"So what did they talk about, those lovers? They talked about flowers and swallows, sunset and moonrise, everything that to them was important; about everything and about nothing."

- Book Eight: Enchantment and Despair, II: The bemusement of perfect happiness

Les Misérables, Victor Hugo

CHAPTER 4: Blue Night Over Us

Tidus

Tidus suspected that Gippal's home life was as volatile as his own, because as often as Tidus begged his supper at Lulu and Wakka's, Gippal could be found foraging in his own kitchen cupboards. Well, whenever he knows Jecht isn't around, anyway.

He didn't know where his old man had stumbled off to this afternoon, and didn't particularly care. The Luca Goers were finally playing the Kilika Beasts and he was grateful to have the ViewSphere to himself.

"You know, there's only one thing that would make this more perfect," Gippal said once he had planted himself in Tidus' favourite chair and helped himself to a bag of sea salt Omegas.

Rikku always said that the two of them looked alike, but Tidus didn't agree with her at all. Especially because so many people commented that the Al Bhed boy's wild hairstyle resembled a chocobo. And Tidus would be damned if his beautiful hair was going to be compared to a chocobo.

And the boy's personality… that was even wilder than his hairstyle – impulsive, rebellious - - never focusing on one thing for too long. He had even bought into that whole faction nonsense for a while, getting himself into trouble dancing around the Youth League and New Yevon, until he finally came to his senses.

"Which is what, exactly?" Tidus said impatiently. Give me a break, the game's about to start.

"A Bikanel beer, ice cold."

"My old man 'probly has some, but if he finds out someone's been in his digs, it's your head, not mine."

"Fair enough," said Gippal, pushing himself out of his chair.

Tidus rolled his eyes. "Gippal…" He hadn't intended for the Al Bhed boy to take the challenge seriously. If anyone's head would be for the chop, it would be Tidus' own. Though no doubt, he reflected, Gippal had suspected as much. Hell, it probably spurred him on.Gippal could be a strange sort of best friend at times.

Tidus heaved a long suffering sigh as he heaved himself out of his chair and followed the boy to his father's room. "Gippal, the game's about to start," he complained. "We'll miss the cheers…"

When Tidus reached his father's room, he noticed that Gippal had already thrown a couple of closet doors open. Definitely a sign of invasion. Jecht is gonna skin me. You had to hand it to him though - Gippal sure didn't waste any time.

The Al-Bhed boy was contemplating the large wooden door built into the left wall of the room. Whatever was inside was most likely not a case of Bikanel beer, however, the door shining an electric blue around the rims.

"What does he keep in there?" said the Al Bhed, indicating with his chin and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I dunno," Tidus said, lingering uncomfortably in the hallway. His father's room always inspired a certain sense of fear in him. "My old man always locks it." He scowled. "Once when I was ten, he found me trying to pry it open and kicked my ass for it."

"It ain't locked now."

"What?" Thatcan'tberight. He had been trying to break into that closet for years. "That's impossible!"

Tidus stormed over, his footsteps falling heavy and frustrated – why couldn't they just go watch the damn game? - and tried the door himself in the hope of proving Gippal wrong.

It swung half-way open.

"Hell then," Gippal declared like a call to arms. "What're we waitin' for?"

He knew it was useless to attempt talking Gippal out of it. Gippal was just one of those people. And besides, Tidus was kind of curious himself. A little curious. Not very. Thegamecanwait.

Sharing a half-nervous glance, they each placed a palm flat against the door and pushed it - hesitantly, as though an alarm might trigger if they were too abrupt.

Gods…

Wide-eyed and curious, they waded ankle-deep into the spectacular clutter of a space large enough to hold more than just a wardrobe, kicking aside all manner of equipment – tubes, nozzles, empty sphere frames, broken shards, even several beer bottles. I wonder if this is where my father left his dignity,Tidus jested with himself. Somewhere under all this crap? He didn't know whether the thought made him amused or uncomfortable.

