Chapter IX
The day came to Besaid Island devoid of its usual sunrise, instead slowly creeping into a drab, damp grey. The normally quaint, quiet village became almost lifeless as its inhabitants sought shelter from the soaking rain that had fallen since the previous afternoon.
Sunshine could still be found, however, sleeping unusually late into the morning.
"Good morning!" Yuna chirped, shifting the curtains that separated their bedroom from the rest of their place.
Tidus stirred groggily, rubbing his eyes before lazily shifting himself to a sitting position. "W-what happened?"
Yuna flinched at the question, her cheeks burning red. "Do I really need to explain it? Don't you remember? You kind of- got a bit uncomfortable with the storm rolling in, so we curled up for a bit, and then-"
"No no, I remember that!" Tidus waved, trying to change the subject in deference to Yuna. "I mean, storms never bothered me at all until now. I was having nightmares about the Thunder Plains last night!"
Yuna tilted her head, thinking back to the time after defeating Yunalesca, and the relative calm that ensued before they devised a plan to tackle Sin from the inside.
"If I remember correctly, didn't you go through a lot of hard work to gift each of us something special?" Yuna snickered, recalling all of the turbulence that he put himself through, and how she and all of her guardians had stood back and watched with stacks of potions at the ready.
"I wanted to show all of you how much you meant to me." He quickly glanced away and shuffled further into the heat of the quilt. "Before I had to go."
"So you already knew then?" Yuna swallowed, feeling a growing ache in her stomach from having to talk about that.
"I was hoping against hope, to tell you the truth, but yeah. I already had a good idea." He clenched his teeth, feeling the mist of tears edging on his eyes. "I knew ever since that place with all the fayth statues. But when we talked to the fayth in Bevelle that one time, that was when I fully understood, I think. It was too late to tell you because we were gonna go beat Sin and I couldn't distract you-"
"I understand, Tidus." 'What would I have done had I known what would have happened? I- I'm not-'
"I wonder if I Rikku'd myself!" Tidus mused, trying to change the subject once more. "I could have sworn I dodged over two hundred lightning strikes trying to find something proper for Lulu!"
"Don't forget your little quest for that Sun Sigil," she mewled, intentionally egging him on.
"This damn drunken pisstake of a chocobo! You son of a bi-" Tidus' reflexes had shot into mach speed. He covered up his mouth as quickly as possible and calmed down, feeling his ears started to burn up, and then looked up at her mischievously. "You did that on purpose."
"It's funny, though!" Yuna giggled, sitting down on the quilt and stretching herself over his covered body.
Even though the land was doused with rain, it was still incredibly humid. The gentle lull of the drops pattering against the stone of their now-furbished home was sending her into a sleepy trance.
"I'm surprised we didn't talk about all that yet." He sat up and leaned against the headboard, stroking Yuna's hair. "I can't believe it's been over three months already - just like that."
"Well, you did miss a few things!"
"More than a few!" Tidus exclaimed, pulling Yuna into a warm embrace. "I still want to hear anything you can think of to tell me, though."
Yuna smiled daintily, resting her head on his shoulder. "How about after you get something to eat, hm? I tried out those baked apples that you showed me!"
"Really?" His voice leaped upwards with a rasp. Yuna moved back over onto her feet, but he wasn't exactly thinking straight when he followed her. It took a second and her gasp before he lunged for the covers again, feeling like his whole face was going to melt off. "J-just let me get dressed first!"
"Um- sure. I'll be out- in the kitchen…" Yuna stammered, her face flushing beet red. 'I need a glass of water! No, a whole tub!'
They got out an assortment of berries and other tender fruit to lather the apples in. As they sat at the table, attempting to laugh off their flustered predicament that morning, somebody began to bang frantically at their door.
"Ey, ey! Open up! You sleepin' in again?!"
