Chapter 12: Bitter sweet.

Tidus kicked the stones on the path.

Seymour! The bastard! He walked to the beech. He had been so happy the last time he was here.

He had told Yuna he had loved her.

Did he still love her?

Yes! Of coarse he did!

Did he? He collapsed onto the sand.

"Things getting tough?" Tidus looked up. His father was stood over him.

"Yeah!" Jecht sat next to him.

"Spill,"

"Never thought you were good at psychology," He muttered. He told him anyway. His father nodded.

"She loves you mate! She thought it was you. It was you she was loving not him,"

"Yes but she slept with another bloke. What if she's pregnant?"

"So you're going to let Seymour win? He wanted revenge. Now he's turned you against her. I honestly don't think she could handle that. Now she's got you back," Tidus turned to look at him.

"Mum wanted you back,"

"Yeah, I know I know," Jecht sighed, "I wanted to go back and see her and you! I wanted to see you grow up,"

"What went wrong?"

"I couldn't get back, I never gave up trying. When I found out I wasn't real, like you did. I agreed to becoming Braska's Fayth. At least I was doing something useful and not being a jerk," Tidus laughed. "Maybe that's another reason I agreed to being Braska's Fayth. Maybe I could get back to Zanarkand that way. Well...you know the rest."

"Yeah," Jecht smiled at him.

"I'm proud of you son! You got back to the person you cared about. I couldn't and I'm sorry," Tidus felt embarrassed. His father had never really been like this before.

"Anyway, you and Yuna. She's been through alot Ti. She lost her father, was willing to sacrifice herself to destroy Sin, ended up sacrificing you, got you back but it wasn't you and now she has got you back and your in a piss with her,"

"I know! I know! I don't want to hurt her but...what am I going to do?" Jecht pondered for a while.

"She just wants you to love her and tell her it will be ok," He concluded.

"But it's not going to be ok! She could have a baby! And I'm not the father! I wanted kids with her you know! I wanted it to be normal!" He had sprung to his feet and was stamping his feet. He turned.

His father was gone.

"Cheers!" He yelled.

Rikku stared at her cousin. Lulu had insisted on moving them to her hut, she had gone to collect Chadus from the Aurochs.

She and Yuna were sat on the bed staring. This was going to be a long month.

"When was it last?"

"Three weeks ago," Rikku nodded.

One more week then they should know.

It was all Gippal's fault! And Paine! They let Yuna bring Seymour back. If they hadn't Tidus would be back anyway and Yuna wouldn't be in this mess.

But would Yuna have lasted this long? If Seymour hadn't come to her in a dream, Yuna would still be seriously ill. She still was but she was getting better.

"We could always..." She began.

"We could what?" Yuna asked.

"You kno...get rid of it," Yuna gasped.

"Rikku!" Rikku shrugged.

"It's an option. Tidus would be happy," Yuna turned her face away.

"He's gone Ri. He left in the morning!"

"What! He disappeared?"

"No! He left. I told him and he went,"

"He could still be here!" Rikku leaped up. She ran leaving Yuna in the hut. Yuna yelled after her, but Rikku ignored her. She had to find Tidus. He couldn't leave Yuna like this! All men were sods! Sods sods sods. They were pathetic crawling, scheming liars! Gippal was the worst! He was a... She ran smack into someone.

"Rikku!"

'Think of the devil...that doesn't make sense!'

Gippal was staring at her a mix of happiness and sadness, if that was possible, on his face. She tried to push past him, she had to find Tidus! She had to help Yuna. He kept blocking her way.

"Get out of my way!" She spat. He looked sad. She pushed. He was so close, she didn't like it. He was too close, she could nearly feel his breath on her face.

"Ri. Listen to me please," He caught hold of her hand.

That was too much.

She burst into tears.

"Why? Why did you lie? Why did you trick us?" He looked ashamed. He held her by the elbows. She didn't fight anymore. She didn't want to. She wanted him to say what Yuna wanted Tidus to say, that it would be ok, that he loved her and it would all be alright.

"Barali had been Seymour's apprentice to become a maester. He didn't know about Lord Jyscal. He was in hiding see. He had fallen in love with Paine. He met her around three years ago. Anyway, Seymour wasn't too happy about that. He said that Paine would be dead, if he married her. Barali knew other things about Seymour that he still won't tell us. Now we know why. Seymour was still carrying out his threat, in the dead," He chuckled harshly.

