Some Friendly Advice

So they'd had a big fight. Tidus forgot how it had even started, but it had ended up with him storming out of the house and Yuna nearly pegging him in the head with a table lamp. He found himself wandering on the dark, deserted streets, hands deep inside of his pockets. He didn't know where he would go. He didn't even have that much gil on him.

He came across a hole-in-the-wall of a bar and decided to check it out from the inside and maybe use what little gil he had with him to buy a drink. After all, he'd just reached the Spiran drinking age, which was 20, and he stll hadn't had a drink. This was largely because of Yuna's straight-laced ways.

He pushed his way inside the building, crowded with the hardworking people of Spira who had just punched out after a hard day's labor. He held his head down, not wanting to be recognized, and took a seat at an empty barstool.

The bartender, a bald man wearing a greasy tee shirt, approached him with a strange look. Tidus gazed up to meet the man's stare.

"You sure you're old enough to be here?" the bartender asked suspiciously.

"I'm 20. That's legal, right?" Tidus replied, swallowing.

"Yeah. Suppose it is. Though if you ask me, I think the legal age should be raised to 25." he shook his head, "Too many young punks think they can hold their liquor. Come tearing out of here and wreaking havoc on our peaceful Spira."

Tidus laughed nervously. "Well, don't worry about me. I won't be wreaking any havoc."

"Heh. We'll see." the bald man remained skeptical, "So, what'll ya have?"

"Uh... I don't know, just gimme a beer."

The bartender poured beer from the tap into a clean mug and slid it towards the young man. "Enjoy."

For a while, Tidus just stared down into the brew. The foam had already begun to dissolve. He took a whiff of the beverage and made a face. No wonder Yuna didn't like him drinking. The stuff smelled awful.

He took a sip and discovered that the taste was just as worse. That was when he saw Yuna's face flash in his mind. He could imagine her sitting at home, all alone, probably worried sick about him and wondering when he would come back to her.

He twirled the mug around in a circle, drawing the attention of the bald bartender.

"Don't like it?" he asked the boy with a chuckle.

"Not really my thing, no." Tidus pushed the mug back towards the man.

"You married?" the bartender eyed the golden band around Tidus' finger.

"Oh. Uh, yeah." Tidus laughed, "My wife and I, we're newly weds."

"Well then what the hell are you doin' here?" the bartender laughed heartily, "You should be at home with her enjoying the 'honeymoon stage' while it lasts!"

"Yeah." Tidus sighed, "But we had a fight. Don't think I'll be getting any tonight."

"So you're in the doghouse, eh? Too bad." he clucked his tongue, "How bad was it?"

"She threw a table lamp at my head."

"Ooh." the bartender winced, "Well, look, how much gil you got, kid?"

Tidus pulled thirty gil from his pocket and flashed it to the bartender.

"Listen, why don't you use that thirty gil and buy your little lady a pretty bouquet of roses?" he suggested, "Don't waste your money on this stuff! It'll only give you warmth for one night. A woman can keep you warm al your life."

Tidus looked up at the man and smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I'll do that."

"Good luck, kid." he winked.

Tidus exited the bar and made his way down the street to a florist shop that he knew of, but when he got there he saw that the shop had closed. It was late. There probably weren't any florists open at this time. He sighed, feeling only momentarily defeated, before a crazy idea came to his mind.

Yuna wiped her eyes with a tissue. She had cried so hard that she'd given herself the hiccups. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Glancing at the time, she concluded that Tidus had been gone for nearly 3 hours. She wondered what he was doing out there. She wondered if he would ever come back.

They'd started fighting, as new couples do, about their plans for the future. Tidus wanted to continue blitzing professionally and she didn't want him to. When he'd asked her why not, she'd eventually admitted that she'd be jealous of all the attention he would get.

Why couldn't he just build things or paint things for a living like normal husbands do? He wouldn't spen half as much time away from his family and there would be less of a threat to their marriage. It wasn't that she didn't trust Tidus, but she knew how groupies could get. And sometimes Tidus flirted a bit too much. To put it simply, she was insanely jealous. But it was only because she loved him so much.

Yuna jumped when she heard a knock at the door. Her heart raced the entire way from the kitchen to the front door of the home she shared with her new husband. She hesitated a bit on the doorknob. Another knock. She turned the knob and pulled the door opened.

Tidus stood on the front steps, disheveled and dirty. She gaped and ushered him inside.

"What happened to you?" she asked, touching his elbow, "You look like you were rolling around in the dirt!"

He didn't respond. He just handed her a handful of red roses. His hands were stained with blood and dirt. It was then she realized that he had sliced himself up on the thorns of the flowers.

"Tidus!" she cried, taking the roses, "You're bleeding! Come into the bathroom and I'll get you cleaned up."

As his wife careful cleaned his wounds, he smiled and asked her if she liked the roses.

"Are you serious?" she cocked a brow.

"Course. That's why I asked." he said.

Her expression softened. "I loved them."

"I love you." he sighed, "And I'm sorry."

Yuna lowered her hands. "Me, too, baby."

"Come here."

Tidus pulled his wife into his arms and held the embrace.

"I have to ask you..." Yuna began.

"What?"

"Whose garden did you stomp through to get those roses for me?"

Tidus looked a little embarrassed. "Of all the houses and all the gardens, I chose the one with the Great Dane for a guard dog."

Yuna giggled. "Oh, Tidus. You wrestled around with a dog just to get me a couple of roses?"

"Uh... yeah, I guess." he laughed nervously.

"That's so sweet."

"Yeah." he paused, "But I probably should've taken heed to that 'beware of dog' warning that was posted on the fence."

"Well, now you know." she said with a nod.