and the chair was pushed to the sill so its occupant could enjoy the moonlit landscape of Lake Macalania when he wished to pause. A heavy robe was draped over the back, and an ornate circlet placed carefully on a chest of drawers behind it.

Braska had always loved to read. He would sit down with a book every night without fail, always spending time to study and write before taking his evening bath and going to sleep. It was surprising to see that he still adhered to that ritual, even in the midst of all the responsibilities of his journey. But that was a comfort now - it would make things that much easier.

A cup of tea had been left by one of Rin's employees, still full.

That wasn't a good sign.

Rin crept into the room, keeping his gaze fixed on the door that led to the bathroom. Inside, the sound of water sloshing and the echo of breathing assured him that Braska was still occupied. That was a relief - he needed a few moments to conceal himself, and the spell his assistant had used to take care of the two guardians, while subtle, might have been sensed.

Reluctantly, Rin knelt beside the bed and lifted the coverlet, peering into the darkness beneath. It seemed clean enough; the tile was cold when he flattened himself to the floor and inched into the shadow, but at least there was no dust. It would be intolerable if he was revealed because of a sneeze.

But luck was with him - as soon as the coverlet fell, the door to the bathing room opened and Braska stepped in with the slap of bare feet. The hem of a robe flashed by as the summoner padded past Rin's hiding place to the table. China clinked, and the Al Bhed stifled a relieved sigh. Braska gave no indication that he detected their little addition to his tea; their effort wouldn't be in vain after all.

It was difficult to wait as his charge went through the motions of his bedtime routine. The temptation to look was almost overpowering. Rin did not want to reveal himself, yet it had been years...

The cup and saucer clinked onto the table again, and he risked a quick look beneath the coverlet, careful not to move it. Braska was moving back toward the bed with a sigh, flipping a ream of azure hair over his shoulder and slipping out of his robe. Rin quickly averted his gaze - but not quickly enough. He turned back and let out a slow, deep beath, admiring what little he could see from his vantage point. The summoner certainly hadn't been lax in keeping himself in shape.

Fool, he scolded himself. But he watched anyway.

Braska climbed into bed and Rin had to flatten himself to the floor until the man settled his weight and stopped moving. The lamp flickered and sent the shadows dancing; it wouldn't be long now, until darkness. With luck, Braska would fall with the light, and things would be underway.

While he waited, he began to have second thoughts. This was a friend he was conspiring against... even if it was for his own good, Rin could not shake the feeling that this was the wrong way to go about it. But what else could be done? Knowing Braska as well as he did, he knew the man would refuse to turn away from his path, even at the request of those he loved. Every summoner courted death, but this one was far too eager. It was painful to watch, and Rin was never one to stand by when there was something to be done.

Unfortunately, his skills lay elsewhere when it came to true accomplishment. He was a merchant, a negotiator, yet he was sorely lacking in matters of the heart. Braska might have stayed at Home, if not for that. Perhaps. And he might have listened - perhaps - if not for the one thing Rin could do nothing about: Rika's death.

Sin be damned.

The summoner's breathing had slowed; it was a steady rhythym, soft and reassuring. When a full five minutes passed with no change, Rin inched out from his hiding place, freezing every time Braska shifted in his sleep, and trying not to disturb anything, lest he awaken. When he was free, he hurried over to check the teacup - it was empty - and extinguish the lamp. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but moonlight streamed in through the break in the curtains and washed everthing into shades of gray.

It was time. His employees waited outside, ready to carry the summoner to the transfer point, which in turn would send him on his way to Home. He would be safe there - saved from himself, and from Yevon's selfish demands on his life. No one would ever know.

But even as he placed his hand on the doorknob and started to turn, temptation stilled the movement, and he looked back. Would one moment hurt? The herb he'd added to the tea would keep Braska asleep for another few hours at the least. Surely he could allow himself a moment to... admire an old friend.

Rin was beside the bed without a thought for the distance in between, gazing down at the man he had taken it upon himself to protect. In the half light, framed by a halo of moonlit hair, he looked like an alabaster statue, carved to perfection by an artist's hand. The years had been kind to Braska; even grief had not taken its toll on his features, though it had permanantly dimmed his bright gaze. He'd seen this from afar when the trio arrived at sunset, and it was one more reason to end this accursed journey before it went too far.

He sank onto the edge of the bed and listened to Braska's deep, easy breathing. There was no sign indicating that the summoner noticed him - the rise and fall of his chest never faltered. Rin rose to one knee on the mattress and leaned over to touch the pale curve of cheek, and trace the smooth, narrow jaw.

