Sahrah: Let me use this section to complain about the ending of Final Fantasy X-2. I will start by saying that I love, love, love, love, love this game. But once it hit the internet that you could get a 'perfect ending' if you put in a few extra hours of work on this game, everyone started working their asses off to try and unlock this cut scene. When people did manage to unlock this, there was practically a riot. "Did I work my ass off and put in those extra hours simply to watch Yuna push Tidus in the water and smile because he didn't disappear?" Anyone who unlocked this should be thinking that.

As for the normal ending, yay for Yuna and Rikku and Paine. They're never, ever going to stop being themselves. How special. Was there any point to that at all? I mean, had I written the ending, Yuna would have stayed and made an inspirational speech in front of everyone. Then, in the good ending, Yuna would be on the beach. The stars would be out, and you would see Tidus washing up on shore. Yuna would run over to see if the person was ok, and recognize him. He wakes up, they see each other, and kiss. Rikku and Paine could find them asleep in each other's arms the next morning.

As for the perfect ending… hello, can anyone else say 'wedding'? Seriously. Well, since I can't change the game, I'll write fanfiction. Yuna's point of view.

Chapter 9: Family

I kept my eyes shut. I could feel the warmth of the morning sun shining through the window… Wait.

My 'bed' doesn't get hit by sunlight in the morning. Sunlight hit Tidus's bed. And wasn't it a little too warm for natural sunlight? Sunlight didn't continuously puff warm air onto your face.

My eyelids fluttered open, and I thought I was still dreaming. I saw Tidus's sleeping face. So it wasn't sun warming my cheeks; it was Tidus's slow and steady breathing.

Without lifting any part of my body, I glanced around the room. Tea candles were perched on almost every flat surface, and the ceiling fan was circling slowly. On the floor lay the roses that I had knocked off the bed in the frenzy of passion.

Silence lingered throughout the house, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Was it the realization that I had sex with my boyfriend? No, because that was incorrect. With any other person, it was sex. But I didn't have sex with Tidus; I made love to him. (A/N: Assume they used a condom; Yuna isn't getting pregnant in this fic for at least ten more chapters. If she does at all. She might not.)

It was the joy of loving someone with all of your body, all of your soul, all of your heart.

I looked at his face. His nostrils flared slightly with his exhaling, and his chest rose when he inhaled. Tidus's hair fell across his face, and I brushed it back gently with one hand. His mouth quivered and twitched. Just looking at his lips made me want to kiss him, to give all of myself to him all over again.

A car sped past the house, the sound of its speed lasting in the air.

Tidus twitched again and slowly opened looked at my face as the lingering seams of sleep tore apart and let light of reality shine through. Our eyes met.

"Hello…" he whispered.

"It's nice to see you," I muttered back.

"And it never has been nicer, either."

Reluctantly, we rose from under the warmth of the comforter. Tidus pulled on a pair of boxers and stretched, running his fingers through his blonde hair.

"I'm stealing your shirt," I told him as I leaned down, plucked the white shirt from the ground, and buttoned it up. Even with every button fastened together, it looked like a very low-cut mini-dress. It felt kind of cool, though; I was walking around my boyfriend's house wearing nothing except the shirt he had last worn.

"I have to warn you," he said as we walked merrily down the stairs, "Every year, Dona comes over the day after Valentine's Day. She brings donuts with heart-shaped sprinkles."

"Does she wear something slutty?" I asked.

"Does she ever not?" he grinned.

"Excellent point. Maybe she'll… OH! BRILLIANCE! No one at school knows that we're living together except Shuyin, Gippal, Wakka, and YRP plus L2, right?"

Tidus nodded gingerly as we stepped onto the hardwood floor of the downstairs' landing.

