Spira Love Stories
Chapter One: Under the Starry Sky
"Yuna!" Lulu called, climbing over a large, wet boulder. "Come on, Yuna, slow down. Wakka's getting lost in the rain." Yuna turned around, her green and blue eyes twinkling mischieviously in the lightning. With an impish smile, she jumped down off of the short cliff and into the water. Looking around, she considered her options. Quickly making up her mind, she headed for the middle of the stream, her long skirt trailing behind her. Lulu stopped at the edge of the cliff with a sigh, muttering darkly to herself.
Kimari followed the two, as composed as ever, with Wakka a couple yards behind him. Auron was next, practically dragging a weak and shaking Rikku, who was mumbling about the thunder.
"Yuna, I'm gonna drag you back outta there if you don't get out NOW!" Roared Wakka irritably. "Don't you think it's wet enough just bein' in the rain?" Yuna giggled, splashing through the water. Her long sleeves floated gently behind her, making a soft pink cloud in the water, while the rain battered relentlessly on herself and her companions. "Yuna!" Wakka screamed again threateningly.
"Oh, come on, Wakka!" Yuna said cheerily. "Let's have some fun!" Wakka told her exactly what he thought of having fun in the rain. "Fine, be that way!" Yuna laughed, swirling around in the stream.
"Yunie!" Rikku whined, cowering on the ground next to Auron's legs. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. "What if you get hit by lightning? Yunie, please come out!" Rikku scrambled behind Auron, cowering under his red and black cloak. Auron grumbled and snatched it out of her grasp, muttering about silly children.
Suddenly there was a noise like an explosion and water went flying in every direction. Tidus popped out of the stream, spitting a mouthful of water in the air.
"Come on, guys," he said, smiling. "Where's your sense of adventure?" Wakka scowled, while Lulu smothered a giggle.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Wakka said sarcastically. "I mean, it's not the middle of the night, I'm not tired and battered, it's not like anyone else is injured, it's not raining, and I'm not already wet, so why not?" Tidus laughed and jumped in the air to land with another splash in the stream once more, making Yuna laugh again.
"Well, think of it this way," he said reasonably, "we're tired and hurt, yeah. And it is the middle of the night. So what if it's raining, dry, or snowing, or possibly even all three? Don't you think that tonight we should celebrate? Don't you remember what happened tonight?" Tidus grabbed Yuna's hand and smiled at them all. Wakka stared at him a moment, then sighed.
"Tidus, you are one crazy guy," he grumbled. Looking at Lulu, he smiled. "But it was all worth being tired, injured, and wet, don't you think?" Lulu smiled back and nodded. For a few minutes, they all stayed still and silent. Then, one by one, they looked at Yuna, who was staring into the water, an incredulous smile on her face. Quietly, she spoke.
"We defeated Sin," she whispered. "It's gone. It's never coming back. Ever." Almost all at once, the rain stopped coming down. Looking up, the group saw stars being revealed by the scarce clouds, shining brightly in the sky. Lulu sat on the ground, and laughed. Wakka laid down on the grass beside her, smiling so widely that his face hurt. Kimari leaned against a tree and looked into the neverending sky, savoring this moment of happiness. Rikku, now that the rain and thunder had stopped, stood up and danced around in a silly little rhythm, laughing and singing songs full of meaningless words. Auron chuckled to himself as he watched her, all too glad that their problems were momentarily nonexistent.
Tidus smiled at Yuna, standing beside him in the middle of the stream, as starlight glittered on the surface of the water. Yuna smiled back, true happiness shining in the depths of her eyes; happiness untainted by worry, fear, or death. Getting a crazy idea, Tidus recklessly motioned toward the woods on the other side of the stream. Yuna nodded, and they made their way there quietly, so that the others would not notice their absence. Once they made it to the woods, they walked into the trees, disappearing in a thick covering of vines, trees, and shrubs. As they walked they almost unknowingly refused to let go of each other's hand.
When they considered themselves to be deep enough in the trees, Tidus hugged Yuna tightly, yet gently, holding her around the waist and resting a hand on her head. Yuna squeezed him back, her arms around his waist. Finally, they released each other only to gaze one into the other's eyes as they quietly held a celebration of their own. Unbidden, the tears sprang into Yuna's eyes, and as they streamed slowly down her cheeks, Tidus brushed them away.
"We really did it," Yuna whispered, her voice suddenly hoarse. "Tidus, it's over. Our battles against Sin are over. It won't be able to destroy any more cities or beaches or islands. No more summoners will ever have to sacrifice themselves, and no more Al Bhed will have to kidnap them." She let out a small giggle, which was almost automatically drowned in a sad sigh. "And no longer do we need the aeons. They do not need to respond to the calls of humans any longer. We can go on to a better life without their help now."
Silently Tidus held her to him again, allowing her to cry herself dry for the loss of her friends.
When she was finished, he smiled at her. "Yuna," he said quietly, "I know you'll miss them because they were your friends and you went through so much with them. But honestly," he wiped away a rogue tear from her cheek with his hand, "I'm so glad that we lost them instead of you." Yuna smiled and hugged him again, then stepped back, grinning apologetically.
"I'm sorry," she said shyly as she dried her face. "I don't know why I'm crying so much; it's supposed to be such a happy night!" Tidus smiled.
