"Yuna, I need your attention for a minute," Thanesh tried to snap Yuna out of her half-dazed state.
"What?" Yuna looked over to Thanesh and blushed, "sorry." She tried to focus her attention on Thanesh, but was finding it extremely difficult. The temptation to just stare at Tidus was overwhelming.
He'd been waiting for her. With a little help from some mightier sources than himself, and a lot of divine intervention, he knew she'd come. He'd been hoping and wishing and pouring his whole soul into finding a way to the bend the rules. Even though he was so desperate to be reunited with her, he had been proud of her. Especially of the way that she let her life carry on, and the way she handled herself. Tidus had found out that he hadn't known a thing about anything. And he certainly had underestimated Yuna's all-around wonder. So he stood patiently at the gates, wanting nothing more than to run his eyes over her again, and again, and again. Okay, perhaps he'd like to run his hands through her hair, and maybe steal a kiss or two. Or a million. Endless, boundless, eternal. The words meant so much more to him now, and he wanted to share everything with her.
"We have business to take care of, before I can let him out, you know. And I'm afraid with him there, you'd be a bit preoccupied," Thanesh smiled, and it left Yuna to wonder whether she knew exactly what she herself was going through. Yuna looked into her face for an answer but got nothing, so she just smiled back. "Come on, Yuna. Let's go inside and talk this over."
Yuna looked back through the golden gates to the radiance held there, and Tidus standing there. Patient. The look on his face told her that he knew she had to leave for just a few minutes more, and that he would be there. But she knew that he would always be there, no matter where she went. Suddenly she found herself stretched between where she stood, and where he was. She wanted to be in his arms again, but contented herself with a smile. And he smiled. For the time being, there was nothing more that she could do.
So she followed Thanesh back inside the great white house, trying to clear her head for what she assumed would be some very important conversation. Although she was trying to be her normally patient self, she felt like a child on her birthday, seeing that pretty box that she couldn't open quite yet. She looked around her at the gorgeous house, but beauty wasn't important anymore, and she couldn't focus on anything. Her thoughts kept racing back to Tidus, behind those gates. Tidus and his smile, his heart.
They stopped in the middle of the hall and Thanesh leaned against the wall, and smiled at Yuna. She made her best effort to get her mind off of Tidus, and focused on Thanesh, although the giddiness was making any other thought hard to grasp. But she found it somewhere inside of her to look forward at Thanesh, trying to trust in her.
"You understand that I can't let you just have him. I need reassurance that nothing will happen to me, and that you guys aren't going to pull a stunt. And the only reason I'm letting you have him back in the first place is because you two are pretty much the saviors of Spira. And because Tidus has been working so hard to lead you here, that I can't let him down. He doesn't deserve to be where he's at, anyway," Yuna wasn't sure what she was hearing was making sense, but she pretended anyway. In all, all she wanted to know were the details, what she'd have to do. She wanted him back as soon as possible and her patience was wearing thin.
"Yes, yes," she said, focusing her attention on getting Thanesh to hurry this up. Yuna gave her a look that dug past her eyes, trying to bring out what needed to be said. Thanesh more than sensed Yuna's anxiousness and discarded any hope of Yuna thinking rationally.
"I need your consent for me to take your summoner's staff and Tidus' sword," Thanesh said quietly. Yuna looked puzzled.
"But neither of those things have been used in months," she said questioningly, and her look of confusion only deepened.
"Just reassurance that I'm not going to get hurt, that you two will behave yourselves," Thanesh said, and Yuna had a funny feeling that she wasn't telling the whole story. She decided that she was just anxious, and nodded.
"Yes, you can have them. Anything," the desperation in Yuna's voice was apparent, and after that tiny spurt of confusion, she was once again impatient. Thanesh smiled.
"Okay, now here's the hard part. You'll only have a week."
"A week? Is that negotiable?" Yuna asked, half-whining, half-exhilarated. Consciously, she wasn't really all that worried that it was only going to be a week. She just wanted him back. Now. And that was the end of it.
"Not really, even I have rules to abide by. And a week is the maximum time I can let you have. I wish it was more. . ." Thanesh trailed off sadly, but Yuna still looked full of hope.
"I'll just have to make it the best week of my life, then," she said, her voice still a little said, but her eyes glittering eyes told more than her voice ever could have. Thanesh put a hand on Yuna's shoulder, and Yuna looked up and smiled. It was going to be hard to leave him again, she knew, but she was willing. A week to know him again.
"I'll deal with the staff and the sword later. For now, let's get Tidus back to you," Thanesh took a key from around her neck. It had been hidden under her collar, hung by a gold chain. The key was large, but in no way noticeable as a special key. She once again lead Yuna outside, and up to the gate. This time, Yuna noticed a lock, and Thanesh walked up to it purposefully. Yuna's heart pounded painfully, full of anticipation as hope as she heard the click of the key fitting into the lock. And then the gate opened.
As the gate was only partially open, Tidus bounded out, and Yuna made a run for him, too. Arms outstretched, they collided. And it felt so good to feel him. He pulled her close, and tears started streaming wildly from her eyes. It wasn't possible to explain at that moment, but it felt so right to feel him breathing. And he was no less ecstatic, being able to run his fingers through her hair.
