October 19, 2009. Uuuuuuuuummmmmm.... I didn't realize how long it had been since I last updated. 0_0 I really apologize... it's not even the most entertaining chapter ever, but I have a lot of issues with Yuna's chapters. Tidus is so much easier to write, which is why I'm happy that the next chapter will be in his POV. lol. Anyway, again, sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy!

XI

I lifted my head quickly and whipped my head over at Tidus. "Wait, I didn't mean that…"

What a stupid way to try to backpedal from saying what city was my home. I wasn't even sure why I was defending myself on if Zanarkand was more my home than Bevelle… I lived in both places, so why couldn't both places be my homes at different times in my life?! There were different aspects of both places that I absolutely loved and it didn't mean that I loved one more than the other. No. I loved them the same.

"Didn't mean what?" he asked, not looking like he expected me to retract my statement.

"I don't know," was all that was able to say, now feeling completely sheepish. With a sigh, I looked back down at my hands to think of what it was that I could say to make either of us feel better. He looked rather disappointed. I could really understand why and I felt absolutely horrible. I had been back for less than a day and I already managed to make him disappointed in me. Some great record that I had started out here.

Lucky for me, he managed to catch on to what it was that made me completely ashamed of myself and he laughed. I think he was laughing out of nervousness and still a tinge of disappointment, but he laughed nonetheless and that kind of made me feel better. Kind of. "Yuna, don't worry about it. I mean, it's not like I expect you to pick Zanarkand to be your home, so you don't have to say it just to make me feel better. I… was just talking out of my ass. "

I chuckled softly with him, even if he was just trying to cover up his disappointment. It always was like him to try to make me feel better. The only time he ever made me feel worse about something was when I moved away, but I always tried to put myself in his shoes. It hurt to move away and I'm assuming that it was just extremely painful for him as well. "Regardless," I started, shaking the sand off of my toes. "It's a wonderful feeling to be back here in Zanarkand. Especially in the summer."

He stood up and stretched his arms over his head before gazing back down on me. "Ya know," he started. There was such a long pause that I actually raised my eyebrows at him and gave him a shrug of my shoulders so he would continue. "Oh, it's just, well… I never… thought…"

"What?" It wasn't like Tidus to be lost of words. Whatever he was going to say was going to be pretty important or else he would've just spit it out. "You never thought what?"

His hand went on the top of my head and he tousled my hair a little bit. Clearly he was trying to lighten the mood again. "I kind of thought that the next time we would see each other would be purely by chance on the streets of Bevelle when I went to college."

I looked down at my knees. "You didn't think I would ever come back." It was a rather harsh assumption, but I really did see where he was coming from. To be honest, I didn't think I ever would've returned to Zanarkand on my own terms. I loved the city more than anything in the world, but I always felt that returning there would mean I would turn my back against everything I knew and loved in Bevelle. I felt that I had to turn my back on Zanarkand when I moved and that hurt enough, so I didn't want to have to do it again. I never really thought about it because I didn't have to turn my back, but after all the fights Tidus and I got into, I almost felt like it would be for the best.

It just hurt more in the long run to do that.

Even being there on the beach with Tidus, looking off at the reflection of the moon on the water, it still felt like a dream. I was going to wake up back in my room in Bevelle and think about how nice of a dream it was to see him again. It was a situation that I have dreamed about on more than one occasion, so I gently pinched myself to make sure that it was happening. I just arrived in Zanarkand six hours previous and he and I were hanging out again. It was… how I wanted it to be, but I never in a million years thought that it would've turned out that way.

It was nice. Very nice… and a small smile appeared on my lips again.

"Whoo!" He let out an exhale and I whipped my head up at him in surprise of the exclaim. "All right, it's getting a bit serious here! How about we get back onto our walk and I'll show you a bit around the beach before I have to take you back home? I don't want your parents angry at me the first day that you guys are back!"

I reached down to pick up my sandals then stood up to start walking next to him. The sand was cool on my feet, which I believed was one of the best feelings in the world, so why ruin it by covering them with sandals? I followed him closer to the water, quite thankful that he changed the topic of conversation. It was getting a little too serious for me and I wasn't ready to have that walk down of 'what ifs' and 'what could've been' if I had stayed in Zanarkand.

Even if that wasn't where our conversation was going to go, that was where my mind was going to go. I already started to wonder how my life would be different and what would've changed if I had stayed in Zanarkand from the second that I saw the city limits sign on the drive over. The answer to that was 'everything.'

He wrapped his arm around me in a half hug and gave my shoulders a squeeze. "Hey, loosen up, Yuna! It's summer time, you're back here for a little while, so let's enjoy it while we can and not have to worry about things. Its, ah, time to live in the now or live for the now… or… or whatever that expression is."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I apologized, tucking my hair behind my ear and shaking my head. "It's still just so surreal to me and I really… I really –"

He covered my mouth with his hand. Again, I couldn't have appreciated anything more because my statement was going to be another stroll down memory lane. Zanarkand had become a memory for me and it wasn't one that I ever thought I would revisit. I hated that thought but I couldn't help from it appearing in my head over and over again. "Say no more."

