"…and aside from Yuna's homecomin', no doubt you've all seen or heard of a very special man's return. None other than Sir Tidus himself –he's come to our very own Besaid. Best get reacquainted and make him feel like part of the ol' family, eh? Here's to the return of our heroes!"

And with a clumsy toast, Wakka took himself and his cracked coconut shell away with Lulu, leaving Tidus and Yuna in a circle along with most of the congregation. The bonfire bellowed in the centre of the plaza, spitting embers and churning out cooked sausages and fish for the party. Fruits and their associated juices were neatly laid out on a table in the order of the colour wheel. Children chased their pets in and out of the huts, and the atmosphere was brimming with the people's jubilance and the local percussion band's enthusiasm.

"They really amped up their game since the last time I was here," Tidus laughed, not finding any incentive to keep his thoughts to himself. After chatting up some of the folks and answering their questions (while waving off the more sensitive ones with a joke), he felt Yuna tug on his hand. He smiled warmly down at her. "What's up?"

"Look over there," she pointed to the temple, fighting back her sniggers with a wheeze. "It's the elders."

Some old people with rickets in their legs were trying to establish dominance, but clearly they were no match for the youth, who laughed at them and tried to get them to partake in one of their ridiculous dances. Most of them gave in, but the remaining ones huffed, gave Yuna the cold stare and stormed back into the temple under the weight of their sweat. The deafening slams of the front doors made the crowd erupt, and soon everything was back to normal.

"I'm gonna snag us a plate. I'll just be a few minutes, all right?"

She nodded and reluctantly let go of his hand. Though he was swimming through the crowd she could still pick him out from his golden hair bouncing above everyone else. She smiled adoringly and went to sit down by the fruit table, mixing a hybrid drink with her eyes still locked onto his hair. There was this numbing, aching feeling in her legs that wouldn't go away; hopefully resting them would make them heal up.

"Yunie!" Rikku had dashed over to her, whipping a few people's faces with her scarf. She quickly scanned the audience before leaning against the scratchy wood. "Have you seen Paine? I can't find her anywhere."

The words seemed hesitant to leave her mouth. "She's probably still on the beach. She offered to pack up my stuff from the airship."

"Pack up?" her face fell and her braids covered one of her eyes. Some painful seconds passed. "So you really are leaving the Gullwings…"

Yuna stood up and pulled her in by the shoulders. Her throat clenched at what those words actually meant. "Rikku. Don't forget that we're family. We can fix the Commsphere and use it to keep in touch. And there's nothing stopping you from visiting, right?"

Rikku managed a fragile smile, trying to shake off her tears.

"I've been all around the world, and I've found who I was looking for," Yuna whispered, looking at her cousin with gentleness. "And after all we've been through and saving Spira again, I just need a break. I hope you understand."

"I do," she choked quietly. After a little while they parted, Rikku dabbing her nose with the back of her glove. "So where's Paine taking all your stuff?"

"That platform on the shore, just behind the line of trees," Yuna said, the growing aches forcing her back down. "There's a basement under the water."

"Wait, your house? But it's not even finished!"

"After what happened here, I don't exactly want to risk it…" Yuna muttered darkly, recalling the sabotaged remains of the furniture in her temple chambers during the fiend outbreak. There was no telling when she would have to battle again, but it would be wise to keep her dresspheres out of obvious sight.

Come to think of it, she thought, she should drop off her Gunner outfit there sometime. The High Summoner carrying around firearms on a small island definitely wouldn't earn her any good vibes.

"Well if you see Paine, tell her she's missing— Whoa-hoa. You'd better watch out because lover boy over there is about to spoil you."

"Aw, Rikku. Have you forgotten my name already?" Tidus smarmed, ruffling her hair playfully. He set down the loaded plate on an empty spot and made himself comfy next to Yuna. "I don't mind you having some, you know. I'm just taking one for the team."

"Indeed!" the thief, true to her profession, snatched up some of the riper and crunchier foods from the plate, much to everyone else's disdain. They had been enduring her annoying antics all evening but this was the final straw. Wakka approached her with a furrowed brow and his fists clenched.

"Hey-hey-ey-ey! Rikku! You'd best cut dis all out, ya? I want everyone else to have a good time and you're killin' it."

"Par-don me, chubby," she crammed a slice of beef into her mouth to rub salt in the wound. "I thought this was a party!"

"Either I'm throwin' you out by my bare hands or you're playing janitor until dawn," he smirked maliciously, smugly pointing out the fluids streaming from her arms and staining what little clothes she wore. "And I'll tell ya – my blitz hand is still mean."

This freaked out Rikku enough to make her flee for her life – unfortunately while still holding a pile of food. Wakka chased her round and round the bonfire with the vigour of an angry warthog, which eventually evolved into a huge game of 'grab the grub'. Tidus and Yuna sat at the back, snickering quietly despite their ringing ears.

"Yuna, I think they're distracted," he hinted, staring deeply into her eyes. "Whaddya say we get away for a while?"

She stammered as a blush crept up to her cheeks. He sounded so genuine, and the glow from the fire made him look radiant. Her legs were screaming at her to let them rest, but the jolly thumping in her heart overpowered them. With a grunt she stood up and leaned against him, waiting for her dizzy spell to fade. They blended into the nooks of the trees, unaware of Rikku's panting pleas for mercy.

From another log, Lulu smiled warmly at the two disappearing shadows.

The midnight-blue sky was chalked with bright stars and faint nebulae. The moon, although not quite full, gleamed and shed dividing rays of lights onto the vegetation. The sands of the beach were as white as snow – the ocean was still and its whispers called to nothing. A weak smidgen of amber was emanating from the top of the island.