"Well… how 'bout I answer the door… in this?" I indicated that I was wearing his shirt, my hair was all messed up, and my cheeks were still flushed. There were marks all over my neck- and every other visible parts of skin as well- marks made by Tidus's mouth. Hickeys, some people call them. Other people call them, 'love bites.' In any case, it was fairly obvious that I had slept with Tidus, and even more obvious when I stood next to him. He was in boxers, and that was it. When I looked a little closer, I could see love bites on him as well.

"Well, I don't think you've ever looked this beautiful, Yuna," offered Tidus.

I blushed lightly and my fingers entwined with his.

"And you're positively radiant," I replied.

He grinned, and so did I. We laughed as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" I called loudly. "Coming!"

I peeked through the hole near the top of the door and saw none other than Dona, holding a box of doughnuts.

I opened the door in one swift movement, smiling sweetly at Dona.

"Oh, good morning, Dona," I smiled. "…Why are you here?"

"Huh?" Dona was confused. "I… I guess I got the wrong house. Tidus's house is over there, then."

"Did someone call me?" asked Tidus.

"Yeah," I said "Dona's here. She's got donuts!"

"Cool," he said.

Dona was turning red at this point, partly because there I was in Tidus's shirt- wearing only Tidus's shirt- and had quite obviously been the one who removed the shirt in the first place. The second reason was because he was only wearing boxers. Hehehe.

"Well," I said, "is there something you wanted?"

Dona blinked, glared at me, and thrust the sugary breakfast items into Tidus's hands.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Tidus," she mumbled as she stalked away angrily. Tidus closed the door with a grin and we peeked out the window. As soon as the door shut, she started jumping up and down, screaming loudly, and cursing off.

"DAMN THAT YUNA LESCA! I SHOULD HAVE DEALT WITH THAT LITTLE GEEK YEARS AGO! FUCK IT ALL, TIDUS IS MY MAN! SHIT! SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! ARGH!"

I laughed maniacally as Tidus opened the box of doughnuts.

"On the bright side," said Tidus with a smirk, "We've got powered sugar donuts, glazed, chocolate chip, Boston Crème… all covered with heart shaped sprinkles."

"Oooh! These are nice! The sweet kind!" I crooned, reaching for a chocolate chocolate-glazed donut. I took a bite. "This has got to be the sweetest thing I've ever had for breakfast," I declared.

"Cool," Tidus grinned and sauntered off to the kitchen with the box of donuts.

"HEY!" I shouted, craving more of the sweet donuts.

I ran into the kitchen after him. The box of donuts sat on the table, but Tidus was no longer in the kitchen. Whatever, the donuts were MINE!

I leaned in to get another donut when I was scooped off my feet.

"It was a trap!" gloated Tidus.

"EVIL!" I shouted in mock anger. (A/N: oh, please, like you couldn't see THAT coming a mile away!)

"I'm not evil."

"THEN RETURN ME TO MY SWEET EDIBLES!"

"While those donuts are the sweetest thing you've ever had for breakfast, YOU are the sweetest thing I've ever had, period."

I tilted my head up, ready for his kiss. Our lips met and Tidus's hold on me loosened. Soon I broke away from the kiss and took off again towards the kitchen.

"Cheater!" Tidus called, running after me.

"So are you!" I called back, grabbing the box of donuts and launching myself up the stairs.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he followed into the living room. We were both laughing like mad. I darted behind the couch as Tidus finally managed to get an arm around my waist.

I was giggling like mad as he yanked me onto the couch.

"Now, then," he panted, his voice thick after running around, "Where were we?"

"Here," I replied, shoving a donut into his mouth. Tidus took a bite of the donut and swallowed.

"I think your memory is going," he said.

"No way," I replied.

"Hmm…" Tidus trailed off, holding a donut in one hand, with me in his lap. I was holding the box of donuts and he had one arm slung loosely over my shoulder.

"Well…" I said, "What are we going to do today? It's Saturday… Since we didn't go to the diner last night, that means we're going there tonight."

"Right," Tidus nodded. "But what should we do until then?"

