26. Dandelions and Lemonade
As Tidus approached the door to Yuna's house, he swallowed hard and cleared his throat. Dumbass, why are you nervous? Okay, it's not like she's going to kill you…Just keep your hormones in check so you don't pounce on her and there won't be any problems…
He lifted his hand to knock on the door, but froze while his hand was in midair. Realizing that he was being ridiculous, he closed his eyes and knocked carefully on the door. After what seemed like hours, he could hear the bolt release and the door knob turned, revealing Yuna.
"Hey." His voice cracked slightly as she opened the door for him, and his cheeks promptly turned red. He held his books in one hand and shifted his weight nervously on his feet as he cleared his throat and looked at her. She had a grim look on her face, but attempted a half hearted smile when she saw him. He was slightly perplexed by her expression and he couldn't tell if she really wanted to see him or not. He ran over after blitz, so his hair was still wet from his shower. Yuna only showered after practice and didn't really bother to look nice. She had on a tank top, jeans, her hair was still wet in a ponytail, and didn't bother to wear makeup.
"Hi." Her tone was icy as she moved out the way so he could enter her house. He started to take off his shoes when Yuna stopped him. "Oh, don't even bother."
"Well, I feel bad walking through your house with my shoes." Yuna shrugged her shoulders as Braska peeked his head out from the kitchen area.
"Hey there, Tidus! I thought I recognized your voice." He walked over to them and shook Tidus' hand. Holy shit, he knows my name...Tidus instantly became more nervous as he looked at Yuna's father. He bit his lip and looked over at Yuna, who was only looking off to the side. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, how about yourself, sir?"
Sir...Yuna thought as her father and Tidus made small talk. That's him sucking up to my dad. I don't really like how much daddy likes him, but it's because Tidus puts on a polite act! She then remembered how at dinner, Braska asked what her plans were that evening. She told him that she was tutoring Tidus, and her parents rambled about how he was a 'nice young man' and 'very polite.' Her mom even said that he was 'a good looking boy.'
Braska gently patted Yuna on the shoulder, shaking her out of her daze. "Well, I'll let you kids get to work. Have fun studying!"
"Oh, of course, daddy," Yuna said with a forced smile. Braska walked off toward the den while Yuna and Tidus stared at each other for a second. The air between them was uneasy and neither knew what to say.
"Um...are we going to study?" Tidus asked slowly, feeling like he needed to break the silence.
"Oh, uh, yeah." She grabbed her books that were on the stairs and when she turned back to him, she put her hand on her hip. "I figured we could study outside because my parents don't allow guys in my room."
"That's fine," he said casually, upset by her icy tone.
"Thirsty? I made lemonade earlier today." She led him into the kitchen and threw her books on the island. Tidus blinked in surprise over the loud noise, but Yuna ignored it and walked to the refrigerator. "Want some?"
"That'd be great," he said as he watched her pour two glasses in silence. Yay to having awkward silence...He thought as he sat on one of the stools by the island. She handed him a glass and led him outside.
Yuna's backyard was absolutely gorgeous. There was an in ground pool surrounded by a luxurious patio and landscaping. A pathway led to a small fountain in the back corner of the backyard, where a swinging chair, hammock, and bench were located. She led him to the swinging chair and they both sat down and placed their glasses on the table that was next to the swing. They definitely had the decorator come before they moved in...Tidus thought with a smile.
"Dude, I love these things!" He exclaimed with a goofy boyish smile and sat in it and started to make it swing. "I haven't been on one of these in years!"
"That's nice," she said in an annoyed tone as she grabbed Tidus' book off of his lap. She opened it to the correct page and placed it back on his lap with some force.
"Whoa, watch where you're slamming things down," he warned as he exhaled in relief that she didn't put the book about an inch closer to his crotch. "You almost just ruined my chance of having kids."
"What's wrong with that? You would be able to have all the sex you'd want and not have to worry about getting a girl pregnant," she snapped.
"First of all, it would be kind of hard to have sex without the proper equipment. Also,in case you didn't realize, I have sex whenever I want to anyway," he shot back at the same time that he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms across his chest.
"I don't want to talk about this." She looked down at her own book and flipped it open with a huff so she could change the subject. "All right, so we've been learning about Lord Ohalland for the past, like, week and a half and we have a test next week. You need to pass this test, so you will shut up and listen because this is a tutoring session. We're not hanging out here."
"Hey, I gave a fucking amazing answer the other day in class, so you should be proud of me." He put his hands behind his head and stretched out his legs.
"Yes, you did and I told you that I was impressed." He arrogantly smiled at her, but she wasn't smiling back. "However, you are here to study, so let's go over some things."
"Okay, fine. I'll be a good boy and listen." The corners of Yuna's mouth started to turn up and he patiently listened to her for a good twenty minutes. However, shortly after that twenty minutes, he thought, I am bored out of my fucking mind...His gaze started to wander from the book and he looked around. He started to look at the grass, then a butterfly fluttered by, and then he looked at Yuna. She was so captivated by the book and by teaching him about Ohalland that she didn't even realize that he was carefully watching the way the gentle dusk breeze was hitting her hair.
