1. The Morning After
"HEADS UP!"
Tidus looked up just in time to move his head out of the path of the bullet of a blitz shot. He thanked his maker silently for this quick reflexes are he picked the ball out of the netting and threw the thing back to his coach. "Try not to kill me next time you meat head!" He protested to his teammate Lars who shot the ball but garnering nothing more than a snicker back in response.
Lars was the star player of the Abes, a ten year veteran in the pro scene with multiple league championships under his name. Tidus was just a rookie – a talented one, but talent doesn't trump inexperience when it comes to the Abes – and the more established players were putting him through the typical rookie paces. In today's case, it was retreating balls from the net during some after-practice trick shooting contest
Cursing under breath because of the fact that blitz balls fly much faster in air than in water, Tidus hurriedly ducked away before the next guy in line tried to take his head off.
"Eight-point-five" Coach Lee called out.
The man looked nothing like a pro coach. His glasses were thicker than most of the phones tech-savvy twenty-something's have these days, he wears pressed collared shirts almost all the time – complete with pens and pocket protectors, and his belly gave away the hints of a developing hearty gut. Unlike his star Lars, who was head and shoulders above Coach Lee, was handsome enough to be voted as Spira's number one bachelor, and had toned muscles that was lean enough to fuel his agility yet not bulky enough to hinder it.
Next up in line was Lars's almost-as-famous sidekick and Tidus's older brother, Shuyin. Drafted two years after Lars was, Shuyin had arguably contributed just as much to the Abe's six Crystal Cups in the past eight years as Lars. As the latter's numbers plateaued atop the blitz world in the last few seasons, Shuyin's stats were on the rise. It was obvious he would inevitably become the more impactful half of the Abe's frontal attack soon as Lars ages past his prime and into his thirties.
"Alright whenever you are ready." Coach Lee said nonchalantly while handing over the ball.
"Watch and learn Teddy." Shuyin teased as he tossed the ball up into the air…
By the time Lars and Shuyin finally called it a draw between the two of them and let Tidus leave the gym he was already dead tired. Dragging himself and his duffle bag out onto the parking lot and into his car parked at the rookie parking spot, Tidus unceremoniously tossed himself on the driver seat. Winter has fully set in, and just walking from the door to his car had practically frozen his hands. He cupped them to his mouth and breathed out some warm air before retrieving his phone from the glove compartment and opening his missed calls and messages.
Just one from his best friend on the team, and probably his best friend period, third-year player Wakka.
Come to my place after they finish torturing you…if you are up to it. You probably need some fun.
"Cryptic", Tidus mused to himself, but at the moment all he wanted to do was to lie down on his bed. So he pocketed his phone and started the engine. The radio turned on along with the car.
"…and what is it you do here in Zanarkand, Yuna?" The evening music show's music voice came from speakers.
"Well I am a nightclub singer at the Tower for four nights a week. Outside of that I go to school at the University." A soothing female voice answered back.
"And this album we are going to play now, you composed it in your spare time, yes?"
"Yes, I don't have the chance to sing my own songs working at the hotel, so I recorded these on the side when I had spare time."
Tidus wasn't a fan of indie or alternative music, so he switched stations to some rock music for the rest of the way home – and collapsed on his bed the moment he got there. Lying there on his back, the stillness slowly lulled him to sleep. This was the life of a young, eligible bachelor with a budding sports career. It was nowhere near as glorious as he had always hoped for when he was younger, but he was doing what he loved. Plus the silver lining was the fact he had the day off the day after, he could sleep in for as long as he wants.
But boy was he in for a surprise when he woke up the next morning. Judging from the amount of light filtering in through the windows, Tidus guessed that it was already early afternoon by the time he finally opened his eyes. He wasn't too shocked that his body decided to use almost two nights worth of sleep to recuperate after a grueling week of practically non-stop blitz. He let out a hearty yawn as he sat up and moved around whatever joints he could to shake off the inevitable stiffness from such a long sleep.
Then he realized he wasn't alone on his bed.
Off to the far side of his overly exaggerated king size bed there was another body – a girl by the profile. She had her back facing him and the window, her hair was a light brunette and cut short, exposing her top shoulder. Her legs were tucked inside the covers she apparently shared with an unknowing Tidus but he could tell she wasn't an especially tall girl – definitely shorter than his ex.
He couldn't think of any other girl who had any business being there.
"Hey," Tidus whispered, "hey wake up." His effort was wasted as the brunette did nothing except burying herself deeper into his pillow.
