Chapter 5: Reunion At Macalania

          He had been traveling for two days already and he still hasn't received any word from Kimahri. He would have expected him to be searching left and right for him…

          He had just exited the Thunder Planes, which was in itself quite an entertaining place, now that he could sense when the bolts came down… well… lets just say he'll need no more dancing lessons…

          Now, he made his way towards the wooded area ahead. He could suddenly smell water ahead. But this smell though, was… different…

          It hit him then. The smells of the forest and the water, the sounds, the feel of this place…

          'Dear god…' he thought, and instantly knew that he'd get no more traveling done today. The memories, the tears, they were weighing down on him… he had arrived at Macalania.

          He made his way to the forest and through the clearing, running into the occasional fiend. Five minutes later, he arrived at his destination: Macalania Lake.

          He stopped before the lake, taking in everything he could, the familiar smell, the feel of the calmness around him… so many memories.

          He felt a single tear escape the confines of his sash and wiped it away quickly.

          "Damn it boy, get it through your head!" he whispered to himself. "She'd do better without you in this state! Better to forget about her… yeah…"

          He settled down for a second before he started to set up camp, thanking whatever higher being the people worshiped nowadays for letting him stop by at the Thunder Plains item shop for more supplies.

          He stopped for a moment to listen to the sounds around him. After a few minutes, he determined that indeed, it was night.

          "Oh well," he muttered to himself. "No use wondering about the past."

          He laid down in the sleeping bag on the ground and fell asleep… or at least… he tried too. After two fruitless hours, he gave up. Thoughts of Yuna and their escapade in the lake were haunting him, plaguing his every thought.

          "Yuna…" he whispered, "I wish I can be with you… but not like this… not like this…"

          He sighed as he felt the burden within him get heavier as he pinned for his other half. 'If only this didn't happen… if only I could still see…'

          Yuna was almost out of breath. She thanked whatever higher being was up there that the receptionist at the Thunder Plains item shop had recognized Tidus, even with his changed appearance. What struck her odd though, was the strange behavior that Tidus had displayed. He was obviously wearing that sash over his eyes again, not that she hasn't seen him without it in her dreams, and neither in real life…

          Ever since then she had doubled her pace, doubled her speed, hoping to catch up with Tidus soon. Shadow trotted next to Yuna, apparently happy that it was on it's way to being reunited with his old master.

          She decided to break once she reached Macalania Forest, wanting to regain her strength before moving onward. She stopped at the entrance of the forest and sat down at the base of a nearby tree. She then let her mind drift, bringing back fond memories… she could remember when she first came through here… the scene at Macalania Lake played through her mind… that kiss… her first kiss… that was astronomical… she could still remember how it felt to have his lips on her… the feeling of comfort coming off of him, embracing and surrounding her…

          She sighed, not knowing what to think now. She wasn't dumb, and knew that Tidus was avoiding her for some reason… she just needed to know why…

          A sudden movement caught her eye. Shadow's head had snapped up and was sniffing the air around him. He barked loudly and jumped up.

          "Shadow?" she questioned. "What's…" before she finished the thought, Shadow let out a piercing howl and made a dash for the woods.

          Tidus found himself kneeling down next to the lake, drinking it's crystal clear waters when he nearly choked at what he heard. That howl, he'd recognized it anywhere… but what got to him was the voice that came after.

          "Shadow! Slow down or you'll be dragging me not pulling me!"

          He started shaking uncontrollably. That was clearly Yuna's voice…

          'Okay T-man, think! How can you avoid Yuna this time… think!'

          Then it came to him, the lake! He took out Caladbolg and swung it several times to get it to resonate, then quickly swam and dove into the water. As a former blitzball player, he could hold his breath for a long time. He then realized that as long as he kept Caladbolg resonating, he could hear and visualize better in the water! He was literally submerged in sound!

          He waited and waited, until he felt the disturbance. He froze in place, not knowing what to do… he could tell that it was human, and felt it coming closer… but… it couldn't be…

          He jumped as he felt arms wrap around him and quickly scrambled away, surfacing fast. He heard the other person surface next to him, and froze. That contact told him everything…

          "Yuna…"

          "Hello Tidus," she said. He winced at the venom that came from her voice. She was obviously pissed…

          "… wow. I, uh, didn't expect to see you…"

          "Shut up," she snapped quietly. Tidus shut his mouth and didn't make a sound. He knew that this was it. This was the moment he was hoping would never come. The moment he would have to burden her with the truths he so desperately tried to hide.

          "How long, Tidus? How long has it been since you came back? And I want the truth too! I can tell when you lie…"

          He sighed. He was caught. 'It's now or never kid,' he thought.

          "Three years, Yuna. Three years," he said.

          There was silence before…

          *WHAP*

          Tidus's head snapped to his right as he felt the painful contact of Yuna's palm on his cheek. 'That connected… but I could feel it coming though… why didn't I stop it?'

          -Because you deserve the pain.- The voice of reason. He hated it.

          "All this time…" whispered Yuna. "All this time, you've been here… and you didn't even try to look for me?"

          "Believe me Yuna, I did try. I would've kept trying…"

          "BULLSHIT! THAT'S BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT! I WANNA KNOW WHY YOU'VE BEEN AVOIDING ME TIDUS, AND I WANT TO KNOW NOW!"

          He felt himself wince. His spirits were being crushed by the second, and he knew the time has come. 'You deserve pain… you deserve pain…'

          "Yuna… I'm blind," he whispered.

          "What was that?" she asked menacingly. Tidus scowled. Was she that daft?

