They had all endured so much – and their journey was still far from over.
Yuna and her guardians stood on the edge of the cliff with Bevelle behind them, overlooking the vast expanse of green grass and rolling winds, with a very distant yet visible rift beyond. At her lead, they all then continued on down the path. The sun was setting and they needed to make haste to a safe resting point or be at the mercy of the fiends in the night. Thankfully, there was an Al Bhed travel agency a few miles ahead and just as dusk fell, they had made it there safely. Weary from the events of the previous day, they all went quietly to their own rooms and let themselves be swept away by sleep.
Early the next morning, Tidus woke up and stepped outside the travel agency. He gazed over to the rising sun, a sphere of hazy red light that had not yet fully emerged from the horizon. He took a deep breath and let the cool air fill his lungs before expiring calmly. Standing there in the vast, quiet plains, it almost seemed as if life was normal. As if Sin was just a dream, and that an imminent fate didn't await him or those he cared about. How he wished that were true. 'Damn you Jehct…' he whispered to himself, as he threw his gaze up to the sky. Snapping out of his naive daydream, he decided he would head to the north of the calm lands for some training alone, before the others woke up. He grabbed his beloved Brotherhood and his buckler, and set off.
Approaching the infamous rift, Tidus could see another figure up ahead. He instantly recognised who it was, smiled and thought, 'He must have had exactly the same thought as me'.
Wakka hadn't yet noticed his friend. He was throwing his blitzball at a horn-shaped protrusion from the ground, bouncing it perfectly off whatever it was, then jumping up high to catch it – and repeating. He was clearly in a zone, practicing the strength and accuracy of his throw.
Tidus stood there for a short while – not making his prescence known to him. It would be fair to say that Tidus was completely smitten with the other man in every way possible. He couldn't help but feel a jolt of movement below his belt every time wakka gave hit a friendly pat on the back with those strong, toned arms of his, or laugh whenever Wakka tried to say something profound or clever - but didn't succeed! On their first journey through Macalania Woods, Tidus had been blessed enough to accidentally catch a glimpse of the man he loved in the woods bathing – completely naked. The image of his vast, golden, muscular body with a wispy dusting of red hair over his chest and abdomen in the blue, crystal-esque light of the woods had been permanently engraved into Tidus' mind. An image that often returned to his head just as he was falling asleep…
Of course, these were wonderful thoughts, but they were accompanied with a great deal of sorrow and frustration. He could never act on these feelings. Apart from knowing that the man he held in such esteem was not that way inclined, he would not allow himself to be so selfish – because of Yuna. Although he had always seen her more as a sister and never in a romantic light, he was fairly sure that she saw him in that manner. Ultimately, it would have to be Yuna to stand alone and call forth Spira's hope – and her own demise. He could not bear the thought of someone he cared so much about doing this whilst knowing the man she loved did not love her back. Damn, he sure knew how THAT felt.
Tidus must have been standing there a while because he felt a hard knock on his head. He looked up just in time to see Wakka catch the blue ball and smile at him.
"Though I was out here alone ya?" Wakka called out walking towards him. "Overseeing my training eh?"
"I was just coming over here to train myself." He tried his best to keep his eyes on Wakka's face and not his sweaty torso, all made a little more difficult by the fact that he was still feeling the effects of the blitzball.
"I'll help you train in a minute ya? Damn I'm tired though, wanna sit down for a moment first?" Wakka lay down on his back and hit the patch of ground next to him as an invitation for his friend to sit next to him.
"Sure thing" Tidus said as he sat down cross-legged next to him. Wakka was breathing quite heavily, but Tidus could still tell from the stern look on his face that something was bothering him. "You alright Wakka? You're up out here earlier than I am."
"Hmm? Oh… Well… I guess I'm just a bit down y'know? I always knew this journey was gunna be hard, but now all this stuff with Seymour and Yevon…"
Tidus sighed. The dirty business with 'Maester' Seymour and the temples had angered him, but he was not a religious man like Wakka. It must really be affecting him, he thought. "Look Wakka, I know it's tough, but we still all have each other don't we? You shouldn't care too much about Yevon y'know – Yuna's pilgrimage is what's important."
"Ya I know… But it's not just that – it's everything. I'll support Yuna whatever she does ya? But I just can't imagine how I'm gunna feel after…" Wakka swallowed. "And then Sin is just gunna come back ya?"
"You don't know that for sure. If Yuna believes that there's a chance it won't -"
"Don't give me that!" Wakka exploded. He got up off the ground in a rage. Tidus quickly stood up to match him – face to face. "That's not even the point – Yuna would still be dead!" Wakka continued with tears in his eyes without giving the blonde a chance to respond. "I can't believe what's happening…"
"Wakka…" Tidus said softly.
"Sin has just ruined everything my whole life y'know? My parents – killed by Sin, Chappu – killed by Sin, and soon Yuna? It's just not fair!"
"I know Wakka but please -"
"Anyone I care about – anything I want to do with my life – I can't because of Sin! And on top of it all – to see the man I love kissing Yuna…" Wakka trailed off suddenly in shock and with wide, teary eyes, realised what he had just said.
"The man you what?" Tidus couldn't believe what he had just heard. He felt his heart beat fast in his stomach. This was all that Tidus had wanted to hear Wakka say since the moment he met him. He was overcome with a need to say 'I love you' back – but resisted. No matter how he felt, he still couldn't do that to Yuna. Sure, he had kissed her in the lake beneath the glowing light of the Macalanian moon, but she was crying, he had said stupid things… It just sort of happened… Still, he had to say something. "I… umm… Wakka… it couldn't happen, Yuna, she… been through so much already… I… it's not…"
Before he could say something coherent, he felt Wakka's powerful hands grab his face as his warm lips crashed into his own. Tidus was taken completely by surprise – he couldn't lead Wakka on like this but he couldn't allow himself to pull away. It felt strange, Wakka's stubble was a little rough, but at the same time it felt exquisite against his smooth jaw. He felt complete against Wakka's still moist and robust body, who had now moved his hands away from Tidus' face and had wrapped his solid arms around his body. Momentarily giving into his feelings, Tidus reciprocated and slid his hands onto the man's broad back. Wakka's tongue was pleading entry into the younger mans mouth and Tidus, lost in the moment, parted his lips causing Wakka to softly moan. Their tongues glided over one an others, both men feeling waves of heated pleasure move their bodies. Tidus' erection was swelling beneath his shorts, pressing into the redhead's thigh, whilst Wakka's own manhood was forcibly pushing into Tidus' hip. Wakka laughed softly and pulled away briefly.
"See?" he whispered. "You're kissing me back ya? – This CAN happen ya? I've wanted to do that for so long…" He leaned back in to continue the kiss but Tidus, who was now coming around to his own thoughts, moved away.
"Wakka" he began, trembling from the pleasure he had just felt and the thought of what he was about to say. "I can't do this to Yuna – you must sense how she feels about me – it would destroy her if she…" By the look on Wakka's face, Tidus knew that he need not say anymore. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"Ahh, no problem ya?" said Wakka, forcing a smile. "Don't know what came over me – must be some malboro breath in the air ya?" He was doing a poor job of hiding how crushed he really was. Realising that nothing he could say would be convincing enough, his face dropped, and a he rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry ya?" he whispered. He grabbed the blitzball and ran back to the travel agency.
Tidus merely stood there with tears streaming down his face.