"It's okay," he replied. "You've been through a lot tonight. We all have." Yuna sat down on a fallen tree, suddenly very fatigued. She nodded sleepily, and Tidus sat beside her. Without words, she rested her head on his shoulder, allowing her hand to clasp his arm gently. The contrast between her own pale hand and his tan forearm was so stark she almost laughed out loud. Tidus rested his free hand over hers, and laid his cheek against her head.
"Yuna," he said quietly. "What will we do now?" Yuna sat up, her eyebrows pulled together.
"We?" She asked with a confused frown.
Embarrassed, Tidus replied, "Oh, well, I thought I'd stay with you, since I don't know anyone else. But if that bothers you, it's alright, I'll just see if Wakka can get me on the new Aurochs team, I can blitz-" Before he could finish, Yuna laughed and kissed his cheek.
Confused and dazed, Tidus instantly shut up. "Of course you can stay with me, silly!" Yuna said, hugging him again. "It wouldn't be home on Besaid without you anymore." Tidus smiled back at her happily and jumped up.
Lying on the grass, he looked up at the stars with his hands behind his head. Yuna laid beside him, resting a small, pale hand on his chest. Grinning up at him, Yuna asked, "What are you thinking about, Mister Cunning?"
Tidus laughed and replied, "Nothing much. Just how different life is going to be now. No more traveling, or fighting monsters on the road. No more having to watch you Send an entire village's population, or call another aeon that terrifies me out of my wits, or be kidnapped for another marriage to another undead spirit conniving to take over all Spira." Yuna reflected upon those times: Kilika, Bahamut, and Seymour. With a sigh, she nodded.
"Kilika will never be the same, either," she said quietly. "Or Home. The Al Bhed will have to rebuild it somewhere else where no one will find it. And what about the temples? What if the people stop going to them because Sin is no longer here? And what about the machina? What if they build and sell more killing machina, more weapons? What if Sin comes back, and we are even less prepared than before?"
"Kilika and Home will never have to go through that again, though," Tidus said soothingly. "The temples will have to be kept up with you around, and the machina won't be an issue. Everyone will remember Sin and do whatever it takes to keep it away, for a time at least. And I was at the first Sin attack, remember? In Zanarkand, two thousand years ago. We didn't have Summoners then, or even know the teachings to create them. How could we be even less prepared now?" Yuna calmed down.
"Thank you," she said quietly, smiling awkwardly. "I got a little carried away for a minute." Tidus propped himself up on a hand, looking down at Yuna with a small smile on his face. Yuna looked up at him in the dim starlight, blinking innocently. Tidus shook his head slightly and gently held Yuna's cheek in his hand.
"Yuna," he said quietly, "you're the kindest woman I know. You don't get carried away, you just don't spend enough time worrying about yourself. Spira would be a better place with more people like you, Yuna." Yuna looked up at him in happy surprise, and put her hand over his.
"Tidus, what would I do without you?" She asked quietly. "You make me so happy! Even when you're not here, your words keep me company. When I feel lost, all I have to do is whistle and I know you'll be right there with me. You keep me from stressing myself out with worry, you protect me with everything you've got... I almost feel guilty knowing that there are millions of girls out there that might not know someone like you and that if given the chance I wouldn't share you with any one of them." Tidus smiled.
"Good," he whispered, "because I wouldn't want you to."
Slowly, carefully, so that she might have a chance to refuse if she so chose, Tidus lowered his head until he was mere inches away from her face. Looking into her beautiful eyes, he softly said what he'd been wanting to say ever since the first time he saw her in Besaid Temple, sweat-streaked, weak, and half dead.
"I love you, Yuna."
Yuna's eyes widened with surprise, then closed at Tidus closed the space between their lips and kissed her deeply.
In Zanarkand, Tidus had kissed many girls. Most of them had been blonde, ditzy, and selfish. They had only liked him for his looks, money, and fame. He had had his first real kiss from Motoko Redding, after he scored the winning goal in the first round of a blitzball tournament in high school. The girls, kisses, and parties got wilder and wilder after that. Sometimes girls wouldn't wait for an introduction to start fawning over him. Sometimes he wouldn't get a proper introduction at all. It got so that the kisses and flirting meant nothing at all to him, merely that he was still a popular blitzer. It was not so with Yuna.
With Yuna, he felt every tiny detail, every breath, every movement. His skin prickled as Yuna slid her hand up his arm and around his neck to tangle in his hair. His heart nearly stopped beating when Yuna fought him for dominance over the cavern of their two mouths and won. Gently he moved his hand from her cheek to her back, then down to her waist. Tidus was rewarded when in return Yuna wrapped her other arm around his shoulder to meet her other hand at the back of his neck. When they finally broke apart, he was even more weak and shaky than he had been with Motoko that first time. He laid down on the grass next to Yuna again, knowing that if he died at that moment, he would be happy for all eternity.
Yuna was breathing deeply beside him, her eyes still closed and her lips quite red. Softly, Tidus stroked her hair, smiling as she turned to look at him, wonder and love in her gaze. She smiled in return and snuggled against him, resting her head on his arm. He held her to him, thanking everything that was good for what he had just experienced. Looking up at the stars, he smiled, knowing everything would be alright.