"Just a second, Wakka," she really said to herself before going over to unlock the door. He came crashing through, deprived of energy, his pompadour darkened and drooping over his face from the rain. "What's-"
"You two's ship's gonna drift out to sea! We need extra hands!"
"It looked fine last night," Tidus muttered before Wakka stormed towards him and yanked him off the cushion. He cried out in protest.
"C'mon, sailor. My word's the best word you'll have," he growled, his flabby muscles struggling to match up to Tidus' chiselled ones. "What, you expectin' the sea to be all sunshine an' rainbows all the time?"
Tidus just groaned and sighed in defeat as Yuna went to dig out their umbrella; Wakka recently gained the uncanny ability to shut down nearly any debate with his voice alone, even if his points were nonsensical. Over the last while he had won a fair few arguments with the elders using it, including the time they wanted to bind Yuna to even more guidance appointments.
'Lulu must've given him pointers,' he thought with a good-natured grudge, constantly getting bumped out of the man's way for a spot underneath Yuna's small umbrella. The mud sank in-between his toes with a grimy, slimy sensation. 'Oh well. I don't mind the rain anyway.'
"Throw the rope!" Tidus called out on the bullhorn, frantically motioning to Datto, who had somehow climbed aboard the tossing Romantique. Datto visibly struggled first to locate, then haul in the flailing line.
With all of his might, Datto flung the heavy rope overboard as far as he could- only to have his toss blunted by a sudden lean to port. Visibly frustrated, Tidus chucked the bullhorn and dove into the churning waters.
"What th'ell does he think he's doin'?" Wakka groaned.
Honestly, Tidus himself wondered the same thing. Doggedly he grasped the line, swimming along its length until he came to its conclusion.
"I got the bow, now if someone will get-"
"I got it!" Tidus turned to see his companion's head bobbing in the animalistic waves, the heavy line attached to the stern splayed across her shoulders. 'Oh no, Yuna. I wanted someone else!'
"Damn it!" Tidus growled, a heightened sense of urgency in his actions. He swam hurriedly towards the pier, not caring one bit where the churning sea would take him. He didn't even realize he had slammed his knee against the pier as he clambered up, Botta taking the slack from the rope as Tidus sprinted across.
Yuna had already pulled herself back up on the pier, handing her line to Jassu as Tidus rushed to greet her. "Yuna!"
"Not now, Tidus! Help us tie the stern down!" Yuna commanded, determined to finish the task at hand.
Tidus blinked; seeing Yuna's calm, determined posture under fire shocking him. "R-right!"
The pair, now joined by Jassu and Keepa, strained to pull Romantique's stern to the pier, prevailing against the choppy seas as Jassu secured the stern. The group then assisted as Wakka, Botta, and Letty hauled in the bow.
The two sides balanced each other out and, with blisters and calluses stinging against the bristled rope, the ship was anchored to the shallows and sheltered from the blunt of the wind. The Aurochs slumped over in exhaustion and went to lay down on the soggy leaves.
"That was a close one, eh? She nearly had her maiden voyage without yous!" Wakka guffawed, spiralling into a pained groan as he flexed his aching fingers. "Huh- ah, hey! Yuna, where ya goin'?"
She rounded the body of the Romantique and paced up the boardwalk, checking the pulleys and the sail first. Tidus had caught up with her then, and they carefully roamed the two-storey cabin to inspect the damage. The windows had been shattered by the previous night's gales, allowing them to ravage the master bedroom and the inner garden. Water was leaking into the compartments as well. Somebody was fiddling with and slamming on one of the portholes. The tanned girth of their fist just barely squeezed through.
"Everything all right in there?" Keepa called to them, using his protruding gut to support himself against the planks.
Wakka strode over to him, his legs swamped by the water pooling in his suspenders, and snatched their intruder away to chastise him. As he was giving him quite the earful, the sound of squeaking, splintering wood impacted them. They turned around to see a rotting rectangular gap in the compartments, and Tidus poking his head through it with a hopeless expression.
