A/N: as a cute lil' disclaimer, I own nothing! Nothing but the fluff balls in my head. I hope this sounds as good now as it did in my head. . .

* * * *

Empty. That was the only word for the feeling. It was excruciating, knowing that she couldn't have him back. Knowing that what they'd shared was a limited time offer, and it had expired. The months following his disappearance were caught in a blur. She'd emerged herself straight into the work of getting everyone's lives back to normal. But now that there was nothing to do, she had more time. More time to think, more time to cry.

Yuna had tried every big project she could immerse herself in. She read books upon books, and tried everything that would take her mind away. But everything led back to him.

The sun was setting outside, and her giant bay window was catching the most beautiful view of the gorgeous last shades of deep orange and red, glittering in tiny miracles on the water. But she just lay on the floor, not even facing the window but lying in the glorious shades of light it provided to the already gorgeous room. Translucent aqua-colored material hung all over the walls, creating a feel that the entire room was inviting. The bed stood, messily organized, looking inviting in it's shades of blue and yellow. Every color in this room was a color that reminded her of the ocean. Or of memories of her Tidus, and his element. If she would have had pictures of him, they would have been hung everywhere in this room.

The hardwood floor glossed with the tints of orange and aqua, but she remained still. Her heart was unmoved by the beauty and apparent comfort of her surroundings. Large glass windows and shiny floors weren't anything to fall in love with. The only thing that made her feel was Tidus. He was the air she breathed, and she felt like someone had just shut off her air supply.

Tears ran silently down her cheeks. It was a lonely feeling, more lonely than she could bear. What was the use of standing when she had no one to run to? But she stood anyway, and made her way slowly to the comfort of her bed. Everyone thought she was fine at first, because she'd found ways to focus her energy and use it all up, so the only time she had to think about him was in the only place he existed to her anymore: in her dreams.

Her tears had left a tiny shimmering puddle on the floor, and her pillow was about to suffer the same fate. Like every night since the time when she had nothing left to do, she cried over him. And there was nothing she could do but dream of being with him. To dream and whistle and let her insides scream 'it's just not fair!'.

"Tidus. . . why did you have to go. . . why? Why was it so easy for you to leave? Why is it so hard for me to stay in one piece without you?" she cried and sniffled and rolled over in her humongous bed. Everything seemed so huge and meaningless.

It was like what Tidus had said. . .something about when a lovebird dies, the other one gives up living to join it's mate. That's what it felt like. She just wanted to be with him, and there was no point in breathing when she couldn't be with him.

"I need you."

* * * *

Tidus stretched out on his favorite patch of grass in the farplane, wondering what Yuna was up to. He didn't often like to peek in on her life, regardless. Every once in a while he'd slip watch her. It was painful, though. He didn't know that heaven was supposed to be that way. He never knew it was allowed to cry. But he was always being reprimanded by his father for doing things like that. He couldn't let her go.

Every once in a while he could hear her voice, speaking to him. It came from six different places, echoing around his head like a distant memory. She hadn't spoken so often at first, but lately he could hear bits and phrases. Everything was painful, and he could tell that she felt it too. The way her voice was always so weak.

Lazily thinking about her now, her voice came.

"Tidus.. .. Why did you have to go. . to go. . . why? Why was it so easy for you to leave? Why is it so hard for me to stay in one piece without you. . . without you?"

And now it was agonizing for him, tears rolling down his cheeks. He could hear every twinge of pain in her voice. She sounded so worn. She sounded so sad.

"I need you. . need you. ." her voice echoed in the air around him, although he was the only one who could hear it. With that he sat up and looked around him. He was one of the few who was always in a physical shape. Usually they preferred to wander about shapeless, twisting themselves with their loved ones, and looking like beautiful stardust and feeling so completely peaceful.

The ones who had been called to farplane early, like himself and children and other teenagers, wandered around trying to find out what happened. He felt kind of silly to be stereotyped with everyone else. Not only was he the star player of the Zanarkand Abes (sort of) he was the guardian who had helped to defeat Sin, once and forever. Maybe it wasn't so bad, after all.

He figured that Yuna was sure to be sleeping soon. Although he didn't need the sleep, he loved to dream with her. It was the only thing they really had together. She didn't know that the dreams were woven by him, but she knew it was the best and only place she could see him. He looked up and around him, making sure Jecht wasn't around (because he considered the dreams silly and a waste of time) before lying back on the grass and falling asleep.

* * * *

Even in her sleep she knew it would be a happy dream as she saw Tidus walking towards her a little shyly, smiling a little and brushing his hair back with his hand.

He was the reason she slept, and this was the best part of her day: dreaming.

She whistled, and he came running toward her before throwing his arms around her.

"This is what we should have had," she whispered.

"Ssssh. . . you don't dream long enough to waste the time on words," he said gently back pressing his lips to hers. . .

* * * *

She opened her eyes the next morning and ran a finger over her lips. Every morning, she could still feel the dream-kisses that had been pressed against her lips. She wiped a small tear out of her eyes and threw the covers off of her legs, determined to get through the day.

Yuna walked over to the window to look at the water shimmering in it's completely oblivious perfection. It was oblivious to the way she was always aching when she saw it, the way it always lead to thoughts of Tidus. But instead of crying, she decided to put herself together and try to be happy. Even though her conscience told her it wouldn't do any good, she whistled. And every tone screamed in a desperate tone, like a love bird cries out for it's lost mate.

The mirror in her bathroom didn't make her feel as beautiful as it should have. Every time she looked, though, she thought that Tidus must have thought she was beautiful. Tidus must have seen something in that girl. Her hair was a little longer now, but she looked mostly the same. Her eyes were the same, her lips, her face, her body. She looked questioningly at the girl staring back at her as she tied her hair back, leaving a few strands of bangs out. Tidus thought that girl was beautiful, but as she looked all she saw was someone helpless and sad.

She slammed her hand onto the mirror and looked down, tears falling into the sink. Tiny drops of saltwater slid down the sides of the dark blue marble, and her sobs echoed around her in the turquoise shades of the lonely room.

"I can't feel beautiful without you. . . Tidus, I need you!" she coughed her words out between sobs, still incredibly ashamed of being so weak. She didn't feel like there was any point left in fighting this battle. She was still losing, and she was losing terribly.

But she stood up straight, and wiped the tears away, and looked one more time into the mirror. She smiled a little, and tried to find some type of honesty through all of the sadness. She failed, and turned to walk out. Down the stairs and out the door, still barefoot, she went to face the day.