"Yes, sir," I said, words muffled. Even after all those years that had passed, he still knew what was going on in my mind. He didn't have to confront me about what I was thinking, he just knew. It was something that always made me admire Tidus and a really strong quality that made him my best friend. Over the years things have changed about him, but that was the one thing that I never wanted him to change.

It was what made me feel like I was home.

"It's a shame that it's so late and dark." He flicked his wrist in the direction of the city.

"Are you… serious?" I asked, looking at how bright everything still was. Sure, the lights around the beach weren't turned on or anything, but when it came to the tall buildings that were in the city? You couldn't even see the stars, the sky was so bright. That was something I had forgotten about, apparently. "I really don't think I ever saw a star until I moved to Bevelle, Tidus."

"Yeah, I'm serious." He redirected me away from the shore again, held me by the shoulders to stop me, and started to point at various things. "There's a lot of things that have changed around here that I would like you to see. Check out the smoothie shop."

I looked where he pointed. "Rin's? I used to love that place…" With the minor exception that it had some rather sad memories around the time I was going to move. Whenever Tidus and I had gotten into a fight or things became unbearable that I was going to leave everything behind to move to Bevelle, Wakka and I would meet up and talk about things. Besides that, it was the after school hang out for all of us to spend our allowances on smoothies and ice cream.

"Same ownership, but they completely redid the inside of the building, gave it a new sign, and put up a bunch of lights and tiki torches around it. It seriously looks like something you would find in Besaid!" He chuckled softly and changed the position to where he was pointing. "That building right there?"

I couldn't miss it, but I had definitely never seen it before. "Oh yeah, that's new!"

"Yep. The city council built a kind of a, what they like to call, 'a fun place for the young'uns to have some clean, safe fun.' I've only been there once or twice and found it more or less a daycare center for elementary kids and I'd rather be out in the water playing a good game of blitz, but we probably would've loved it when we were younger." He started to walk again and gave a shrug of his shoulders. "I think the parents of the younger kids had started to complain about the safety of their kids in the water. There had been some cases of people getting hurt from things like," he cleared his throat, "flying blitzballs and whatnot."

With a small laugh, I had to ask, "oh jeez, you didn't hurt anyone, did you?"

"No, not me." I was surprised by that response, but I wasn't going to tell him that. "Last summer some of the upperclassmen were banned from the beach for the summer for bopping a child in the head. Not gonna lie, it was kind of funny, but talk about ruining your summer!"

"Yeah, that would be rather disappointing." Tidus and I had practically lived on the beach during the nice summer days, which was usually 6 out of the 7 days of the week, unless it was raining. I suppose that's when the youth center would've been fun for us when we were younger. It would've gotten us out of the house. "I can't wait to spend some time on this beach again!"

He gave me a once over and clicked his tongue against his cheek. "You could use a little time in the sun knowing that you definitely don't have a tan anymore. Did you ever spend time outside in Bevelle?"

"Not as often as Zanarkand, I can tell you that. It's a lot colder in Bevelle year 'round and not a whole lot to do outside." I didn't want to tell him that I had spent most of my free time inside with my nose in a book, but it was the truth. I didn't have time to go outside and run around like he and I did when we were ten. I had to get into Yunalesca University and get some kind of scholarship no matter what the cost was and unfortunately, that cost was studying 24/7 and not having any free time whatsoever. It was my choice and if I got in, it all would've been worth it.

"No worries, I'll get'cha outside and into the sun if I have to drag you and chain you to one of the picnic tables! I'll spray you with sunscreen first so you don't turn into a lobster, but don't think I won't do it!" The smile on his face proved that he wasn't joking and would enjoy every second of doing that to me. The look on my face was one of slight horror at first, then I just had to laugh at him.

"Oh, Tidus…" We had reached the parking lot again, so I slipped my sandals back on my feet. "Eeeh, that wonderful feeling of wet, gritty, sandy feet in dry sandals. I didn't miss that feeling…"

"Of course you did," he said, tapping his sandals against the asphalt to shake off the dry sand. "It's part of the ambience of Zanarkand in the summer, don't you ever forget that. Kind of like sand in your bathing suit. As much as you hate it at the time, I'm sure you missed it during the freezing, snowy winters in Bevelle!"

I thought it about it for a second then slowly nodded my head. "Yeah, you've got a point there…" Especially the first winter I had to go through in Bevelle, there was nothing I wanted more than to be sitting on one of the beaches in Zanarkand, sitting at a picnic table and doing my homework. I hated to look at the snow and not want to leave the house because I hated being cold.

He actually shivered at the mere thought. "Ugh, that's the one thing that I'm not looking forward to when I go to Central Bevelle next year. I'll probably stay all holed up in my dorm room because I like being warm. My idea of winter is the low 70s and still being able to swim in the ocean in the middle or winter if I wanted to."

"You're still planning on going there, huh?" That was so close to Yunalesca, which made my lips turn up into a small smile.