Tidus had thought of the day when he would have to kick a random girl out of his bed and out the door, but all of the scenarios involved alcohol and a one-night stand. He was sure he didn't have any liquor last night and he definitely didn't have sex either.
Swallowing back his apprehension, Tidus extended his hand onto her bare shoulder. Her skin felt creamy and smooth, so smooth in fact that he had to resist the urge to run his hand further along just to feel more of it. Instead he gave her a slight shake.
That got him the desired effect. Well, maybe even more than he had expected as she shot up as quick as lightning with a burst of an ear-piercing scream and sent a flying arm blindly his way, barely missing his head. Her breathes were shallow and quick but slowed as she recollected herself. Her eyes squinted in an effort shield away some of the light. When Tidus made eye contact with the strange girl on his bed he immediately noticed that the big bright pupils had two different colours to them. One of them was a clear sky blue, the other a shining emerald green. Her visage was just as perfect as her bare shoulder would suggest, but it was still those eyes – full of light and depth that made Tidus partially regret she wasn't a one-night stand.
In contrast to Tidus's swift infatuation, the brunette girl became rather defensive and closed off. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she kept her eyes fiercely pointed at him and it was obvious her mind was working through the circumstances of her surroundings. Under her breath she whispered something about killing someone for this.
So Tidus decided to raise his hands, palms open to put her at ease, even though this was his apartment and his bed.
It seemed to work though, because she visibly eased up, if not just a little. So Tidus took the chance to introduce himself. Still looking somewhat silly with his hands up, he put on a smile and said "Umm, hi…I'm Tidus and, umm, welcome to my house…"
Hearing his voice softened her expression. She even leaned forward slightly and dropped her bent legs under herself. "My name is Yuna." Her voice was even and firm but afterwards the corners of her mouth tugged into a small smile too. "This is kind of weird huh?" She chuckled slightly while pointing out the evident elephant in the room.
"No kidding…" Tidus just began to notice the rest of Yuna's body. She had on a red-pink tank top that bared some of her defined midriff. One of the straps on her shoulders, the one she had slept on, had fallen off the side. Other than the top, the only article of clothing she was wearing was a pair of black panties that weren't the laciest pair Tidus has seen yet nonetheless still suggestive.
And then there were her legs. God were they ever smooth and toned. God were they lean and the skin silky. God did they seem to run forever.
"I'm sorry for showing up like this," Yuna said in absence of anything from Tidus. "I was spending some time with Wakka last night and we got pretty, umm," she paused in the middle of her explanation in embarrassment, "well, drunk. So instead of driving home Wakka decided to bring us over here to crash for the night."
"You know Wakka?" Tidus was unaware that his best friend had other friends he spent nights with getting hammered at local bars. But before Yuna could answer something in Tidus's memory clicked, "Wait you were on the radio last night!"
The smile that was tugging at the corners of Yuna's mouth widened in response and her cheeks reddened a little. "Yeah! That was really nerve-wracking though, I was terrified nobody would like my music they had played last night. But Wakka came by my place last night and told me people loved it. Then he took me out for some celebratory drinks at this bar he says he goes to a lot. We used to live close by back in Besaid…" Her smile faded a little at the last word and to the chagrin of Tidus she broke her heterochromatic eyes away from his. There was a palpable hint of sadness there. "Mmm…he's my only friend here in Zanarkand since I just moved here, so I guess it's always nice to meet more people."
The subtle change of topic worked on Tidus, who was not about to turn down the chance to get to know this hot babe.
"Well where is the big oaf then?" He asked, secretly hoping his friend would not be here.
"He left after dropping me off here. I vaguely remember him saying something about you being a nice enough guy." Yuna responded, giggling a little at the last bit. "I didn't know where else to go, and the bed was really big. I would have stayed over at Wakka's but his girlfriend doesn't like having me around very much"
"Hey I'm not complaining!" Tidus exclaimed with a hearty chortle, "Why don't I take you out and grab some food and show you around the city? I have the day…"
"No," Yuna cut him off definitively, much to Tidus's surprise. He was sure his charm was going to win him a date with Yuna at least. "Look, can I use your shower? I'm just going to clean up a little and leave you alone." She asked coldly. Tidus gave a small nod, puzzled as to why Yuna turned him down so abruptly after it seemed like she was opening up a little. "Sorry for the trouble I've caused." She said as she made her way to the bathroom. When she closed the door after herself she left an after image of her backside burnt into Tidus's brain.
