Lovebirds
"It was supposed to be me." He whispered, unsure if he was saying those words to himself, or to Yuna, his lover who stood in front of him.
She looked happy. And just as beautiful as ever, Tidus noted, although there seemed to be a sense of longing in her eyes. He knew there was longing in his. What was it, six months? Not even that, Tidus realized, remembering how long he had been back in the living world.
But they were separated again, one designated alive, and the other certainly dead. But this time, the dead would not be coming back.
It wasn't even a day after Yuna faded away in his arms. It happened so fast, he remembered, Yuna only had time enough to force out a final "I love you" as her breath ran out. This time, Tidus responded to her call of love, which encouraged her to slip away from his grasp.
"Why?" Tidus questioned. "What did she do to deserve this? She killed Sin! What did she do wrong?" He screamed.
"No good deed goes unpunished, eh?" Wakka chimed in as he walked up to Tidus.
Tidus looked to Wakka soberly. "What did she do, Wakka?"
"She wrecked the old times. She wrecked the somber order and stability that Spira was supposed to be." Lulu interjected.
"What?"
"At least that's what the shooter said." Lulu added.
"Where is he being held at?" Tidus grumbled.
"No you will not." Wakka retorted. "You don't want it on your conscience."
"But..."
"Listen. I looked to Yuna like my little sister, ya? My sis from a different mother. When I heard you asked her hand in marriage, you were the one guy I wanted her to marry. The one guy. Please, remain that guy." Wakka pleaded.
"No more talk about that." Tidus reply, choking up as he started to cry.
"What is it?" Lulu asked, sensing something being held back."
"Yuna..."
"Yuna what?" Wakka asked.
"She, she was pregnant."
"Tidus..."
"We were going to tell you today, in fact!" Tidus continued, by now unable to control the flood of tears.
"I'm sorry, brudda."
"I'm so sorry." Lulu offered.
Tidus continued to look upon Yuna's ghostly form as it floated amongst the pyreflies. Surely she was there somewhere. It couldn't be that he was only seeing a memory, a dream. If it wasn't really her, like Rikku once said, why was it only the dead appeared here? Surely she was here somewhere. Was her soul trapped in that ghostly form? Tidus didn't know, for he was never called as he drifted the Farplane. How cruel would it be if her soul was indeed trapped motionless in that image. So close, yet so far. Unable to be heard. It was too much for Tidus to think about as he collapsed to his knees.
"Let's go, brudda." Wakka began. "You need some rest. You can stay with us if you want."
"I need to go...to some special places." Tidus groaned.
"It might be best if you come home with us for tonight." Lulu encouraged.
"Please, guys. I need this tonight."
"Alright, brudda."
"I'll be back here in the morning." Tidus said.
The first place Tidus travelled to was the Moonflow's south bank. The moonlilies and the pyreflies danced. Also visible in Tidus's mind was a reconstruction of their honeymoon, a ghostly replay of their most intimate, special night. Tidus thought it was something he needed, for he wanted to keep Yuna alive as much as possible.
After some time, he then traveled back to Macalania, back to the spring where they first kissed and confirmed their love for each other. Again, a ghostly replay of that night danced through the night. Their delicate dance and romp through the spring provided some comfort. What he missed, however, were a couple key senses. Feeling her, touching her, hearing her voice, all things he would never enjoy with her again.
The day was stressful, and Tidus grew increasingly weary and tired, as well as emotionally drained, so he decided to pitch a cloth and sleep the night here. As he drifted off to sleep, he remembered a few words from his childhood.
"When a lovebird dies, the one left behind gives up living, so it can join its mate."
--
Wakka walked up onto the platform ahead of Lulu, and scanned the horizon for Tidus, who was nowhere to be seen.
"Hmm, that's odd, I would've figured Tidus would be here already. Truthfully I'm surprised he didn't pitch a tent here." He said. "I wonder where he's at." He said as Lulu walked up.
"He's here." Lulu said, pointing out into the distance. There he was, hand in hand with Yuna.
"No..." Wakka muttered.
Lulu simply chuckled, belaying her feeling of even more grief.
"Don't get in too much trouble, yeah?" Wakka said
Lulu started choking back tears, but eventually composed herself. "Thank you guys. No one is ever going to forget you two for what you've done for us."
It had been two and a half years since Yuna ended the spiral of death that clutched Spira for a thousand years. For Lulu and Wakka, however, it seemed as if the spiral of death continued unabated.