          "*growl* Jeez Yuna, I'm BLIND! WHAT PART OF THAT CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

          He heard a gasp. Obviously she didn't expect that remark. 'Damn airhead… maybe Rikku's being a bad influence on her…'

          He shook his head in disbelief and moved Caladbolg around, making it resonate enough to show him where the shore was, and started swimming towards it. He reached it and started to round the edge of the lake. He heard footsteps behind him and knew that Yuna was following him. He sighed as he reached his encampment and sat down on a log near the fire.

          "Tidus?" he heard. His heart panged for a moment and started to feel sorry for her. Her voice was quivering. She truly didn't know that he was blind…

          "*sigh* I'm sorry Yuna. I really had no right to snap at you like I did," he said. He heard her come closer to the point of him feeling her body heat coming off of her.

          "No Tidus," she said. Her voice… it sounded so soothing… "I'm the one who should apologize… I should have realized it the first time I saw that sash on you… I was just too stupid to see… I blinded myself from the truth…"

          He could feel her gaze burn into him as he lowered his head in shame. 'You deserve this pain… you deserve this pain… you deserve-'

          His thoughts were cut off there as he felt her touch his cheek soothingly. He let her guide his head up and suddenly felt a foreign presence on his lips.

          He felt the contact sever as soon as it came and sighed. "Yuna, I can't do this… not anymore…"

          He heard nothing but silence for a few seconds before he heard her. "Why?"

          He sighed. "All blind men carry a heavy burden within them. It's something that can't be shared, because no one else understands it Yuna. If my being blind isn't enough of a reason, then that should be plenty."

          "No Tidus… those aren't reasons at all, those are just excuses," said Yuna. "Tidus, I want to be with you. I want to share your pain and your burdens. It's my choice if I want to stay with you, I'm also a grown woman."

          "Yuna," he said. "I can't do it. It hurts too much." He paused to hold back tears. He'd be damned if he caught himself crying now. "I know you're there, I can practically feel you here… but I can't see you. I won't be able to see the sun rise and set with you anymore. I won't be able to tell if you did your hair, or did something special with yourself. I… I don't know if I can live with that Yuna… and our promise too. I promised to take you back to the Moonflow to see the pyreflies with you at night… now I can't even keep that promise…"

          He heard Yuna sigh. He nearly sighed himself. This was exhausting him and he'd have to give in soon if Yuna didn't lay off soon.

          "Tidus… I know this brings obstacles… and I may be related to Rikku, but that doesn't mean I'm daft either," she started, and smile to see a grin pop up on his face. "I know that this will be difficult for both of us, but trust me when I say we can make it work. I'll… have to get used to the new changes, but I'm willing to try Tidus. We've done the impossible before, I don't see (A/N: excuse the pun) why we can't make this work. Tidus… I love you. I always have, and I just want you to know that I'd do anything for you… anything at all…"

          He lowered his head slightly and let the silence sit there for a few moments before answering. "Yuna… I'm no one to stop you. If you really want to stay with me, I won't stop it… I love you too Yuna, but I just don't want to have you suffer because of me. If you really want to stay with me, I'll warn you now: one of the reasons we're so difficult to deal with is because of our beliefs that despite what we may have now, in the end, we really have nothing left to loose… understand, that it won't be as hard as you think… it'll be much worse… the burdens you'll partake in won't be for the weak at heart…"

          He sighed, knowing that his little speech wasn't working. He finally relented. "I just hope you know what you're getting into Yuna."

          He felt her squeal and then nearly felt deflated as Yuna enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. This time though, he returned the embrace with equal enthusiasm. The hug loosened a bit and then he felt a sudden wetness, and that's when he heard it. Sobs, sniffling… Yuna was crying.

          He tightened his hold on her and whispered soothing words into her ears as her sobs died down. He smiled a genuine smile for the first time in three years, not a grin, but a genuine smile.

          After a while of staying in the embrace he felt Yuna shift and could tell she was staring at him again. "Tidus… can I ask a favor?"

          "Anything for you Yuna," he whispered.

          "You don't have to if you don't want to… I don't even know if I should…"

          "Just ask me Yuna… you know I can't say no to you…"

          "… take off that sash… even if it's just for a moment… I want to see you're eyes again…"

          Tidus sighed. He broke the embrace and stepped back. "I'll do it for you Yuna… but I doubt you'll like what you'll see," he said. He reached back and started to undo the knot behind him. After a few seconds of fussing with it, he closed his eyes, and took it off.

          He heard her walk close and felt her hand on his cheek, caressing it. "You don't have too…"

          "No. It's about time I did this anyway… it's just hard, is all…"

          "That's okay… we'll get through it together…"

          That was all the reassurance that he needed. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and she gasped.

          White… nothing but white… there was some of the aqua blue that she fell in love with years back… but now it was hardly noticeable… it was almost completely white.

          "Oh, Tidus…" she whispered. She couldn't hold herself back anymore and leaned forward and upward, kissing him lightly at first, and slowly making it more passionate. This time around, he responded, kissing her back with equal desire. They have been apart for far too long. Off in the distance, poor Shadow had to keep his eyes covered with his paws, not at all used to the activity that they were about to engage in.

          They both lost themselves in each other that night, both merging their bodies, hearts, and souls into one complete entity… that night, their love was know…

          To Be Continued…

          A/N: *Revised – 08/28/03* Hey, they finally reunited! What will happen now? … well, only I know that… MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA! If you thought that was fluff, wait until the future chapters… more angst coming too, if that's what gets your mojo flowing. So I guess that's it. Keep reading, keep reviewing, and until next time, I'll be watching you…