The couple walked along the silver field with their bare feet, enjoying the feeling of the damp sand sinking between their toes and the warmth caressing their hands. The words so soft only the other could hear – they carried bliss and happiness.

Yuna couldn't believe that this was happening. The whole day had felt like a dream world and this might as well had been seventh heaven. She had always intended her world-saving endeavours to be for the people, like the summoners and fiend hunters before her. Perhaps this was their personal reward. And when Tidus had embraced her tightly with no other reason than to show his love, she thought that this was all just her desperate imagination – that he wasn't actually there with her and that her grief of two years had made her delusional.

It was only the now scorching pain in her legs that reminded her that this was reality, and for the first time that night she was glad to be hurting.

They had originally been on their way to the crumbling tower so that they could sit upon its balcony and enjoy the sights, but Tidus had spotted a platform a little bit above the ocean, holding up a few wooden walls and part of a roof. He immediately grew curious and they went to investigate, though he saw that Yuna was somewhat nervous. There was a sticky note attached to a beam. He ripped it off and turned it against the light.

"Job's done. I'll miss you.

- Paine"

He handed the note to Yuna and peeped inside the house. She decided to speak up.

"This was— was going to be my house," she sputtered, embarrassment and dread overwhelming her. "The plans got cancelled so I only use it as a storeroom now."

Tidus looked at her sympathetically. He needed to cheer her up. "It has a lot of potential."

"That's what we all thought," she smiled sadly and roamed aimlessly around the unfinished room, gripping onto the frames and dipping under the spots of moonlight. "I lived in the temple most of my life, even after the pilgrimage. The islanders started building this around a year ago as a present. But then I kept getting booked, I kept getting needed at the temple and political parties kept popping up and falling down. Then I ran away to find you, then the fiend outbreak… So continues the tragedy of Lady Yuna and her not getting a house."

She added the last bit in hopes of making Tidus laugh and forget all about her frustration, but it didn't work. A strange expression was on his face as he silently judged the largest gap in the cottage. It led into the ocean where a school of fish was dancing with the ripples.

"They have no right treating you this way," he scowled with a low tone that she never even knew he had. "You beat Sin and this is all they can do?"

"Tidus. Don't worry about it – really."

She never did say his name very often when he left. It felt nice to speak it, and sounded nice too. She tried to rush over to him. That's when the burning in her legs turned into an unbearable agony. She cried out in anguish as her leg muscles shut down completely, but before her jaw could slam down onto the hard wood Tidus' lightning reflexes saved her just in time.

"Yuna? What's wrong?" panic darted about in his voice and eyes.

"I fell," was all she could manage with a meek tone; the shock of an impending impact and Tidus holding her had made her speechless. She had her arms wrapped around him tightly like when they had reunited, and was not willing to let go.

"You fell, all right," he chuckled, calming down just a bit. He shifted them into a proper sitting position and held her against his chest. "From where I was standing that had to be at least fifty feet."

Of course. Her impatient airship drop. The pain was now rearing in spurts and was edging more groans from her mouth. "It hurts. Bad."

Her eyes were snapped shut in her flawed attempt to will the pain away. She had no potions and she was in no state of mind to use white magic. She felt Tidus shifting their bodies again – a white light was hitting her eyelids and her feet were exposed to a pleasant chill. She found the strength to see again and found that he was wetting his hands in the water. His glove and armguard were sitting next to him.

"Tidus?" she began, but he just motioned her body backwards until she was leaning against his shoulder. He held one leg and bent it towards him.

Yuna gasped and winced. That was cold! But when he distributed the water over a muscle the temperature quickly went back to normal. It wouldn't freeze or burn up any more. She relaxed as she got used to the pattern, turning her eyes up to the moon.

Sometime later Tidus went to the drawers to get some blankets to dry up her legs, as well as some cushions, and then cocooned themselves together with them. Yuna let a long whistle of wind pass her lips; she could have fallen asleep right there in his arms if the pain wasn't still throbbing.

"Does it still hurt?" he set one of her legs in his lap and flexed his fingers.

He didn't waste any time with an answer as he got to work with massaging the bones and muscles. Yuna grunted – it felt strange and oversensitive. She was more puzzled at why he was putting pressure on something that most definitely didn't need more of it.

"You're really tense," he mumbled, almost sounding husky. "Just lean back and don't think of anything."

And sure enough, eventually…

'Wow. This feels… really good.' The soreness was ebbing away with a sort of rhythm. There was a natural heat coming off of his palms. His fingers were deft and had no problem finding all of the pits and soft spots. She breathed silent moans and fell into a daze, with Tidus smiling into her hair. She reached his far shoulder with her arm and squeezed it affectionately.

"How are you—" She suddenly gave out a great yawn, finding it much easier to just relish in his warmth.

"In Zanarkand we did this all the time to our blitz teams. It helped our feet after matches and it got us in the game faster," he explained, stifling a yawn himself. "You're trained to do it the moment you enter the sport."

Yuna hummed contentedly. "The Spiran teams could use something like this."

"If I have to do this to Wakka, count me out," Tidus faked a barf.

"Then keep it between us. Teach it to everyone else," the sluggishness in her brain was making her babble her thoughts. "and in return you can get them to keep building our home."

"Our home. I like that," a sleepy grin widened his face. He finished up his massage and untangled the blankets, draping them over their bodies. Instead on falling down onto the enticing cushions Yuna kept her head nestled into his neck. She couldn't get enough of his warmth. "I hope you'll sleep well."

"You too," she mumbled sweetly, kissing his cheek. She felt him jolt, and with that impression she drifted off.

Very slowly he laid her down, stroking her hair and gazing out into the horizon. Out of nowhere he uttered a word of thanks to the night sky. He didn't exactly know how he came back, but he swore to the forces above and below that he would make their efforts worth it.

He finally got what he always wanted: to come home.