These Characters do not belong to me, but the story does.
Something Old, Someone New
Yuna was sitting in her down on her hotel bed looking around at the room. As she looked around it hit her that she was alone. Not just alone in the room, but romantically and emotionally alone. She knew she had Rikku, Lulu, and the others to be by her side, but she was missing the one thing she wanted most and that was having someone to love who loved her back; a romantic love.
Yuna sighed. A tear ran down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She knew things were better this way for both her and Tidus, but she knew it was better to feel the pain of the truth than to be happy in a lie. She began to question if she really was in love or if she just had love for him. Being in love and having love for a person are completely separate things; you can love a friend but not be in love with them. She wondered if maybe she held on so tightly to him because she thought she was going to die during the pilgrimage and didn't want to die without ever finding love.
Taking a deep breath, she then began to unpack her luggage. Could she find love and if she did how long would it take? Once she was done, she decided to take a walk through the streets of Luca.
She slowly walked around, looking through shop windows, and just enjoying the fresh air. Her being away was what she needed. She needed the distance from Tidus, even though she knew she didn't want to be away from him. She soon spotted an ice-cream shop and decided to go inside and get herself some. She ordered a vanilla cone and went outside and sat down outside the shop at their outside tables. As she sat she watched the people walk by. Her attention was drawn to a little boy chasing his red balloon. He came running down the street as fast as his little legs could carry him, trying desperately to catch it. Yuna got up and tried to grab the balloon, but it was too high for her and was slowly rising up and away. She kept trying but failed. Suddenly, she saw a hand reach out and grab the balloon's string.
"Here you go." A deep voice said, as he handed the balloon back to the little boy.
The boy smiled widely.
"Thank you Mr!" The boy said, before running off.
Yuna examined him. He was a handsome and tall man with long brown spiky hair that went about an inch below his ears and slightly stuck up at the top. He had broad shoulders and fit frame. His eye color was a deep blue with traces of purple. His whole demeanor was a cool reservation. He had on loose fitting black leather pants, a white cotton button up shirt, an open black leather jacket and boots. His hands were in his pockets and stood there smiling at Yuna.
Yuna was taken back by his appearance. She could tell he was older than her, but by how much she did not know. He must have been in his twenties.
"Hello." He said.
"Hello." Yuna replied.
He gave a cross between a grin and a smile.
"You're Yuna, the high summoner. It's nice to meet you." He said.
Yuna smiled back.
"Nice to meet you too. You Are?" Yuna asked.
"I'm Darius. You're here for the Spira restoration meeting?" Darius said.
Yuna slightly frowned.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Yuna asked.
"That's what I'm here in Luca for as well. I figured you would be too." Darius answered. Yuna gave a small smile.
"I'm only going to be here for a week, how about you?" Yuna asked.
"I'll be here two to three weeks depending." Darius said.
"I don't really know anyone here. Maybe we could get to know each other better? It would be nice to make a new friend." Yuna suggested.
"Agreed. The first meeting is today at five m, by the way. I have somewhere to be, but maybe after the meeting I could show you around a bit. I come here frequently, so I know my way around." Darius said.
"Where do you live?" She asked.
"Not too far away. I actually plan on moving here, due to my business mainly being here. I head the company, so it would be easier for me to be here." He answered.
Yuna gave an interested nod.
"Well, I would like it if you showed me around. The last time I was here was after Sin was defeated and I gave a speech." She said.
"Yes, I heard it. You're a very good speaker. Good at motivating the people. I'm glad they picked a wise woman to help front this project." He complimented.
Yuna slightly blushed.
"Thank you very much." She said, shyly.
Darius looked at a watch he had on.
"Well, I better get going. Again, it was nice meeting you." He said, before turning around and walking away.
"Nice meeting you too." Yuna said to herself.
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Yuna was exiting from the meeting. Darius had impressed her with his authoritative manor; it really helped to keep the meeting going when the others were stuck on single ideas. All in all, the meeting was a success and Yuna was excited to be able to take part in the project. She was walking down the hallway, when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and it was Darius smiling down at her.
"You did good." Yuna said, smiling back.
"Thank you. I think experience with my own company helped me. So, you ready to see Luca?" Darius asked.
Yuna smiled wider and nodded.
"Sure." She said.
Darius and Yuna exited the building together. They walked around a good portion of the city. Darius pointed out specific places and told Yuna about them. After about an hour of walking Darius paused for a moment and turned to Yuna.
"Are you hungry? I don't know your usual dinner time, but I'm sure you don't want to eat too late." Darius asked.