"I don't know. We could… um… go somewhere. Or… hm…"

Tidus grinned evilly. "We could go back upstairs and-"

"Ok, shut up right there."

We both laughed.

"Well… I have no idea," I said. "We could go the movies."

"Hey, that's a good idea!" exclaimed Tidus. "What movie should we see?"


So we decided on a horror movie. A romantic horror movie. I screamed a lot. And cried, too. I loved the movie, though.

"Hey!" Tidus exclaimed when we left the theater. "It's time to meet everyone at the diner…"

"Already? Wow."

Tidus and I were walking through the parking lot of the sphere theater to his deathtrap. I slipped the helmet onto my head and sat on the bike behind my boyfriend. Wrapping my arms around his waist, off we sped.

Tidus's Point of View

"There you guys are!" called Rikku from our normal table. So far, Rikku, Gippal, Wakka, Lenne, and Shuyin were seated.

Yuna and I slid into the booth seat and Rikku started chattering away. Soon, everyone else arrived and the waitress took our orders.

"So, Yuna!" said Lenne. "When is your father's wedding?"

"Oh, that would be… hmm… oh, two months!" exclaimed Yuna.

"Wow, do you have a dress?" asked Lulu.

"Well, Maurette says I'm going to be the maid of honor, so she's going to call me within… a week, actually. She's going to pick the dress."

"It sounds awesome! I'm sooo glad I'm your cousin, 'cause that means I get to go, too!" Rikku clapped her hands together.

"Yeah, there's nothing like family," agreed Shuyin.

"…Yeah… family…" I muttered.

It hadn't really occurred to me, the idea of family. Yuna's mother died when she was 7-years-old. She was left by her father in a big house all alone for most of the year for 6 years, until her father went from being a drunk to being a traveling business man who was never home. So from the time she was 7, Yuna's only close family members were Rikku, Rikku's father Cid, and Brother.

So… basically… Yuna had always been… alone…

All alone.

"FOOD!" cackled Rikku and Lenne simultaneously as the waitress brought the dishes of food. Paine and Wakka helped distribute the meals among all of us as we received our ordered meals.

As I watched the humorous vision of Rikku trying to eat her food and taste everyone else's, I smiled. Yuna and Lulu talking animatedly. Lenne braiding Yuna's hair. Gippal and Wakka arm wrestling, being scolded by Paine, and then being defeated in arm wrestling by Paine.

…Has she? Has Yuna always been alone? From… from what I see, right now…

Yuna reached for her fork and pushed a bite of French toast into her mouth while nodding vigorously at something Lulu said. Shuyin playing footsies with Lenne under the table. Gippal and Rikku having a race to see who could finish eating first.

I see… I see it now! Yuna… she told me how she met everyone…

Wakka's parents were close friends with Yuna's parents, even before Wakka and Yuna were born. They were both born within the same year and whenever their mothers met for tea, or lunch, or anything at all, Wakka and Yuna played together. Wakka's father had to move here to Bevelle, but the two kept in touch.

When Yuna moved to Bevelle, Wakka introduced Yuna to his friend, Lulu. Rikku introduced Yuna to her friend Paine. So at this point it was YRP plus L, and Wakka.

The following year, Rikku met Gippal at a Blitzball game, thus closing the group. (A/N: I must clarify that Gippal does NOT play Blitzball. Rikku met him in the crowd.)

"Hey, can I taste that pasta?" asked Rikku as she stabbed a fork into my plate.

"Hey, that's mine!" I laughed, fighting off her fork with a spoon.

And then about a month-and-a-half ago, there was me, Shuyin, Lenne, and Baralai. It seems to me…

"If Rikku gets some, then I want some!" Yuna protested.

"But if you get what you want…" I said, "Then I get what I want."

"And what might that be?" Yuna teased.

"You!" I exclaimed as I leaned forward to kiss her.

"Well there you go again, lovebirds," smirked Paine, "You're having dessert before you finish dinner."

