Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or Square Enix. If I did, why would I be writing this? There would already be enough love for my favorite characters.

One Moment Forgotten

"Don't forget me, OK?"

The silverette allowed himself a small smile, ruffling those now familiar golden locks that covered ocean-blue eyes. "I promise, Tidus."

And with that sad-but-happy expression on his face, the kid that Frioniel had grown to love was engulfed in darkness.

Chapter 1 – Converse (Frioniel)

I stretched out my arms, cramped from carrying my weapons so far. As I surveyed the area, I decided it was a good enough place to rest, and I sat down, still on guard. It was dark enough to sleep, and I was so tired that I…

"Hey!" I jolted awake in an instant, expecting manikins, the Emperor, or even Chaos himself. In my daze, I didn't realize where the voice was coming from. I brought up my head—and firmly smacked it on the person leaning above me.

"Ouch." With a lack of anything to say, I eloquently voiced the pain ringing through my head. This guy, whoever he was, had quite the hard head.

"You're…?" He wondered innocently, tilting his head. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and obviously lacking a shirt, a tanned youth stood over me, hands on his hips.

"Frioniel." He giggled at my name. "And you are?"

"I'm Tidus." Tidus. The name struck me as familiar somehow. Jecht. Tidus was Jecht's son. And if I recall correctly, a…

"Chaos." I breathed. A Chaos warrior. This harmless looking kid was a Chaos warrior, and he hadn't killed me, but he might.

"So, Frioniel…" Was he trying to distract me from my impending doom? Were there others around? "Do you have any friends?" The question was so blunt, I laughed.

"Why do you ask?"

"No one's here with you."

"Well, I'm just traveling alone for a little. I'm meeting up with my group at Lu—!" I almost gave away our position. "Up ahead."

"At the Lunar Subterrane? Yeah. Kuja already told me." So they already knew. "Aren't you lonely? You were saying something earlier. While you were sleeping."

"And what was I saying?"

He paused to contemplate. "My name. I thought you were Cloud or something."

I didn't even know this guy. Why in the world was I saying a name of someone I didn't know, much less his name?

"Look, it's been a pleasant talk, but I have to go." I started to get up, before he whacked me down, probably much harder than he meant to, judging by the worried expression on his face.

"Sorry, sorry! It's just that…I'm kind of lonely." He gestured freely, giving an apologetic look. "I mean, no one on the Chaos side is really any fun, and Cloud is kind of mad at me right now, and you know, Kefka keeps telling me to 'go back to the beach' and I'm just really really looking for someone to talk to." He took a deep breath, eyes shining, and just then, I realized how blue they were, ocean blue. Like the shore. He shook his hair out of his eyes, and shifted into a sitting position, gesturing for me to get up as well. "Look, can we talk for a little bit? I won't tell anyone. It's our little secret, OK?" He smiled expectantly, and I just didn't have the heart to say no.

And so we talked. One thing after another—blitzball, a sport he remembered playing, his father, questions about why and how things happened in our world. Granted, I didn't have a response for everything, but he was quite engaging for a "bad guy". By the time we were finished, it was already late morning. We had talked through the night.

"Sorry for wasting your time. And, uh, thanks for listening to me ramble, Frioniel." He eyed me suspiciously, as if he thought I had devised a plan to capture him.

"No problem, Tidus." I shot up; suddenly worried that Kuja and the others had surely made it to my allies.

"Hey, hey. Are you OK? Did I make you bored?" Suddenly, he appeared apologetic. "Did you think I set a trap for you or something? I didn't. I just wanted someone to talk to. To listen." He picked up his sword, shaking his head. "I'll…I'll be going now I guess. Sorry. Again." He tried to walk backwards so as to face me. "Bye." He tripped over his own feet; looking abashed, he shook his head again and dashed off, eyes cast downwards.

What a fascinating character. Despite my interest in him, I had to put thoughts of him aside for my allies, who must surely be in peril thanks to my blunder.