Thanesh smiled at them for a moment, never having seen something so gorgeous in her existence as those two running to each other. She didn't hesitate long, and shut the gate, closing her eyes and sighing.
Tidus and Yuna just breathed each other in for a while, holding each other blindly. Yuna couldn't stop crying, and Tidus's eyes weren't exactly dry either. He blindly kissed her neck and hair until he gained the composure to open his eyes. And when he did, he almost fell over backwards.
Yuna sensed his confusion, and opened her eyes, not letting go of him. She, too, was a little surprised at the dusty atmosphere. She soon realized, though, that she had returned to the old room in the back of the abandoned bookstore. She smiled in disbelief, hardly able to breathe. She was back in Luca, and still in his arms.
"Umm, Yuna?" Tidus was confused, "where are we, anyway?" She grabbed his hand, and started leading him towards the exit.
"We're in Luca, near the Blitzball stadium. Oh, you're in for a shock," she said, half-amused.
"Shock? Why?" Tidus asked, dazed. It was surreal, even for him, to be walking through a dark building, hand-in-hand with Yuna. She barely let a giggle escape, as she opened the front door with her free hand. Tidus stepped outside into the night air with her, and looked around him. She was right, he was shocked.
"It's only been three months?" he asked, looking up at the tall building, lights scattered around the streets. Luca had already been transformed into a machina city, like Zanarkand had been. And now, though, he felt like years had slipped by and he had no idea what had gone on.
"Yep, only three months," she whispered, looking at his awed face, so silenced and amazed. Yuna smiled, squeezing his hand a little. "It's late, past my bedtime."
Tidus laughed at her childish comment, slipping his hand out from her, putting his arm around her back, and pulling her closer to him. She had the urge to melt into him right then, but realized that they should probably get back to the hotel before she did anything else. But the temptation was practically irresistible. She just wanted to kiss him forever.
"This way," Yuna said quietly, slinging her arm around his lower back as she started walking. It didn't take long to get back to the hotel, even in her exhausted state she wanted to walk as quickly as possible back.
The long halls seemed strange to Tidus, and the smell was like nothing he'd been surrounded with since when he was in Zanarkand. The hotel was much like most he'd stayed in, in Zanarkand. The same patterns in the carpet, even. Yuna stopped to open the door, and led him inside her room. It was bigger than most of the houses in Besaid had been, the last time he'd been there. And although he would never have admitted it, he was beginning to feel a little out of place.
She flipped the light on and closed the door quietly behind them, and he turned around to face her. They were both clueless as to what was supposed to happen next, but neither of them would ask it. Yuna walked over to a dresser, her luggage laying messily on top of it. She grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank-top and walked toward the bathroom, the awkward silence still engulfing them.
"I'm gonna change in here, real quick. I'll be right back out," she said quietly, opening the bathroom door and sliding in gracefully. Tidus looked at the clock, 2:00 AM.
He started stripping down to his shorts, deciding that his normal outfit wouldn't be very comfortable to sleep with. Neither would it be a lovely outfit to hug, and all he wanted to do was hold Yuna. He didn't even hear the door to the bathroom open, and didn't notice Yuna watching him slide his shirt off. She smiled at him, just watching.
He turned around, and just looked at her. Although he was so close, he couldn't help feeling uneasy about the whole situation. Something didn't feel right, but told himself that it was just some kind of surprise anxiety. He was entangled in these thoughts when Yuna turned off the lights. He saw her silhouette move toward him, her eyes shining in the dark. She grabbed his hand lightly and pulled him toward the bed. More thoughts flooded his mind as he was being led, but he knew he could never let something happen. He picked the covers up for her as she crawled under, and he settled in next to her, putting his arms around her.
She rolled over quickly to face him, her eyes shining in the darkness. He didn't know what to say, but he didn't want her to cry. Tilting her face up with one hand, he kissed her gently. Barely brushing his lips against hers, but the electricity between them was undeniable. His plan worked against him, though, because she immediately started crying silent tears.
Tidus ran his fingers up and down her back, and she pulled herself up to his bare chest, taking in his warmth. He tried to shush her, to stop her crying.
"Yuna, why are you crying, what's wrong? What's going on?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. He was so worried that he'd done something wrong that all he wanted to do was to hold her forever to try and make it right.
"You didn't do anything," she sniffled for a moment, then tried to regain some grip on herself. "I just. . . if I'm dreaming, please never wake me up again."
Her desperation, her plea, so simple and gentle, tortured his heart in a way he had never though possible. During the day, she was happy Yuna, always helping everyone else and never thinking of herself. But when the day was lost, she was just Yuna. With no one there beside her, because he was gone.
He subconsciously pulled her firmer into him, nestling his face into her hair and kissing her head. And he knew he couldn't have helped what had happened, but he felt guilty about not being there for her. And he apologized a thousand times, holding her close to him. He never wanted her to cry herself to sleep over him again. Ever.
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I am soooooo sorry about the wait on this chapter. Yes, there's more plot to come. And I'm soooo busy, that you'll just have to be patient with me. I love you reviewers very much, you rule. I can never thank you enough, and i can never apologize enough. Hopefully a week till the next one.