Those feelings fled, however, and were replaced with awe when he caught sight of the items on the many scores of shelves, blue and round and shining brighter than stars.

"It's a bunch of spheres…" Tidus said, genuinely shocked.

"No," Gippal corrected. "It's a whole shitload of spheres." He laughed. "Baralai and Nooj would love to get their hands on these."

Forget Baralai and Nooj, I can't wait to get my hands on them, thought Tidus.

Gippal grabbed the first Sphere that caught his eye. He held it up into the half-light so they could both see the image materialise before their eyes.

The footage was blurry, as old Spheres often were; the animate material inside had disintegrated over the years. Yet Tidus thought he could make out a young man holding something sharp and silver - a sword, maybe? – and another man next to him, taller. Does he have… blue hair?

"It's your Dad and… some Guado freak." There was an uncharacteristic tone of shock lacing Gippal's voice.

It was his old man alright, Tidus couldn't deny it; but why would he have a sword? Tidus tried to imagine his father swordfighting, but the only image he could conjure in his mind was Jecht swinging it drunkenly around a room saying things like "Boy, don't you tell me what I can't do, I'm the best there is!"

"What the hell is-" Gippal began, but Tidus shushed him with a sharp gesture, straining to here the voices in the sphere.

"Hey Jyscal, you're in my light! Move over!" It was a gravelly tone, one all too familiar.

"My Lord, I must object. We have no time for this folly," a male voice scoffed from somewhere behind whoever was recording. It was an educated voice, one that spoke with a kind of eloquence that reminded him of… well, of Yuna. When had his old man ever mixed with people like that?

"Oh, shut your mouth, you big stiff." That was definitely his old man. Tidus found himself mesmerised. Could this be footage of my father's journey? His heart hammered wildly. Maybe he could finally find out what had happened all those years ago… why his father had changed so much.

Still he hesitated. Do I even want to know? He had become so used to hating his father that if he suddenly had a reason not to, he thought it might turn his whole life around. Tidus' thoughts ran so chaotically that he could barely think and concentrate on the Sphere at the same time.

"What the hell are you boys doing in here!"

He and Gippal were so entranced that it took them both a long deafening moment to realise that that last voice wasn't from the Sphere. Together they whipped around just in time to see Jecht filling in the doorway, red-faced and shaking with anger. "Get out of this room, the both of you! I don't EVER want to see you sticking your noses in here again, you got that?"

Tidus was so taken aback by his father's fury that he was momentarily stunned to silence. When he regained his wits, his anger followed swiftly. "Calm down, dad! What's the big deal, anyway?"

"Damnit, boy, don't you dare tell me to calm down! I asked you a question!"

Tidus stood numbly for a moment, his hands shaking, yet there was no fear in him this time. "Fine then," he burst out, "we won't go into your fucking secret room!"

Tidus ducked away from his father when he made a grab for him, and scrambled out of the house with Gippal as fast as he could run, which, thanks to his Blitz training, was pretty damn fast.

By the time they were safely two blocks away and doubled over in exhaustion, Gippal was laughing his ass off and kept clapping Tidus on the back every two seconds, saying generally unhelpful things like, "Man, he was so mad!" and "Did you see his face?"

But Tidus just felt furious. Why did his father have so many goddamn secrets? What was so important that he had to hide? I hate him, Tidus thought furiously. I hate him. He could feel his fists shaking, and the shards of the Sphere he had broken dug into his skin, drawing blood.

He ate dinner at Wakka and Lulu's that night, but when he came home, he and his father both acted as though nothing had happened.

Yuna

As she lay in bed watching the hands of her machina time-teller ticking away, Yuna began to doubt herself.

Just as Tidus had promised, Shelinda had gone to bed hours ago after performing her evening chores. Yuna had bid her goodnight with a too-bright smile, the very best she could conjure. A false smile, she thought somewhat ruefully. She had never been deceitful, never wanted to be. Perhaps it is not too late to forget all of this.It was not the first time that evening she had considered doing so.