That after image made him more determined to get to know more about this growing mystery of a girl. So he fumbled around for his cellphone and called Wakka.
A couple of rings later Wakka picked up on his end.
"Hey buddy! Sorry about the surprise I left you this morning." He said apologetically, "say…Yuna, err the girl, she didn't seem to angry with me when she woke up this morning, did she?"
"She was a bit standoffish, but that's not the point here." Tidus decided to jump straight to the point, "Is there something about Yuna I should know? I thought she was warming up to me but as soon as I tried to make a move she turned ice cold."
Tidus expected some helpful advice from his usually reliable wingman. Wakka was always a good sport when it came to girls Tidus was interested in. But the older blitzer answered his inquiry with a tone almost as cold as Yuna's.
"Hey I know she's cute, yeah? But don't get any ideas, it's not going to end well."
Wakka's not-so-subtle warning somewhat annoyed Tidus, what do you mean it's not going to end well, he wanted to ask back, but the sound of the water turning off in the bathroom told him that he was in danger of Yuna overhearing his conversation.
"Whatever man, talk to you later." He said tersely into the phone before hanging up. Not two seconds later Yuna opened the door separating the bathroom from the bedroom. The rush of steam didn't do much to hide fact that she was wearing nothing except a towel wrapped around her from the chest down to her shins.
Brushing a wet and clumped up strand of hair away from her vision she gave Tidus an all-too-knowing look. It brought about some concern that despite the sound of water splashing onto porcelain she might heard some of the phone conversation.
Although if she did, Yuna chose to not discuss it. Instead she took a quick couple of steps and retrieved a pair of jeans from the floor beside the bed. After a brief second of Tidus's staring and her fumbling through the pockets of her jeans despite Tidus's staring she dug out an almost antiquated cell phone, only to let out a frustrating grunt when she tried to turn the obsolete piece of tech on.
"Hey I think your, err, phone is out of batteries." He was sure that playful jab was going to earn him something akin to a death stare but to be honest he just wanted a chance to look at those chimeric eyes again.
All it seemed to do however, was push her beyond some kind of emotional barrier, for Yuna resignedly looked up and let out a long, drawn-out sigh. She also clenched her fist around her depleted phone as hard as she could to keep herself from throwing the paperweight at the nearest wall in an attempt to let out some hidden frustration Tidus couldn't seem to fathom the source of.
"You are welcome to use my phone if there's someone you need to call." Tidus tentatively suggested. He secretly hoped that she wouldn't call anyone, at least not a boyfriend or something. "Wakka maybe?"
"No, don't call Wakka. His girlfriend won't like the fact we went out drinking last night, so having him driving me home again…well I just don't want to trouble him more than I already have." She answered to Tidus's relief as she briskly paced out of the bedroom and into the outer den. Tidus got up and rounded to corner to see her standing by the large bay windows looking through the glass.
After scanning the horizon for a moment and probably not finding what she was searching for Yuna asked, "Is your place far away from the Tower?"
"You mean that hotel? We are about a good twenty minute drive from it. It's on the other side of all those skyscrapers and the giant blitz stadium." Tidus made a point to emphasize the word giant. He was particularly proud of the spectacle that was his Abes' stomping grounds
"Okay then I'm going to change and then I'm leaving."
And with that she paced back to the bedroom. "Don't come in" she warned.
"Hey wait," he called after her, "I can't just let you walk back all by yourself. It could take an hour and it's freezing outside!"
"I have a sweater." Yuna said unceremoniously through the door. She probably knew a sweater would not be nearly enough for biting cold outside, yet she was still doing her best to dissuade Tidus from driving her anywhere.
"Hey c'mon would you stop being so stubborn. You are Wakka's friend, I never let friends of friends walk for an hour in the winter, especially someone who came from Besaid and don't have any winter clothes."
The door opened again and out came Yuna wearing her jeans and a light wool sweater that hugged her torso. The best that thing could do was cover up her midriff, it was meant more for making her look attractive than for winter temperatures.
"Fine I will call a cab. Give me your phone."
"Did I mention that I don't let friends of friends waste money on a cab through downtown traffic?" Tidus countered all-too-flirtingly, which he tried to correct when Yuna gave him an incredulous look. "Trust me, the cab drivers here can be pretty sleazy."
It was a fairly weak justification, but Yuna either believed it or just gave up.
"Fine…let's go then."