"When Seymour died. He married Paine and became in charge of Bevelle. Then Seymour began to come for him. In dreams, vivid visions. Barali often woke up with blood pouring out of his mouth or some wound of some sort. Then he came up with an idea. He would bring Seymour back, but he would kill him trap his spirit in a black sphere then destroy him. But Seymour insisted that Yuna bring him back. So Barali sent us with the sphere. We didn't know that he would come in this Tidus' form,"

He looked at Rikku apologetically. She looked up at him. He was telling her the truth. She could see it. She nodded at him.

"Tidus has gone now. The real Tidus. Yuna slept with Seymour. The silly cow told him," Gippal looked even more apologetic.

"You want me to talk to him?" Rikku looked up at him, it could be one of those 'guy' things. She nodded and smiled at him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"I love you Rikku," She smiled into his neck. She loved him to, but she wasn't ready to tell him. She wasn't ready to be vulnerable. She patted his back in a manly way which made him laugh. He kissed her on the cheek and jogged off to find Tidus.

He found him on the beach. Sat in the white sand. Gippal approached him carefully.

He knew he would be pissed if he found out what happened to Yuna had happened to Rikku.

"Hey. You Ok mate?" He found himself pinned against the cliff face.

"You sick bastard!" Tidus spat. "How dare you do that to her! How dare you! You're as bad as Seymour!" Gippal fought back at this point. He twisted Tidus' hands around and was holding them behind his back.

"You have no idea what was going on! We were going to destroy him! We didn't know he was going to impersonate you! Now Rikku sent me to come and talk to you and I hope you bloody well listen!" Tidus shook him off and glared at him. Gippal ran his hands through his hair.

"I understand why your pissed off mate,"

"You have no idea!"

"If it happened to Rikku I would be just like you. Yuna didn't know. She thought it was you. Rikku says she's confused at the moment. She thinks you've gone," Tidus felt his face fall. Yuna thought he had abandoned her! He hit the side of the cliff face.

"Whoa! Ok! Well...she needs you mate. Rikku said she was dying before her first dream of you,"

"But it wasn't me! It was that sod!" Gippal nodded.

"How can I make things better again? She could be pregnant! I'll see his kid calling me daddy every day! What am I meant to do? 'Sorry kid, I'm not your Papa. Your Pop was a bastard who seduced your mum and we both hate his arse?'"

Gippal looked sympathetic.

"I think the best thing you can do at the moment is be there for her," Tidus nodded. Gippal patted his shoulder. Tidus shrugged him off.

Tidus stomped to the village. Rikku was leaning outside of Wakka and Lulu's hut.

She spotted him and socked him. Tidus reeled back, holding his cheek.

"You walk off on her again and I kill you!" She hissed to him.

She thundered to Gippal who had seen the whole thing. He gave Tidus an apologetic look before hugging her and reassuring her.

Tidus took a peep into the hut. Yuna was laid there on her back, staring at the ceiling. Tear tracks trickled down her face. He didn't know what to do. He pondered a moment and looked at her again. He clenched his fists. Yuna was always crying now. It was so unfair.

He took a deep breath and tiptoed in. She sat up when he walked in. Her face pleading with him. He sat on the edge of the bed. They both sat there for a moment in silence. He held out his arms to her and held her. She cried on his shoulder while he stroked her long hair. He whispered soothing words into her ear. She cried harder. Gently he held her away to look at her face.

"I'm sorry," He whispered. Yuna stroked his face shyly. Tidus felt himself cry.

She would forgive him in half a second. She had nearly wasted away because he wasn't there. He had abandoned her and she had welcomed him with open arms. She was always giving to him and never expecting anything in return. He had hurt her so many times and she still loved him. He felt her fingers wiping away his tears. She looked sad too.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked. He stroked her hair, her face.

"Love me," He whispered. He didn't understand how she could love him. No one had ever been like that. His mother had always ignored him whenever his father had been around. She laughed.

"Always," She smiled. She stroked his golden hair. "But...that wasn't what I was referring to," He nodded. He took her hands away from his face and kissed them.

"What do you want to do?" He asked. She thought for a moment.

"I want this to all go away! I can't kill a baby! I'm sorry but I can't! But I don't want to loose you either. I want it to be your baby, if I'm having one. I just...just..." Tears were welling up in her eyes again.

"Shhhhhhhh. Shhhhhhhh," He held her too him again. He stroked her hair again. He gently pushed her back onto the covers. She looked abit startled at first. He shook his head at the question in her eyes.

"I just want to hold you," He whispered. She looked relieved and snuggled as close as her skin would allow. They held each other tightly.

When Lulu and Wakka returned they found them sleeping on the bed.

Yuna lay in his arms, her forehead pressed against his lips.

His tears drenching her hair.