But then she thought of Tidus, and all that trouble he had gone through for her.

Under her bedrobe she was fully dressed in her printed skirt, white wrap and snowy sleeves. It would be cool in the evening, she had guessed, it would be wise to dress warmly. When she thought that, she realised that she would go now – there would be no turning back. And with that thought always came the littlest spark of excitement. You've waited your whole life to see this. Be strong, like father.

Auron had left earlier that evening. She could still recall his face as he stood tall and imposing in the doorway, heavy katana strapped over his shoulders. He was troubled, Yuna remembered. And with reason.Yuna didn't want to think about how her father would react if he even suspected her little adventure.

She had barely spent a day apart from her father since she was a girl. Surely, she felt, he had always been with her. She thought she should be missing him terribly at this moment, but in truth she had hardly thought of him at all. Her stomach was pounding with butterflies.

Yuna descended the stairs without a sound, her footsteps falling like a feather upon soft down. She had learned to be light on her feet in her Sending training. "How are the spirits going to hear you guiding them if you stomp your feet so loudly, child?" Belgemine would always scold her, in that stern tone that Yuna had learned to love so well.

She missed Belgemine. She had been the nearest thing to a mother Yuna had ever known, and she would have welcomed a mother's insight at this time in her life… especially concerning certain new feelings that she was beginning to experience about a particular boy. It was all so confusing to her, as foreign as Zanarkand itself.

Blessedly, her boots were where she'd left them. As she tugged them on she reflected on her good luck at finding them untouched by Shelinda's neat hands. The maid was certainly tidy, though still a mystery to Yuna in many ways. She seemed by turns fearful and worshipful of her Yuna's father. It seemed to Yuna that if you respected or admired someone, it did not follow that you could possible fear them. And if someone truly instilled fear in you, how could you possibly admire them, aspire to be like them? What was it Tidus had said about Acolytes? That they were obedient, perhaps to the point of blindness? Yuna did not know if she would go so far, but they were certainly fickle.

After shrugging out of her silken night gown and tucking it carefully behind a chair, Yuna retrieved the little silver window key she had sought out the previous evening. It turned smoothly in the lock. Carefully she lifted the hinges, pulling the window open.

Instantly the cold night air surrounded her, caressing her cheeks and fanning honey-brown hair around her face. It was a pleasant feeling, and Yuna soaked in the sights and sounds of the Zanarkand evening with delight. And waited.

Meet me in the garden when the lamp lights are lit…

She did not have to wait for long. One by one they blinked on, bathing the streets in a striking orange glow. Likefireflies, she thought, awed by the beauty of them. A quiet kind of courage rose up in her then, and in one quick movement she ducked through the open window and found herself outside.

By the time she was among the hibiscus, she could almost make out the strange outline of his Blitzball uniform behind the gate.

"Evenin' Yuna," he said, smiling, and her heart fluttered in her chest. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

Why… what is the matter with him? she thought suddenly, as she caught a clearer glimpse of his countenance for the first time. Usually a walking ray of sunshine, it disturbed her to see a sadness in those blue eyes tonight, a deep-rooted weariness such as she never thought Tidus would be capable of bearing.

"What's wrong?" she asked anxiously, before she could check herself.

"What? Nothing's wrong."

He is a poor liar.

"Nothing's wrong, I promise!" he protested, seeing her wary look, "just forget about it." Smiling, he shook his head dismissively, his soft blond hair falling over his eyes. And somehow, seeing that smile, she did just that.

"Come on now, Yuna, just one more hurdle…"

She stared upwards. The black iron gates towered above, almost three times as tall as she was. Contrary to what Tidus may have thought, Yuna wasn't a complete stranger to climbing. Besaid had enough peaks and hills for even the most unquenchable adventurer. But her father had prevented her from ever setting her sights too high in that field. Not out of malice, to be sure, but out of a sort of fatherly concern that almost bordered on over-protectiveness. He had always been there to catch her. But now…

"It's not as bad as it looks," Tidus said to her silence, apparently reading her mind, "just take it one foothold at a time."