It seems to me that while Yuna's immediate family were not present for a long time in her life…

"Well hey, they can kiss all they want, I mean come on…" Gippal commented, "It's Lenne and Shuyin who're having foot sex under the friggin' table."

"Seriously?" exclaimed Rikku.

"Abso-posi-you better believe it!" he said. "They've already kicked me multiple times…"

"AH!" Lenne exclaimed, flushing and dropping her gaze.

Yuna has… always had…

"Hey, there's no shame in it," Paine said.

"Yeah, it's all good, ya?" offered Wakka.

"Mostly, at least," said Lulu.

Yuna has always had a…

"RIKKU!" exclaimed Yuna as the hyper Al Bhed threw herself across Yuna's lap. Everyone was knocked over by Rikku and soon, we were in a pile stuck together laughing hysterically.

A family.


"We're ho-o-o-o-o-ome!" sang Yuna cheerfully as her, Shuyin, and I ran into the house.

"Well ain't that just dandy," replied my dad from the living room.

"Hey, Dad, anything good on TV?" asked Shuyin.

"Eh. Is there ever?"

Yuna and I sniggered as Shuyin went to sit next to Jecht.

"Call it bonding," I said with a sigh as the two of us- Yuna and I- went up to our room. Yuna leaned over and yanked out the bed on her couch.

"Are you going to bed already?" I asked as I changed out of my clothes and into my pajamas.

"Nah, just setting up the laptop," she replied, "Toss me a t-shirt? I'm stealing one to sleep in."

I shrugged, reached into a drawer, and handed Yuna a t-shirt from a vacation Shu and I had taken to Kilika last summer.

" 'Kilika Port', huh?" Yuna read the shirt before she slipped it over her head. "Sounds fun."

I nodded and picked up a book from my nightstand. It was a comic; I admit it. A manga… I picked it up and opened the page I was bookmarked at. Yuna threw her jeans over the side of her couch-bed and with a whirr, her Dell Inspiron 1200 booted up. (A/N: Teehee, I have a Dell © Inspiron 1200, and I love it!)

"Checking e-mail…" muttered Yuna. "Bulk, junk, spam, chain mail, oh look a letter. Letsee… Mmhmm… oh. Another chain letter; my mistake. Ah, well."

She shrugged and I closed my book. I leaned back against the headboard of my bed and said, "What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"Hm…." Yuna looked thoughtful. She glanced around the room, at me, at the shirt she borrowed, and at me again. It would be cool if we could all take a day trip to Kilika… There's something for everyone there."

I nodded. "True. There's shopping for you girls, Blitzball for us guys, and then food for EVERYONE."

Yuna grinned. "And we'd be back in time for dinner."

"Yeah. Kilika is only half an hour away."

Yuna logged on to Instant Messenger.

"Mmhmm…. Aha…"

I heard the clacking of fingers on a keyboard and Yuna declared, "Gippal and Lulu can't make it, but Rikku, Paine, Lenne, and Wakka are in. Oh, why not ask Baralai?"

I shrugged and plopped next to Yuna on her bed. I added 'Lai's screen name to Yuna's buddy list. 'SilverHawk360' was his name.

YunieIsOnFire: Hey Baralai; it's Yuna and Tidus! Wanna go to Kilika 2morro for a day trip?

SilverHawk360: Sounds like fun. …Is Paine going?

YunieIsOnFire: Maaaaaybe.

SilverHawk360: Then maaaaaybe I'll go.

YunieIsOnFire: YES, SHE'S COMING.

SilverHawk360: YES, I'M COMING.

YunieIsOnFire: Excellentness!

YunieIsOnFire: See you tomorrow… come to our house (Tidus's house) around, say… ten AM tomorrow. If ur awake.

SilverHawk360: I'll be there half an hour early.

YunieIsOnFire: We won't b AWAKE half an hour early.

SilverHawk360: Well, ok, see you two tomorrow. And everyone else, too.