"So much for quality Besaidian wood," Tidus scoffed with a visible snide, wedging his leg along the width to prevent the stream of water flowing inwards.
Wakka laughed nervously, gripping and pulling at his hair while Keepa puffed his cheeks out. "Well, I mean- The trees don't exactly know what storms are like, ya? We don't get them of'en."
He stuck his hand out to feel the downfall of rain; it seemed that it was letting up a little, with the clouds starting to lighten up and split apart to herald some of the sky. Just then a bolt of lightning struck terror from the black storm clouds heading south, to be followed by the rolling beats of thunder sweeping across the island. He crashed against the ship in exhaustion, making it tilt a little.
"I suppose that's our journey postponed for a little while," Yuna muttered to Tidus, watching through the slit from the inside.
He receded and went over to sit down on one of the barrels. He was unable to keep a focussed gaze in his bout of irritancy. "Maybe we should hide this somewhere to protect it."
She propped herself up against the arcing wood with her shoulders, deep in thought for a resolution. 'There's always our cove. But I don't want people finding it… Can we get someone else to repair it? How about…'
"We can call the people on the Celsius to repair it!" She snapped her fingers, the lightbulb burning brightly in her head.
"Hey. You know, that's not a bad idea," he blurted, beginning to jog over the dynamics. "I think the guys put a System Sphere on the deck. Did you know Rikku's been practising mechanics? I thought she could only make things blow up!"
Whatever ecstatic feelings Yuna held at that moment had fizzled out upon hearing her name. Her body came to a standstill. Mixed emotions were swinging in and out of her conscience.
"You've been speaking to Rikku, huh?" she spoke in monotone, angling her body so that she could fold her arms.
"Yeah! We've been catching up a lot! Aren't you two…" His movements towards the staircase ceased when he sensed her change of mood. "...catching up as well?"
Yuna just shrugged her shoulders deeper into the wall. A painful twine hit Tidus in his gut, and he was dragged down to her level with a whirring, dying feeling. The air took on an unbearable heat as he stumbled to get back to her.
"Y-Yuna, we're just talking, you know? That's what friends do!" he reasoned, feeling his heart quickening in a blend of passion, desperation and fear. "I'd never hurt you like that."
"Ah-! No, no-no-no! I wasn't accusing you of anything!" she insisted, quickly reaching out to him while giggling guiltily. "It's just… Ah, goodness! I'm sorry - I shouldn't have been like that."
"It's all right!" he repeated, soon getting choked out by his own laughs. He could feel her wrapping her arms around him lightly, and her own laughs vibrating off his skin. 'Man, she's right. I really am silly.'
'He's so sensitive…' her mind concluded affectionately once she calmed down. A small smile curled up her lips as she felt his heartbeat, revelling in his body's honesty. 'What a strange way to cheer me up.'
Their feet were starting to get damp from the stagnating water, so they stuck a crate in front of the hole and ascending the floors hand-in-hand, heading up to the deck to locate the fortunately-unscathed System Sphere. They soon ran into a big problem. The Celsius' wouldn't respond. Tidus tried the next-best thing and tuned his CommSphere, which was linked to Rikku's. No picture would adjust, however. She wasn't picking up.
The Aurochs had eventually pressured them into getting off the ship. Between building the couple's house, their ship and Lulu's shop, they revealed that if they cut any more wood they would be in trouble with the island's preservation law. Therefore they would have to import wood from deep within Djose, which would cost money as well as time.
They had talked it over with Lulu later in the day, who was proving herself a prime candidate for Mayor of Besaid between all of her displays of willpower and wisdom, and along with Wakka they had easily agreed to pay the import fees with the loot from the pilgrimage.
The negotiations had droned on until the sun was beginning to drop off into the west. Their throats hoarse and dry, Tidus and Yuna decided to head back home for some late lunch. He unravelled one of the scrolls hanging above the kitchen and began to follow the recipe.