Beyond that gate awaited Zanarkand, she realized. Not her Zanarkand or her father's, but a Zanarkand that she had never seen. Tidus' Zanarkand.

So she took a first tentative step, then a second one. Though Tidus held the bars firmly in his fists to steady her, they seemed to ratte with each new foothold she made. I hope Shelinda isn't a light sleeper, Yuna thought anxiously.

Tidus watched her progress with attention, calling gentle encouragement to her as she ascended. As for Yuna, her courage rose with every foothold. Her concentration of course was well developed; it was an essential skill in the training of a Sender. But on reaching the top she felt it necessary to balance for a moment on one foot, and that was her mistake.

It was an awkward sort of fall, like the graceless tumble of a child not yet learnt to walk. Yuna felt her entire body go rigid in shock, and her arm-warmers very nearly caught on the black iron spikes.

"Oh!" was all she cried to warn him.

Somewhere between Tidus' "woah!" and the resounding crash of the iron gates, Yuna found herself with one boot on the ground, one leg propped up by Tidus' right arm, one hand curled tightly into his hair, his left arm holding her waist… so bizarrely were their arms and legs entangled that she could hardly keep track of where she ended and Tidus began. Frozen in such a shape, they would surely have been a sight worthy of some amusement to any passers by.

With racing hearts they stared in the direction of the house, watching for the lights that meant Shelinda had awoken. Please, Yuna prayed, please don't wake up. Oh, let me have this one night…

Her breath rang heavy in her ears, and her hand was tingling where Tidus had touched it.

But after a few minutes, to both Tidus and Yuna's relief and satisfaction, it became clear that the ex-Acolyte was indeed a heavy sleeper. Presently, the pair disentangled themselves from one another, one blushing with embarrassment, the other quite unperturbed.

"Close call," Tidus commented, as Yuna brushed off debris that wasn't there. "You okay, Yuna?"

Her nerves were so ablaze that all she could manage was the most timid of nods.

"Then," he said, "let's go meet Zanarkand."

Tidus

It hadn't occurred to him until very late in his plans that he might have asked Gippal and Rikku to come along, and introduce his old friends to his new.

But somehow, he thought, he didn't want anyone else there. The thing was, no one else would understand. No one else would understand the look on Yuna's face when she saw her lights, how fervently she had longed to see them, how passionately she had described them to him.

Until he met Yuna he hadn't realised how apathetic the rest of the world, or his world, atleast, had become. Zanarkanders now weren't excited by anything save Blitzball. Techonologies and machina, despite only being re-introduced in the last ten years, had become the norm, something people rarely kicked up a fuss about.

But Yuna… it amazed him sometimes, how she seemed so impressed by the littlest, insignificant things. And she was so open about her feelings, so easy to read. When she was happy, she was fiercly so, and when she was sad… well, she sure was sad.

She sure wears her heart on her sleeve,he thought, watching her now. I wish more people around here would.

The Zanarkand night sky shone a hazy blue and orange. Tidus and Yuna talked quietly to each other, reflecting proudly how neatly their plan had been carried out. In moments of silence Yuna seemed to content to walk alongside him and turn her gaze to the stars.

When he was younger he used to look at the stars with his old man as they walked back from the Blitzball together. One particular memory was almost painfully sharp in his mind. On a night when his father had seemed uncharacteristically dreamy, Tidus had remarked something about the stars being nothing but white dots in the sky.

Boy, his father had said in that rough rasp of his, and had clipped Tidus on the ear, don't you go being disrespectful. Tidus remembered scowling at that. Those ain't dots. You're looking at another Spira right there, and another one over there, and there. And on that other Spira there's a guy just like me pointing out this Spira to his crybaby kid.