A hand seized his wrist, and another tangled into his hair. He let out a startled yell and pulled back, to no avail. Braska's sea blue eyes pierced the darkness and fixed on him, first wide with surprise and confusion, and then narrowing into wary amusement. His grip on Rin's hair tightened. "It has been a long time..." His voice was clear, unslurred by sleep. "May I ask what you are doing in my room?"

The drug had not worked - he must have been awake the entire time. That was unfortunate. "Can I not pay a visit to an old friend?" Rin tried to pull his wrist free without success.

"Is that what you call it?" The summoner's voice was dry. "Wouldn't wine have been more appropriate?"

Rin flushed, grateful the moonlight drowned everything in gray. "I take it you are immune to that particular extract?"

"For the most part." His captor relaxed into the pillows, but the grip did not loosen. "You should have anticipated that, Rin. Careless of you."

The merchant grunted in response, searching Braska's eyes for a clue to his feelings. He was not angry; nothing in Rin's experience of the man had ever given way to anger. There was weariness, and the sort of resignation he'd only seen in summoners, who had already died and simply sought the finality that only Sin could bring.

The man Rin knew was buried deeply, but he was still there. "You know why I am here, then."

Braska nodded. "And you know I will not go."

"Will you not reconsider?" He tried to school his voice and remain calm, but it still carried a pleading edge. There was no time for subtlety - he knew Braska would not wait long before taking matters into his own hands. "This journey is madness. It will only lead you to death."

"I have accepted that. I made that choice when I entered the trials." All traces of amusement were gone from the blue gaze. "One life is better than thousands, Rin. I can satisfy Spira's thirst for blood and free the others."

Was that really the case? Rin wondered. Braska possessed a kind heart and a giving soul, and a true desire to help others; he sacrificed much for what he believed in, and often got nothing in return. He had no doubt freeing Spira was an important, driving force behind the pilgrimage. But there was a more selfish desire behind it, one Rin couldn't bring himself to put words to. He would lose his last shred of credibility.

"And Yuna?" He already knew the answer. Still, he needed to try. "You are willing to leave her alone - to the Yevonites?"

"Would she fare any better with the Al Bhed?" The summoner closed his eyes a moment, seemed to be searching for words, or perhaps better composure. Yuna's name had made a mark in his armor. "She will be better off once I finish my pilgrimage."

"That is all?" Frustration made Rin's words harsher than he intended. "You are so eager to embrace death that you will desert us and throw yourself at Sin's mercy?"

"Enough." Braska turned his face away. "Leave me in peace. My guardians will not be pleased to find you here when they recover from whatever you've done to them."

It had been a mistake to do this himself - he saw that now. All of the arguments he'd planned drained through his fingers like sand and left him with nothing. Raw feelings lacked eloquence, and they were a poor weapon to weild against Braska's resolve to die. If he was willing to leave his daughter, the words of an old friend would mean nothing.

"Forgive me," he said at last.

There was only silence at first, and Rin wondered if he had gone too far. Braska's grip on his hair tightened again almost to the point of pain, then eased as he reluctantly faced the Al Bhed with his hooded gaze. "Why? Why all of this?"

"I would be no true friend if I did not try to turn you from this path, Braska." There was so much more that should be said. He just couldn't find the words. He was losing a crucial deal, and all he could do was stare at a pair of crystal eyes.

"Hm." The summoner's mouth turned up into a faint, calculating smile that meant nothing good coming from him, reminiscent of a time and place long past.

Rin tried one, last time. "Please, Braska. Reconsider."

The summoner released his wrist and slid his arm around Rin's neck. The Al Bhed allowed himself to be pulled into that frail embrace, resigned to his fate, and welcomed the teasing touch of Braska's lips. If it could just last...

"Sleep," the summoner whispered, and the feathery tingle of magic drew Rin into darkness.


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I hate writing scenes between two (or more, gods forbid) characters of the same gender. ^^ Now... I was improvising a lot with Rin's character. The game tells us that he's unfailingly polite, and opportunistic; that's it. I think I get his basic motivations, but I just don't feel that deeper understanding that I need to be accurate to his character. It's OC for Braska too, to an extent, but... I think he has more of a mischievous streak than he lets on. He's no saint, folks. ^^

This story has gone through three - no, four completely different incarnations, and only this one has come close to working. I'm not a die-hard believer in this pairing (one of the reasons this turned out so... mild. Auron/Braska all the way. ^.^), and I found it very difficult to capture Rin. I don't think I did. But then, I'm writing this mere minutes after finishing the story, and that's not a good place to make judgements from.

I think it's really funny that I made Rin hide under the bed, though. I don't know why, it just is. ^_^;

Listening to: Aphrodite of Death ~ Reminisce ~