"How does toast with bean soup sound?" he called over his shoulder, filling up the glasses from the springwater container.
"Sunshine, you know I don't expect you to be fancy all the time," she chimed gently, immediately going against her own words as she got out the decor set and laid out the table with precise creative integrity.
"I know. But I like playing around with it all. It's pretty fun!" He laid the glasses on the floral-shaped lace and held the case for her. "Good food's important, especially if you're running around everywhere."
Yuna sat there motionless for a moment, and when she got the chance she held her hand to his cheek, prodding along his curved, yet chiselled jaw. She observed the great contrast of her milky-white skin and his of golden-brown, and she lightly chewed her bottom lip when he grinned into her palm.
After some stirring, Tidus left the olive-coloured broth to boil as they sat at the table. He had gotten out his CommSphere yet again and was tweaking it mindlessly. Yuna was brushing her ticklish hand against the flower petals, lost in thought.
"She was acting strange when she told me about the 'mechanics' stuff," he admitted, his knuckles rapping against the tablecloth. "Maybe it's because they weren't getting any spheres."
"No spheres?" Her head snapped upwards and her eyes bulged. "What, for a long time?"
"Some 'Leblanc' woman keeps beating them to the punch, apparently. It's taking a toll on them," he accounted. "Ever since you and Paine left, she said. From the sound of things I think she's a big, fat crook."
She diverted her shaky eyes to the mat, getting hit by resurfacing memories upon hearing those keywords. Months ago she had been everything from a treasure hunter to a pillager, distracting herself from the lows of her past with those days. It seemed that, funnily enough, times were simpler back then. A gang to serve for. Companions to adventure with…
"She really misses you."
This time her head turned sloppily to face his. "But she won't talk to me."
"I think… it's kind of complicated." He had gone quiet, which was becoming a common direction for him these days. "It's like you want to talk to somebody, but there's that feeling in the back of your head - that fear that they won't feel the same way. That fear of getting rejected despite your really strong desires."
Intrigued with what he had to say, she only talked with her mind. 'That's…'
"And then sometimes that turns into anger. That they don't understand you right away cause to you, it looks so obvious, and you want them to notice. And sometimes that want turns into getting really sad or worried." He paused, both to catch his breath and to revise his little tirade. "I went through that with a few people… I'd say Jecht was the first and- really only big one. He caused a lot of things in my life."
Yuna nodded wistfully, laying aside the shock of his words to think back to the early stages of their relationship, where whatever he had to say looped back to his father, and how he dimmed with every spoken word about him. Claiming to hate him with such vigilance - that turned out to be mistaken for a want to be validated.
And she could not let it be forgotten that Rikku was family - blood shared between races and classes. Cousins that were close on the pilgrimage and even closer on the sphere hunt, only for them to just drift away. And she wasn't exactly blameless for that decay.
'But everything happened so fast. I couldn't just give up my happiness when I didn't want to,' she mused, straightening herself to stare into Tidus' eyes with a difficult frown. "I have been trying, you know. But every time we get a chance she ignores me. I wish I could help her…"
Somebody began to knock on the door and Tidus volunteered to answer it, patting Yuna comfortingly on the shoulder as he walked past. Her elbow slipped against the tablecloth while she was thinking down many blockaded roads. Wondering what had become of Rikku - in fact, the Gullwings as a whole. Where it all crumbled apart. All of that seemed to get left in the dust however, when a white and blue envelope was slipped underneath her nose.
"The messenger said it was for you," he said, raising a curious, cautious eyebrow as he sat down again.
"How strange. Nobody writes letters anymore unless it's confidential…"
She continued to mutter under her breath, slitting the feather seal open with her fingernail. She began to read the message out loud, which was written mechanically in ruled lines.
To whoever receives this letter,
you are to meet up with two other people in the Luca Stadium on August 24th; the east block on the front row, fifth from the right.