Tidus had looked at the stars a little differently from then on. Back then, no matter how rocky their relationship might have been, he thought that between them there was still some semblance of… well, of love. An unspoken love maybe, a reserved and guarded love, but love nonetheless. Back then…

Back then was a long time ago, and since his father had returned from his 'journey', the stars had long since become white dots again.

Tidus had learned then if he was going to get anywhere in the world, he would have to get there without his old man's help. He started practicing Blitz in his own time, telling himself he trained because he loved Blitzball so much, not because he wanted to prove something to Jecht. Then, one year ago, all his training had paid off when he was accepted into the Zanarkand Abes, the most successful team in Spiran history.

When they passed the two grand stone statues at the gate, Yuna asked him who they were.

"That one on the right there is Durren, probably the best damn Blitz player that ever lived. And the guy on the left is Lord Ohalland," he informed her.

"Lord Ohalland was a Summoner from Kilika," said Yuna, apparently confused. "Were there two?"

"Nope, they're one and the same. Lord Ohalland was an awesome Blitzer before he was a Summoner – believe me, I've seen some of his old Spheres."

For some reason, Yuna seemed faintly amused by that. "A Blitzball player… and a Summoner?"

"That's right," he said distractedly, thinking more of what waited ahead. "Okay, Yuna. This is it. Close your eyes… take my hand."

She glanced at him for a moment, curious. But after a moment she placed her soft hand warm against his palm and allowed him to lead her.

The groundskeeper had left the entrance open for him, as he had asked. Tidus briefly wondered who was more nervous at that moment, he or Yuna. ProbablyYuna, he thought, stifling laughter. Slowly he bent towards her and put his mouth to her ear; strands of her hair tickled his nose.

"Okay," he said softly, "open up."

He had timed it quite magnificently. The white lights of the stadium and Yuna's visage lit up almost simultaneously, and Tidus could not have said which was more beautiful.

"Oh, Tidus…" Her voice was wistful, and softer than Tidus could have believed. Lights surrounded them on all sides; blinding them, wrapping them in a crushing embrace. Before them, the great gaping hole of the dimantled Blitzball field surrounded by silver railing, and above nothing but the open sky. Yuna's hand rested over her heart, and her eyes seemed to shimmer in the white glow. Suddenly he thought she might cry, and grew uncomfortable at the thought.

Instead, she did the last thing he expected, and took off at a run.

Tidus bolted after her as she headed for the centre of the stadium, that yawning open field, that gaping emptiness. "Woah, hold your chocobos!"

When she reached the centre, she planted one boot, then another, on the lowest bar of the railing, wrapped her hands around the highest bar, and leaned low over the edge. Her head disappeared over the other side under a curtain of fine brown hair.

"Yuna!" he said in horror. He had done the same thing himself countless times – hung over the railing like an excited child - but for some reason it was quite a different situation when a girl like Yuna chose to do it. In an instant he understood why Lulu pulled him back all the time.

Reaching her, he gripped her arm and firmly jerked her back, his heart pounding.

"That's amazing!" she cried. "Amazing!" Her eyes sparkled with mirth above her wide smile, and she put her hands on his shoulders as he helped her climb down from the railing.

He kept a firm grip on her upper arm as his nerves settled, and this time she didn't even seem to notice. She had a nervous reaction at times, when he touched her. It made him wonder how much contact she had had with boys back on Besaid.

Tidus couldn't help but let loose a burst of nervous laughter as the last of his panic fled and have way to relief. After a moment she joined him, until they were both clutching their sides to stop from shaking.

"Here, Yuna," he said, when their laughter had finally subsided, grasping her by the shoulders and gently spinning her around. "Let me give you the proper tour. That's the machina that lets the water out," he explained, pointing. "When the wheel turns, the energy gathers in the middle and creates the field. And there, look - the players stand around that platform while the field is being filled."

