Chapter 2: Sleep Better
Baralai had difficulty staying asleep that night. In and out of consciousness he would drift; mindlessly dreaming about the various scenarios that could go down the next day when he finally returned to Kilika. At some times he would have dreams and visions so vivid he wasn't able to tell if he were actually awake or still sleeping. His mind was troubled; his thoughts were racing at miles a minute.
Abruptly waking up from his latest adventure in dreamland, Baralai faced the front door of the hut; the moonlight illuminated an image that appeared to be someone sitting at the edge of Yuna's bed. Quickly adjusting his eyesight to the darkness, he was able to assess that it was in fact Yuna. She was sobbing quietly; a tissue clutched in her hand muffled the sounds of her sniffles.
Baralai rolled out of bed unsure if what he was experiencing was actually real or not. Still, he knew Yuna was upset about something either way, so he made his way over to the bed and sat down beside her.
"Yuna? What's wrong?" He asked, placing his left arm around her. "Did you have one of those dreams again?"
Yuna buried her head in Baralai's nightshirt; the satin felt soothing against her cheeks which had been rubbed raw from her crying. Taking a few minutes to collect herself, Yuna finally sat up and blew into her tissue before nodding her head.
"No, I didn't have any dreams tonight." She choked, fisting the remaining tears away from her face. "It's a stupid reason really."
When Baralai came to Besaid, it was pretty close to the same time Yuna decided to quit the Gullwings and live her life peacefully. Peacefully and alone, that is; Bahamut was unable to grant her wish to bring Tidus back for what ever reasons that were beyond his or the Fayth's control. In the beginning it was hard for her, mainly because she had gone through all that trouble to get answers behind the spheres they'd found only to discover it was all a wild goose chase. Losing Tidus once was a trial, but to lose him again was often difficult for Yuna to take at times. Every so often she would have dreams where she envisioned Tidus standing there, but as she got closer in proximity to him it seemed that he would step farther back. These dreams would cause her to wake up discouraged, sweaty and crying in the middle of the night and Baralai was always there to comfort and hold her until she drifted back to sleep.
It was good for her that Baralai was a light sleeper, although it was a bother for him due to the fact that he needed absolute silence to rest. Even when he lived in Kilika he had had the bedroom and study in his home soundproofed. It was well known by the other workers in the temple what a bear Baralai could be if he didn't get his full ten hours of repose. Most people didn't need that much sleep but he did. Going to bed at an early time was all part of a strict schedule he made himself follow ritually. It took him almost two months of living in Besaid to finally get accustomed to the sounds of the insects and nocturnal animals at night before he was able to rest fully. He had no choice but to adjust really; there was no way to make them all silent unless they were all terminated which he knew was an impossible task to accomplish.
"There are no such things as stupid reasons for crying, Yuna." Baralai assured her, stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down. "If it were in fact a stupid reason you wouldn't be so upset. Tell me what's troubling you."
"It's… just that…" She stammered, playing with the wet tissue in her hand nervously. "You're leaving tomorrow, and I feel… so alone."
"But you're not alone." Baralai noted, inching himself backwards across the mattress to where Yuna's pillows were. "You have Wakka and Lulu. They will never let you be by yourself." Once he pulled the blankets over his legs, he motioned for her to come to where he was laying. Yuna crawled over and settled herself inside the blankets next to him, resting her head on his chest. His heartbeat was soothing, and he traced his fingers up and down her arm gingerly.
"But Wakka and Lulu have each other" Yuna reasoned, taking in the scent of cedars that was Baralai's cologne. "And they have Vidina. I only feel like I'm in the way. You've been such a wonderful friend; it almost feels like I'm losing Tidus all over again. Baralai- I can't go through that. I can't deal with it anymore. Everyone I've come to love and get close to leaves me." The last sentence sent her sobbing again, and she clutched Baralai's shirt with both hands like a needy child.
There was very little Baralai could do at this point but wrap his arms around Yuna and squeeze as tight as he could. "Yuna- I am not dead! I will only be a town or two away and you can come see me anytime you'd like. As a matter of fact, I hope you do. I've come to value your friendship as well. If it weren't for you I wouldn't have been able to deal with any of this past year. In a way, you and I share a bond of our own, just like how we have one with Tidus and Isaaru. I'll always be there for you Yuna. You can count on that. …Yuna?"
Looking down at his chest, he'd noticed that Yuna had fallen asleep; her grip on his shirt weakened and she curled herself into him; her breathing was no longer labored, but more relaxed.
"Works every time" Baralai laughed a little to himself and rested his head back on the pillow, eventually joining her in sleep.
Oddly enough, the cicadas and owls outside in the forest seemed louder than usual but it didn't faze Baralai in the least.
A/N: This was a shorty, but kind of like a bridge I think- if that makes any sense. I hope I didn't make them come off as lover's cuz that wasn't the goal here. I just imagine this very close relationship between the two of them, ya know? Just a pure platonic friendship where there's love, but not sex. Yes- it is possible for relationships like that, LOL!