YunieIsOnFire: Yeah, we're outie. Cya tomorrow!

SilverHawk360 has logged off

"Well, let's hear it for modern-day communication. That could have taken much, much longer," said Yuna.

"Yup. Tomorrow is going to be awesome!" I cheered as Yuna turned off her 'labbytop' (A/N: That word is SO owned by I, Great Evil Authoress Sahrah Marmlade. I always say it, so it's MINE.)

I leaned back and stretched my legs, sitting straight against the back of the couch. Yuna scooted so she was leaning on my shoulder.

"Yeah, tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun," she sighed happily.

So we sat on a couch bed in 'our' bedroom holding each other on Saturday night. We had just had dinner with our surrogate family… and tomorrow we were going on a daylong vacation to the most awesome boardwalk/city in Spira. How could we have known that tomorrow would start happy… and then end in misery?

(The following dialogue has been written in with references from guessing, statements from those present, and of course our own artistic license. But from what we know, this is basically what happened that night at Dona's house.)

"How DARE she?" screeched Dona with fury, flapping around her living room like an angry bird. "Yuna Lesca is a Yevondamn GEEK! She can't be DATING a JOCK! ESPECIALLY NOT TIDUS WATANUKI! ARGH! I SHOULD HAVE KNOCKED HER OFF THE MARKET YEARS AGO WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE! DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT!"

"Sis, will you stop SHOUTING?" exclaimed Dona's older brother, Michalen. Mic, as he was called, was incredibly muscular and, well, BIG.

"…I'm thinking… NO! I'M HAVING A SERIOUS LOSER-INFESTATION PROBLEM HERE! NOT HELPING! SOME LOSER GIRL IS DATING MY MAN!"

"Um, Dona… if they're dating, then doesn't that mean he's HER man? And not yours?" offered Dona's older sister Roxette.

"NO! IT DOESN'T! I NEED A PLAN… SOMETHING… anything…" Dona racked her brain, searching for a solution. Why do all solutions end in violence? Because Dona's solution ended up being VERY violent.

"Hey… Mic? You're still friends with those big muscle head guys, right?"

"…yeah?" Dona's brother answered stupidly.

"Well, I need a favor from you, big brother! And I'm gonna need them, too. I need you to beat someone up…"

So as Dona and Mic discussed the plan, the oldest sibling in the Greene household started popping popcorn. Roxette sighed. This promised to be quite a show.

Yuna's Point of View

The clock downstairs struck eleven thirty. I was reading my book; called, 'Riddles.' It was a story about two people- obviously in love- who got separated by war. One of them, the man, is the equivalent of an aristocrat in old society. The woman is a middle-class merchant's daughter. The two classes are at war, and so the lovers send each other messages in riddles.

They send meaningless love poems that translate into messages. They send each other riddles.

So in the latest chapter, the woman receives a letter from the man. It reads, 'In the darkest hour of daylight, I hear the screaming whispers echoing in my mind. Children run about in heavy boots, the oldest child bossing around the others. The youngest child calls secretly to his friend, 'Meet me at the creek, and so we'll off and play in uncharted woods.' The friend is silent, and the youngest child awaits her reply.

By now, I know what this means. The man is saying, 'In the dead of night, when the soldiers are marching, sneak away. Meet me at the river, and we'll run away together. I await your reply.'

Tidus was reading some manga. He snickered occasionally at the tactics of the characters and seemed to really get into the story.

I shut my book and shifted position so I was sitting Indian-style.

"Hey, Tidus? We should get some rest for tomorrow…" I said.

His head snapped up in surprise, then his shock faded to a smile. Tidus put a bookmark in his comic. I got up, flicked off the light, and crawled under the covers.

Tidus's Point of View

"Hey… Yuna?" I asked into the darkness.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering… if we live in Bevelle, and it's winter here, then how is Kilika always summer? I mean, Kilika Port is only half an hour away…"

"I have no idea," Yuna sounded impressed with such a curious thought.

