Disclaimer: I don't own Dissidia.

I just realized that I've been writing about sunlight a lot (not so much in here, but in another fic I'm working on in conjunction with this one). Must be because it's winter! I'm not used to this all this cold...

Please read and enjoy!

Chapter Eleven: Rescue/Abandon

That day the sun came out from the clouds entirely. No one said it, but everyone felt a little different that afternoon as Terra rested upstairs. Squall wasn't as grumpy. For the first time, Kuja went unguarded. So far, everyone was still alive.

I went outside, to find that someone else was already soaking up the unplanned rays.

"Hey, Zidane," I said, sitting down on the step where he had stretched out.

"Hey yourself," he said back. "What's up with you? You don't look so hot. Then again, it might just be that none of us have seen the sun in forever."

I found myself shaking my head. "No, I just… Terra reminded me of some people back home."

Zidane nodded. "I know what you mean. Gorgeous, isn't she?"

I coughed. "Well, yes, but that wasn't exactly what I meant."

"Just kidding. She's strong. You meet women like that when you try to save the world. Women like that," he smiled and sighed, "they don't just come along for the ride, they save your life. And then you fall in love with them."

"You're talking from personal experience, aren't you."

Zidane looked up. "She was a princess, and I kidnapped her. Because Kuja had convinced her mother to go to war, and there were people who wanted to help that princess. Her name is Garnet til Alexandros the 17th. But called her by her nickname, even after she became Queen of Alexandria. I loved her so much," he admitted.

And then there was something of a sparkle that caught in his eyes. It took me a moment to realize it was a tear. "And I still left her behind."

"What? What are you talking about?" I wanted to know.

Zidane grimaced, biting back the glisten in his eyes. "Damn. Sorry," he apologized. I simply shook my head, and he somehow knew what I meant.

"It was for him. Him, of all people, dammit," Zidane said, his voice tight and jagged. "I could have had her and I chose him. But he was going to die. I couldn't let him die alone."

He shook his head. "It's done now. Don't listen to me."

"Tifa," I said. "That was her name. She grew up with me in Nibelheim. Before it burned. That's when it all started, with Sephiroth," I explained. "Not as intense as blowing up a planet, but making Nibelheim burn like that… it was my home."

My story about Tifa had turned into a story about Sephiroth.

"Let me start over. There was this other girl, Aerith. She was my best friend's girl, I guess. The best friend that I thought I was for a while," I elaborated. "Long story. She was an Ancient, so she was the one who could save the world. Not me. But then she died. And then sometime after that, my head got into a bad place. I didn't really know who I was."

I paused.

"Tifa never abandoned me, even though there were plenty of times when she could have and no one would have blamed her for it. I was the one who abandoned her. When all was said and done and my world could breathe free again, I just turned my back and left because I thought I was, I don't know, doing her some sort of favor. I thought she would have been better off without me. I didn't really know what was going on at all. I still don't."

And then I exhaled. One long deep breath out. "But when we make it out of this, Tifa's the first person I want to see. I'm not alone, and I need to stop pretending I am. Some people are really alone. I should be glad that I'm not one of them."

"To women," Zidane said, raising an imaginary glass.

I laughed quietly. "To friends."