"Yeeeep." He unlocked his car and opened the door for me to let me in. "That is, if I can maintain my GPA and get the application all shinnied up and pretty." He shut the door and made his way around to the driver's seat as I fastened my seat belt.

"I'm sure you'll get accepted!" I said cheerfully as he sat down and put the key in the ignition. He was excited about it, yet there was a grim look on his face. I knew him and his family well enough to know exactly what it was that he was thinking. "Your dad doesn't know you want to go there, does he?"

"Hell no." He scoffed and turned the key to start the car. "My mom is proud of me and wants me to go wherever I want to go, but my dad is going to be so royally pissed off when he finds out that I'm going the rival college of his precious University of Zanarkand. Don't care~"

Yes, he did and he didn't want to admit it. I think. "Does he know you're considering it?"

He shook his head and chuckled. "My mom has been hiding all the information from the school and handing it to me in private. I, in turn, have been hiding it in a drawer, underneath a whole bunch of clothing even though I know he doesn't come into my room. I want this so bad, Yuna. There are scouts coming to the blitz camps that I'm going to this summer and I have to make a good impression. Without a good impression they won't even consider my application. I just don't want my dad to screw it up for me."

Tilting my head over to him, I asked, "How would he do that?"

"He knows everyone, everywhere if they have the slightest influence in the college level or professional level of blitz," he replied, another shake of his head. "The first camp I'm going to, two very important guys from Central Bevelle are going to be there. They're going to be scouting and hopefully handing out nice sums of money for scholarships. I won't be able to go without a scholarship and I don't want to have to go somewhere local."

"Gotcha." By 'local,' he meant University of Zanarkand; where his dad went and Tidus had scorned ever since he was a little boy. It was a deep scar in Tidus' life and it was one that I never liked to ask too many questions about because his right eye started to twitch in anger. Time to change the subject. Quickly. "When are your blitz camps this summer?"

"There's one the first week of July, then the other one is in the middle of July. So two weeks later." I turned my head down. I was still going to be here and he wasn't, which really upset me for some reason.

I couldn't let him know that though. "Oh, that'll be fun. Is Wakka going too?"

I could see him looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "No, he didn't want to go this year for some reason. I was kind of upset because he and I have gone to at least one blitz camp a year together since we were, what, five? It's all right though…" He gave me a pat on the knee, which made me blink in surprise. "Hopefully you can babysit him and keep him out of trouble, hmm?"

"Uh, yeah," I said after swallowing the lump that was rising in my chest. "I'll make sure that he's a good boy."

"And then you'll have to come to the final game of the camps. I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind if you tagged along."

"Absolutely!" Now I was excited. I loved watching him play ever since we were little, and he must've been so much better now if he was co-captain of his team this year! If the men from Central Bevelle were going to be there, perhaps I would be able to see him earn a scholarship, and academic achievement always made me happy when it benefitted those close around me.

He slowed down his car and parked into the driveway, pulling up as closely as he could to the garage so I didn't have to walk far to the door. We didn't say anything to each other for a second, so I let out a small laugh. "What?"

"It's funny. I… I feel like nothing has really changed between us, Tidus." He smiled at that, so I continued. "It's been so long, so many years, we've both grown up, but seeing you again? Spending time on the beach? Just like old times."

"Including me randomly showing up at your door?"

"No, that would be a first," I shook my head at him in amusement. "I think we were a bit too young to stay out that late after bedtime!"

Without a word, he opened his car door and got out of his car, so I quickly followed suit. There was a thought in my mind that he maybe was going to come around and open my car door, but I beat him to the punch on it. But still… it was nice for him to walk me to my door. "Thank you," I said softly.

I do believe I was blushing again.

"No prob." He was so nonchalant, which really relaxed me. In fact, that whole time I was with him I was pretty relaxed and a lot of the nerves dissipated so quickly. Maybe things hadn't changed between us. He reached out his arms and said, "come here, you."

I giggled as I gave him a hug and we both tightly squeezed each other. "Thanks for taking me to the beach, Tidus."

"Hey, it's not the first time I'm going to be randomly showing up to your door this summer, missy." He gave me a final squeeze and broke the hug. "I'm just glad you're back."

"Me too." I blindly reached for the door knob and gave it a twist. Thankfully it was unlocked because I didn't think to grab my keys before I left the house. "I'll see you tomorrow for dinner?"

"Most definitely. You better be hungry when you show up; you know my mom." I nodded. I certainly knew what he meant by that. "Have a good night, Yuna."

He started to walk backward toward his car, so I gave him a small little wave. "You too. Night." With a small little hop, he turned around and went to his car, so I figured I needed to go inside so it didn't look like I was watching him too closely. Shutting the door behind me, I saw that my parents had finally gone to sleep, but I still had to make sure that I wasn't going to trip over any remaining boxes as I went to my room.

I couldn't wipe the silly grin off of my face, so I laughed at myself. It was a simple reason to why I was smiling; I missed my best friend and I couldn't explain how happy I was to see him again and – like I had told him – have things be just like old times.

It truly was going to be an amazing summer.