Once gathered, travel to Iutycyr. There you will find Spira's tallest monument. Reach the top by powers yours and yours alone, and there will be something worth seeing.
Before you start thinking this is suspicious, I have saved the place's co-ordinates into the Celsius' system. Those Al Bhed on there have been very protective of it in recent days, so that would say something about myself.
Sincerely, unknown.
"Who is this person? And what is it that's 'worth seeing'?" Yuna pondered aloud. 'What could it be? Could it be a sphere? A new Grid?'
"Spira's tallest monument?" Tidus tilted his head in confusion. "I haven't even heard of the place!"
"I haven't either!" Yuna replied, her chords astonished.
"Really?" Tidus' voice raised an octave. "If you haven't heard of it, then who?"
"Perhaps we can find out." Yuna folded the letter neatly, slipping it back into the envelope. "This could be the start of a new adventure, you know?"
"Yuna. Hold on a moment." Tidus couldn't help but put it bluntly. "That letter was for you. Not us. You."
"You really think so?" Yuna's eyes flared wide. "I don't see why you couldn't come though!
"It was addressed only to you though. They might not know I exist, or maybe they do and don't want me. Or maybe it's a ruse…" He shivered all over, recalling the cold, dark cell from his nightmares. "Either way, I think if they wanted me, they would have asked."
"What if it is a ruse?"
"I can handle myself just fine, Yuna. Plus, Wakka and Lulu are here as well. I know they have my back if need be."
'But that's my job…"
"What if I need you though?" Yuna let out a little frigid breath, huddling closer to the table's edge.
"Are you kidding me? If you haven't noticed, you've been the one bringing me back up to speed all this time!"
"You're making it sound as-"
"I need you, Yuna," he said with a quiet drama. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be out there if it's meant for you."
"But, we'll be apart. Doesn't that make you nervous?" Yuna bit her lip longingly.
"It does," he resigned, his knees edging towards the rim of the cushion. Towards her. He held a sad, yet understanding smile. "But I know you can take care of yourself. You're strong, Yuna."
"But what if you disappear?" 'I would never forgive myself if he faded while I was gone.'
"That… won't happen," Tidus replied under his breath. "I'm here to stay."
"Are you sure about that?"
'...I'm not…'
The hesitancy in his voice only worsened the matter. He watched Yuna's face contort into an anguished frown, and knew he had to say something. Anything. 'I can't believe how much I've held her back. I shouldn't have let this happen. Yuna can't think like this.'
"Look, Yuna. You lived under the threat that Sin could strike at any moment." Tidus exhaled deeply, searching for words even as he spoke. "In my Zanarkand, there wasn't a day that passed in which someone's unfortunate passing was on the news. It could have been an accident, illness, or the result of human error."
"Really? Even in Zanarkand?"
"Yeah…" Tidus swallowed. "My point is, there's a lot of ways to get taken out in the world. Any freak thing could just as easily get you. But if I worried about every little thing that could potentially happen, it would drive me crazy! So there's one more thing that could take me out than could happen to you. You can't live life worrying about things like that."
He rounded the table to clasp Yuna's hands. The room had gone warmer because of the soup. Sunlight was angling through the gaps in the windows. The ivy partitions hanging over them were swaying in the faint breeze.
"Someone dies every day, Yuna. There's no way to stop that. We- We aren't really ones to talk- but Seymour deserved that! We just gotta take every day of life as a blessing. Cherish them, even." He slowly knelt down to her, suppressing the unbearable urge to embrace her as tightly as he could. "I didn't disappear the day after I came back. Or last month. Or yesterday. I'd say the odds are in our favour."
She didn't notice that she was hyperventilating until she could hear the huffs herself. She squeezed the hand that hers were pushed against. Solid and warm.
"And you know what? Even if the fayth come and drag me back someday, I'm gonna clock them and walk straight back home."