"So close…" she murmured in wonderment. "Doesn't the water hit you at all?"

"Yeah, it does," he grinned. "But it feels good."

She closed her eyes then, and Tidus wondered if she was imagining how it might feel. He hadn't known Yuna very long, but somehow it seemed the sort of thing she would do.

"I don't think I've ever felt so small," she commented in a faraway voice. She sounded so sad that Tidus wondered if she meant more than what she said. The mirth that had glittered in her eyes just moments ago had dimmed.

He turned himself around to lean on the railing and casually crossed one leg over the other. "It's different when the stadium is full, Yuna. See all those benches? When they're filled with screaming Blitzball fans… you get so caught up in the moment. There are so many people that you just feel like… a part of everything. Like you're all one person." He smiled. "So… wanna pick a seat, Yuna? Yuna?"

When he saw the look on her face, he reflected happily that she probably hadn't even heard him.

Yuna

In the end, she picked the highest seats in the whole stadium.

Tidus told her that when a game was playing, it was better to grab the lower seats since they gave you a clearer view of the players and all the intricacies of the moves. But for now he agreed with her that their current altitude provided 'one hell of a view', as he so delicately put. I feel like I can see forever…

She wished her father could see it. Gods, she wished everybody could see it.

They sat together telling each other stories for a very long time. She told him about Besaid, and he told her about Blitzball and the stadium and life in Zanarkand. Mostly Tidus talked and she listened, asking pointed questions when he paused for breath, which he seemed more than happy to answer.

"Then I tried out for the Abes about a year past, and I've been with them ever since," he finished, arms now stretched languorously behind his head.

"Do you have to do a lot of training?" she asked him, shyly.

He shrugged. "Depends on the time of year, I guess. But I mean, usually, yeah, we do. Wakka's got us all on the hop at the moment 'cause the Spiran Cup is about to start."

"Some of the boys on Besaid used to talk about that," she remembered. "The ones in our Blitzball team."

"The Besaid Aurochs, right?"

He chuckled at her reaction. "I looked them up when I got home," he explained. "Unfortunately they uhh… haven't been doing too well these past couple of years."

"I can quite believe it," Yuna told him. Father did always say those boys had more confidence than sense. "I think they spent more time boasting than practicing."

They laughed, and the little joke faded.

"So what about you, Yuna?" he asked, and she looked at him questioningly. "What do you do with your time?"

So then, it is time for the truth to out, as father would say.Yuna had pondered telling him up front for several days now, but in the end, decided to wait until he asked. "I'm a Sender."

"Wow…" he said, eyes widening, "You're like… a Summoner?"

"No," she smiled and shook her head. "Spira has no need of Summoners anymore, since Lord Braska defeated Sin and brought us the Eternal Calm. But when there was no longer a need for Summoners, I decided to serve Spira by learning the Sending, instead. 'The dead still need guidance to reach the Farplane,'" she quoted,"'or spirits linger and become Fiends.'"

"When I was twelve, I saw a woman perform a Sending in Luca. It's like a sort of… dance, isn't it? It was really… pretty."

"Mm," she inclined her head. "Many people say so, but it will never be beautiful to me. Even when I learned the dance from my instructor, and I was the one watching, I never thought so."

He leaned back in his seat. "Huh. I never thought of it like that. I guess it's a whole different Blitzgame for the people actually doing the Sending."

He seemed to muse wisely on this for a while. She broke the silence by asking "The Sending you saw. Was it a land ceremony, or a water ceremony, or…?"

"A water ceremony?" he interrupted, laughing. "How can you dance underwater? There's too much pressure."

"Not underwater, on the water," she corrected.

"You can walk on water?" he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright.

"Yes, when the Sending requires it." Noticing his awed expression she added, "But it's no different from your holding your breath for a long time when you play Blitzball."

"It's completely different!" he protested. "Holding your breath is easy, once you get the hang of it – it just takes a few tricks. But walking on water? That's practically impossible!"