"Actually, you have good timing because I am a bit hungry. Have any places of suggestions or do you just want to eat in the hotel's restaurant?" Yuna asked.
"I'll take you to a place I normally go." He answered.
With that, he led her to a nice small restaurant. It had a cozy interior with warm colors. Plants were strategically placed and there was bar in the far left corner of the entrance. They were led to a table and seated.
"So, how do you like Luca so far?" Darius asked.
"From what you showed me, I like it a lot." Yuna answered.
"So tell me about yourself. Do you still keep in contact with your old guardians?" He asked.
"Me and my old guardians see each other everyday. I'm currently living in Besaid and we all live very close. One of them, however, went back to his native village but I do talk to him every now and again." She answered.
"Ah, I see. Well, it sounds like a nice life sense you finished your pilgrimage." He said.
"What about you? Tell me about yourself. Are you married or anything?" She asked.
"No, I'm not married. I was engage, though." He relied.
"Oh, so you're getting married? Congratulations."
"No, I'm not getting married anymore."
Yuna frowned in confusion.
"So, you two broke-up?" She asked.
Darius shook his head.
"She died." He replied.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Yuna said, taken back.
"We had been together for a while, when she found out she had a terminal disease. I proposed, hoping she would make it for a while longer, but she didn't. The most painful thing is saying good-bye and moving on. When your heart gets invested, for a while, you don't want to let go. But it's not healthy to dwell. You give yourself time, but you have to move on eventually." Darius said, a sad smile on his face.
"It must have been hard."
"Of course, but like I said, you have to try and move past it or you'll end up miserable and alone."
The waiter refilled their drinks and they continued to talk as they ate.
"I just broke up with someone recently. I almost don't want to call it a break up because sometimes it didn't even feel like we were together. We met on my pilgrimage and afterwards he had to go away for a while. He came back and it was clear we weren't right for each other." Yuna said.
"First love?" Darius asked.
"Yes."
"The first love can sometimes be the hardest. It all depends on your mind set. You have to remember that this person is just that; a person. One person out of many potential people; people who could be just as good as or even better than this person, and if you obsess over the past you might miss your future."
Yuna just stared in awe at Darius. The way he had with words made everything make sense, and the hard things simple. She was glad to have bumped into him; perhaps he could be her words of wisdom while she was still in heartbreak over Tidus.
"Wow… You're a great speaker. If you weren't in business, you should probably been a teacher." Yuna said, smiling.
Darius chuckled.
"Perhaps I talk too much."
"No, not at all! Everyone can give advice, but not everyone can make it sound useful." Yuna said smiling. Darius smiled back.
"Enjoying your meal?" He asked.
Yuna nodded.
"I really like it. Very delicious. Thank you for taking me here."
"My pleasure."
"What are you doing tomorrow?" Yuna asked.
"Well, I have some of my own work to do, but after that nothing really. There's a meeting with the others on the restoration project, but the details they're discussing doesn't concern what I'm helping with; it's more of PR work they're discussing. How about you?"
"I'll be attending that meeting, but other than that I have nothing else to do."
"Ah, so we won't see each other. Well, I hope you have a good day tomorrow."
Yuna stared down at her plate. She wanted to see him tomorrow as well, but she couldn't muster the courage to ask him. Usually she could manage to at the very least ask slowly, but there was something about him that was different. He intimidated her in a way; it wasn't anything bad, but it was more so his sleek and cool attitude made her feel ridiculous to ask. She felt like a school girl.
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Yuna awoke and lazily stretched. The night before had been a good night. She sat up and looked around. Sighing, she got out of bed and started to get ready for the day. Darius had work in the morning, but was free in the evening; she was free in the morning, but had a meeting in the evening.
Once she was done getting ready, she thought about possible things to do. As she sat and thought, her hotel room phone rang. She pressed a button on the machine and a screen popped up with Darius on it. Yuna had a look of surprise on her face.
"Good morning, ready for the day?" Darius asked.
"How did you know which hotel I'm at?" Yuna asked.
"I asked one of the project leaders. I hope you don't mind."
"No! Not at all!"
"I can't talk long I just want to wish you good luck."
"Darius?"
"Yes?"
"After my meeting, do you think you'd be free? If it's not too late for you?"
"Sure, I got nothing to do."
Yuna smiled.
"Do you think you could show me around more?" She asked.
"Sure, no problem."
"Thank you. Well, I don't want to keep you longer than you can talk."
"Bye, I'll see you later."
"Bye."
"Oh, and Yuna?"
"Yes?"
"Knock 'em dead." Darius said, winking before disappearing from the screen.
Yuna smiled to herself. A new friend was something she needed.