She could read his body language like an open book - the way he was ebbing forward and yet leaning backwards. Feeling his same urge she pushed herself off her cushion and nestled into his body, lightly kissing the place where his heart was. Some of the tears threatening to fall had been shaken loose by the force of his arms crowding around her.
"Yuna… do you know how I felt? When I found out what would happen at Zanarkand?" he whispered, choking a little on his own emotions. "I panicked a lot. The thought of you dying? I- I just couldn't accept that."
"I know, Tidus," she mumbled weakly.
"So those days, I was too busy thinking about things I didn't even know about - the future - than focussing on what was ahead. At times, I think I just completely forgot what you were gonna sacrifice yourself for."
A hint of guilt came through with that last sentence. He sighed heavily into her hair.
"I was really, well, caught up in you and your choices. So I may have been coming off as selfish during the last stretch… And you called me out for it. Thanks. Seriously."
She pulled back a little bit and laughed, raising her eyebrow at him with a crooked smile. "I don't honestly know where you're going with this."
He took a while to respond, searching for the answer himself.
"I'm saying that you shouldn't let me hold you back." He chuckled, taking an uncertain, rather random blow to his own ego. "I love… Well, yeah. I love you a lot. Every second with you. But I don't want you constantly holed up here because of us. It's not healthy."
"But it's not us! We're planning to go-"
"Still, Yuna," he intercepted her gently. "I just want you to go out and have fun whenever you want, without worrying about me. Please understand."
Moments passed, and then she nodded acceptingly, but with a tiny smirk of positivity. She trailed the hands that were planted on his back all the way up to cup his neck. Tidus chuckled in his throat, and she could see a faint blush trying to hide beneath his tan.
"So go to 'You-tee-sir,' and you can tell me all about it when you get back," he said, a grin blooming over his face. "And then we can go there again someday. I doubt Spira's tallest monument is gonna run away anytime soon."
"Let's see… It's the 21st today. If I have to take two boats I should leave tomorrow," she concluded, leaning back to get a whiff of the savoury air. "I'm going to miss your cooking, aren't I?"
"Tell me about it. Ship rations are crap."
Once they ate, they spent the rest of the day packing up what Yuna would need for her adventure. She booked a full trip for the S.S. Liki and also went around the town, bidding her farewells to as many people as she could in advance. She and Tidus spent the rest of the afternoon with activities in their cove before finally heading to bed early.
His spine sank into the mattress, with Yuna curled up perfectly with her cheek on his chest, given warmth by the tone of his far arm. They laid there in solace, waiting until the sun had vanished - that was when they could drift into peaceful sleep.
"I was dreaming of you the other night," she confessed, feeling her muscles shrivel up as the words escaped her.
"Oh? What about?" Tidus asked, wrapping both of his arms around Yuna's waist.
"Well, it was all kind of a blur, to be honest with you. It's embarrassing, really."
"Come on! You're talking to the prince of all dorks!" Even though she couldn't see it at the moment, she could hear that infectious grin in the way he cheered her on. "Now you have to tell me!"
"I- I don't know, Tidus." Yuna sighed. 'I shouldn't have brought it up. Now isn't the time.'
"Yuna, please." Tidus' voice dropped to a more serious tone as he pulled her into his full embrace, trying to coax an answer out of her.
"Okay. I came out of the house one morning, and I see you teaching this person blitzball. I couldn't quite make out their face, but it looked like the both of you were having such a wonderful time. It really did." Yuna's voice trailed off into a faint whisper as she closed her eyes.
'That's the gist of it. I hope I didn't say too much!"
"I didn't mean to pester you with it," she apologized faintly.
Tidus perked a quizzical eyebrow, connecting the dots in his head. 'Oh.'
"You aren't pestering me, Yuna," he replied. He waited an awkward amount of time for her response, only to be greeted with snoring. "Well, goodnight then."
'I bet you were happy too.'