"Just like holding your breath for ten whole minutes seems impossible to me," she pointed out.

Tidus just shook his head in disbelief, his blue eyes so adorably confused that she felt a rush of affection for him. I may know little about his world… but he knows even less about mine, I fear.

"When I perform the Sending," she explained patiently, "I have to concentrate not only on my purpose, but also on my moves, my rhythm, my balance, where to send my arms and legs…"

"Are you still talking about the Sending?" One of his dark eyebrows was raised, and his grin was playful, though she couldn't have said why.

"Yes," said Yuna, furrowing her brow. "What did you think I was talking about?"

"Never mind," he grinned, with a soft shake of his golden head. "You know, I think I know what you mean. When you play Blitzball, you have to… put your mind in two places at once. Kinda like… being asleep and awake at the same time."

Yuna could not help but love the sound of his voice. It was always warm, but with a mischievous, boyish edge that was just innocent enough to be charming. And he was so confident, too, as though he knew some secret that the rest of the world didn't.

"Exactly."

"Hey, could you teach me to walk on water? I bet Gippal's mouth would drop right open."

She giggled. "It would take a long time."

"Like, how long?" he asked casually, flashing her a smile that seemed to say 'try me.'

"Well, how long would it take for you to teach me to be an expert Blitzball player?"

"Huh. That long, huh?"

She smacked him on the arm, playfully, and was about to say she probably wouldn't make much of herself in Blitzball anyway, when the machina on his wrist suddenly made a sound.

"I think your machina is talking," she quipped. When he laughed in response, she almost blushed.

She liked everything about him, she realised. But then, it was difficult not to like him, and the very sunshine and laughter of him. He is approachable, confident, and yet, somehow… childlike. Everything a young boy ought to be. And yet… somehow she wondered if her father would approve.

"Gods, Yuna! It's nearly morning," Tidus revealed, blue eyes wide. "We've talked all night!"

Yuna was delighted.

Tidus

"You're yawning, Yuna!"

His tone was mock-accusatory, but he smiled fondly at her through his words. Her eyelashes fluttered tiredly, and her pace was slowing to a sluggish gait.

"I'm not…" she protested, yawning.

"This is no good," he scolded playfully. "You'll never fit in here if you snooze! Zanarkand never sleeps, remember?"

It was funny - he couldn't remember the last time he had felt this quietly comfortable, this at ease. Not even in the company of his closest friends. But then, he reflected, Yuna was quite unlike any of them; she was a better listener than Rikku, less unapproachable than Lulu, more trustworthy than Gippal and more perceptive of his moods than Wakka.

Infact, she had quite possibly the sweetest nature of anyone he had ever met. Almost… except…

"Do you think I can?"

"Can what?" he frowned. Her voice had been so small that he almost didn't hear her.

"Fit in."

She looked up at him then, and her expression was dismayed and distant and a hundred more emotions that he couldn't have listed if he had a thousand years to do it.

It was at that moment that he realised that all this - everything he had been doing - was no longer about indulging the whims of some lonely girl. It was no longer about feeling sympathy for her, about giving her someone to talk to, about making a pretty girl laugh. It was much bigger than that. This sadness has to stop.

And with that thought came a sudden impulse. Tidus brought his arms up and grasped her shoulders, stopping her in the street.

"You definitely can, Yuna," he told her firmly. I'll make sure of it.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

NEXT CHAPTER: Yuna sees her first Blitzball game, but there's no Tidus to see that she gets there.

THIS CHAPTER – I was disappointed with the Tidus and Gippal scene, it was very rushed and just didn't flow at all. The chapter as a whole was the longest yet… it was going to be even longer, but I decided to cut an unfinished bit off the end for the sake of finally posting this. It was also a very quiet, uneventful sort of chapter, I'm sure you noticed. But they need to figure each other out before their relationship can develop.