"It's a gorgeous night, isn't it?" He interrupted as she looked up at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"It is, look around." She sighed but she did anyway. The sound of the fountain behind her was beautiful background music for looking at the scene. Fall was upon them and the leaves were changing to brilliant colors of orange, yellow, and red. She watched the leaves slowly fall off the trees, floating until they hit the ground. A squirrel ran across the yard and climbed up a tree, scaring a few birds. The breeze moved the blades of grass and flowers gently as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds tried to catch nectar from the moving plants.
The most beautiful thing of all though, was definitely the sunset. The orange ball was halfway hidden in the clouds, turning the clouds vivid colors of orange, red and pink. The contrast between the warm colors and the cool blue of the rest of the sky was just breath taking.
"Wow," she exhaled as she rested her hands on her knees.
"Told ya," he said with a smile as he looked at her. She slowly looked at him and just had to smile. "Hey, so you can smile! I knew it wouldn't break your face."
"Ha ha." Although there was sarcasm weaved in her voice, a smile was still on her face. "Look, I'm really sorry, I haven't meant to be cranky lately, but I've just had a lot of things on my mind."
"Tell me about it," he said, sympathizing with her. "Okay, I have an idea. Let's have share time. You tell me what's on your mind and I'll tell you what's on mine."
"We're here to study though," she protested, even though she did want to hear what he had to say. She wasn't really too willing to share what was wrong with her, but she wanted to hear him talk about it. "We've only been studying for about twenty minutes or so."
"Has it been that long already? Man, no wonder my brain is fried." he took the books off their laps and threw them to the ground. Yuna gasped and tried to reach for them, but he stopped her arm with his hands. As he held onto her wrists, he looked her in the face. "It won't hurt us to take a ten minute break, will it?"
He released his grip and she rolled her eyes and inhaled. "Fine, ten minutes. But that's it!"
"Okay, I can live with that," he said as he shifted his weight so he would look more at her. "You first."
With a scoff, she playfully smiled at him. "Or not. You brought it up, so I thought that meant that you were going to go first."
"Well, I..." he trailed off. Okay, I don't want to just tell her... "Okay, have you ever wanted to learn more about someone?"
"Aww, is Lord Ohalland that interesting to you?" She asked in mock sympathy. He gave her a gentle shove and she burst out into giggles. "Sorry, I had to say it."
"I'm serious though," he reiterated as she gave him a shy smile. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"
"Well, yeah."
"All right, I just have to ask this one question because it's bothering the hell out of me." A grim look appeared on his face and his voice remained serious.
"What's that?"
"Do you shave?"
"WHAT!" She cried in shock. Tidus couldn't help but start rolling in laughter at her response. "What kind of question is that!"
"I had to lighten the mood!" She smiled in amusement as she watched him clutch his stomach from laughing so hard. As his laughter calmed down, he watched her roll her eyes and thought about his question for a second. "But now I'm really curious. Do you?'
"One word," she said with a very flirtatious and seductive smile, "Bevelian."
"Holy shit, that's hot." His face broke out into a huge smile. She had to let out a giggle as he blinked in surprise that that reply came out of her mouth. "I was not expecting that answer, but I am so glad that I asked now."
"Well, you know, since we are having 'share time;' what about yourself?" She shot back, maintaining her flirtatious look.
"Oooh, wouldn't you like to know," he teased as she gently hit him on the chest.
"Maybe I would."
"Well, I think that's one of those things that you'll have to find out on your own. I'm not one for telling something that you could easily find out yourself." Oh good one, Tidus! Scare the girl away with one of your horny comments! Tidus thought, biting his tongue. To his relief, her eyes sparkled with delight.
"You're nuts," she said, still gently laughing.
"That's not a bad thing though, is it?" Tidus asked, slightly defensive.
"No, not at all," she said as placed her hand over his. "Look, I have to apologize to you. This guilt has just been driving me crazy."
"Yeah, same here," he confessed with a sigh and looked at her small hand in his.
"I was being ridiculous at Wakka's the other night, I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that." She looked into his eyes warmly as she spoke.
"Nah, I was the one who was being a fucking moron." He leaned over and plucked a flower from the ground and handed it to her. She had to giggle at him.
"Aww, how sweet, it's a dandelion," she said as she inspected the small weed in her hand. "Just don't let my daddy see this. He'll get all huffy and call the gardener for leaving these all over the ground."
"I won't, don't worry." Finally, she's smiling! He thought as they entwined fingers. "So...we're okay now?"
"Yeah, we're good." She said as she rested her head on his chest. "Promise me something, though."
"What's that?" He asked, placing his head on hers.
"No more six-year-old fights?" He had to let out a chuckle as she said that.
"I promise."
Okay, i do like the way this chapter ended out...i liked the question he asked her. lol...also, the picking the dandelion thing was cute...and i don't know about any of you, but my daddy HATES dandelions and throws a fit whenever he sees them. Seriously, i used to pick them for my mom and then the next thing i knew, he was out there spraying them...lol. I figured Braska would do it in a more expensive way (yay gardener) because they could afford it. So yay...Yuna and Tidus are on good terms again. (Like i said...they're like a yo-yo...up and down...up and down...lol. Hopefully i will write the transition chapter soon...so then you can have the awesome long chapter. :)