"I'd bet Lulu knows," I said.

"Yeah. I'll ask her later."

There was an awkward silence. For a minute, I thought Yuna had fallen asleep.

"Um… Tidus…"

"Yes?"

"I… I never got the chance… to thank you."

"Thank me for what?" I questioned.

"Well… for letting me live here. For giving me a home."

"Yuna…" I whispered, "You've always had a home here. You just never knew it. A home isn't… a place you live… not really. A home is more like… somewhere… somewhere where you know you belong."

Yuna sighed contentedly.

Yuna always has had a family… and she's always…

"Yeah…. Thanks… for a house, then."

"Any time."

As long as Yuna has her friends for a family… she always has a home whenever she's with her friends.

"Mmm." Yuna yawned and rolled over. "Well… g'night."

"Night," I answered.

She's always had a family… she's always had a home, too.

My eyes had finally adjusted and I saw Yuna roll over, muttering nonsense in her sleep.

But the thing she's got now that she didn't have before…

She's got a house she can come home and yell, 'We're back.' 'I'm back.' And there's gonna be someone to say, 'hey, welcome home.' 'Oh good, you're back.'

And another thing she's got now… Me. She's got someone who wants to spend the rest of his life with Yuna. I… It was always a thought, but I never went into it very deeply. Marriage? Such a thought never occurred to the star Blitzer, the hottest playboy in the school, the kick-back-and-party Tidus Watanuki.

I never considered getting married. Seriously, I mean COME ON. I'M 18 YEARS OLD. And… I'd never want to be with anyone but little Yuna Lesca, the geek who lives down the street, next door to her cousins.

So take a step back. Yuna's got the perfect life. She's got a family, and a home, and a warm house… and…

"I love you, Yuna," I said so quietly that no one could ever hear it.

She's got somebody to love.

End of Chapter 9

Sahrah: Yeah, more commentary… well, actually, the part about Kilika Port's weather system… the following is a conversation between my anonymous editor and me. Or maybe there IS no editor and it's just the voices in my head! 0o;;

Sahrah: So they're going on a day trip to Kilika.

Editor: What's the point of going to Kilika in the winter?

Sahrah: It's like Florida; it's always summer there.

Editor: But it's half an hour away from Bevelle, which is snowy.

Sahrah: IT'S MAGIC, OK?

Editor: But then why wouldn't they use the same magic in Bevelle? Which, I might add, is not a suburban town, but in fact a bustling city.

Sahrah: ((irritated)) WELL WHO CARES? THE PEOPLE IN THE REAL BEVELLE ARE A BUNCH OF STUCK-UP RELIGIOUS SISSIES!

Editor: Well that's just mean.

Sahrah: I apologize to every stuck-up religious sissy living in Bevelle. And I must say, I do like you guys; your Praetor is HOT.

Editor: Ok, so back to the weather… it's impossible.

Sahrah: YOU'RE impossible! SCREW YOU!

Editor: Well, it's your story.

Sahrah: Huh? OH YEAH! I USE MY ARTISTIC LICENSE TO MAKE THIS TOWN-CITY-WEATHER ISSUE LEGIT! AND WITH MY ARTISTIC LICENSE, I SMITE THEE!

Editor: ((runs fearfully)) AHHH! WHY DO YOU EVEN NEED AN EDITOR, ANYWAY? YOU'RE THIRTEEN YEARS OLD! SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECK IS COMPLEEETE!

Sahrah: Yes, I love my editor oh so much. Remind me to send flowers to the hospital. See you in next chapter! Oh, and before I forget, updating will be slow this week. And by slow, I mean I'm probably not going to update because of the PSSA testing. It's a statewide exam, and the testing lasts all week, and it's very, very, VERY stressful. The test is timed, you have to use a #2 pencil, and it's nerve wracking. So please, forgive me!