Yuna braced herself and heaved her suitcase up onto her bed. The floor was far less of an efficient wardrobe. She paused to stretch luxuriously, before flinging the suitcase open in a rather overdramatic fashion. It was a relief to find that she had packed some nice clothes, shoes and make up. Not that she wanted to impress anyone of course, but it would be fun to dress up. It had been awhile, as far as she could remember.
"Fun!" Yuna told herself firmly. "A bit of fun, you know... It's nice to look good..."
She shook her head and pouted slightly. "Fun…"

The High Summoner frowned slightly and held up the two dresses she'd bought along. One was a long, red satin sheath dress, embroidered in gold flowers that had corset lacing up the back, with gold and red cord. The second was a short, silky halter neck dress of an ice pink colour. The skirt was pleated, and a pink silk sash was tied about the waist. It was a hard decision, but Yuna eventually went with the pink. She decided that it was 'cute' instead of 'sexy' like the red. Her shoes were simple pink ballet pumps. A touch of pink eye shadow and lip gloss, then she was ready. Yuna stopped to inspect herself in the mirror by the door before she headed out. She looked thoughtfully at herself, adjusting the bow that adorned her waist.
"Why are you this picky today, Yuna?"
She didn't get an answer, so she opened the door and left.

She strolled down the hallway, simply in order to practice walking in her pink shoes. She was so used to boots that the idea of girlish shoes was ridiculous. They were flat, so it was ridiculous that she was having such trouble. Thankfully, it only took her a couple of laps of the hallway to get it right. Yuna walked into the main chamber and looked around. Empty. He wasn't in the kitchen or the lounge. She crossed the room again and tentatively checked the conference room. Nope. There was a quiet laugh from behind her, as Baralai slowly descended the stairs from his rooms. He paused at the bottom, with a certain style, and flashed a quick grin. The Praetor had discarded his usual robes, and had instead opted for baggy black dress pants and a black shirt with the collar, the next button and cuffs undone. He had rolled the cuffs up to just above his elbows, revealing slimly muscled arms that were just as tanned as his hands and face. His normal brown boots were replaced by smart black shoes and for once he wasn't wearing his customary headband. The Praetor's hair, strangely enough, fell down in sections that looked resembled Tidus's style. Yuna shook her head ever so slightly. Now that she thought about it, it looked more like Shuyin. Definitely more like Shuyin. That cheered her up. She giggled in response to his grin and smiled although it took something of an effort to do.
"It looks as though I found you first, Lady Yuna." He remarked quietly, leaning on the end of the banister. Yuna tilted her head and clasped her hands behind her back. She couldn't help it. She smiled back warmly.
"It looks like that, doesn't it?"

A small café style table and two ornate chairs were placed on the upper deck of the boat. The sky had quickly cleared up, for the most part, and the weather was becoming warmer as they neared Kilika. It was nearing sunset, and the sea was stained a radiant gold, all the way to the horizon. Yuna gasped and raised a hand to her mouth. It had been awhile since she'd seen something that was so naturally striking. Baralai also surveyed the view with warm eyes, and offered Yuna her seat.
"It's one of the things I enjoy about my job. I get to travel the world, meet all manner of people and see all kinds of things. It happened much more frequently before the Crimson Squad fiasco and before I was appointed Praetor, of course... " He sat in his own chair and stared out at the sea, drinking in the sites as if they would have to last him a lifetime. "It's usually all paperwork and meetings with other Diplomats. If you hadn't needed transport, we would probably be halfway back to Bevelle by now. I mean, I don't really get out much any more."

Yuna resisted the urge to giggle. Even though he hadn't meant it in the way that had sprung to her mind, it was really difficult to imagine Baralai 'getting out' at all. He seemed like more of a stay at home sort of guy, not the kind that would go out dancing until dawn. Or on a road trip. What could she really say, though? She didn't know the guy that well. He could be into anything, she supposed.
"I understand how you must feel." She began seriously, resting her hands on the table. "When I became a Summoner I thought I was going to die, you know. I got to travel the world and was given so many incredible opportunities. Still, when it came time to continue, I was almost afraid because I thought it would be the last time I would..." Yuna paused and a chill feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. "You, You're not going to d-die? Are you?"
Baralai shook his head and laughed, but it was again devoid of any humour, much like the laugh that she had heard in Bevelle, a long time ago.
"It's strange Yuna, but when Shuyin possessed me, he brought so much into my life. He gave me a thousand years worth of knowledge and emotions. They were things I'd never known or cared to find out. It was all strangely wonderful to me. I got to see things from an entirely new perspective. Everything was so clear and precise, except this strange feeling and attachment to Lenne..." He stopped and frowned, trying to find the right words. "But not just for Lenne, exactly... Shuyin was the one who felt for her. Instead there was this double awareness, mixed up in his memories. It was so strong and familiar, especially in the Farplane shortly after Shuyin and I encountered you. There seem to be, uh, times when it becomes more palpable."

Baralai caught her eyes for a brief moment before they both looked away. Yuna fiddled with her earring uncomfortably. The strange thing was that she knew exactly how he felt. Almost as soon as Lenne had begun transferring her emotions to Yuna, the thoughts had begun to search for another awareness that was separate to that of Shuyin. Even after the Summoner and her misguided lover had departed to the Farplane at last, something had stayed with her too. Baralai cleared his throat and looked directly at her.
"It's changed me, Yuna."
Yuna wasn't sure exactly what to think of his dropping of 'Lady' when he addressed her, but she smiled distractedly.
"I know..."

The mood at the table was slightly somber and unsociable for awhile, but as the gold stained ocean turned to rose and eventually to night, their mood gradually increased. They passed jokes back and forth, over their food and a glass or three of wine, and eventually the conversation moved to stories from their traveling days.

"There was this one incident that occurred, fairly quickly after we had been assigned into our squadrons for training." Baralai paused to offer Yuna a glass of white wine. She declined uncertainly, having never been an alcohol drinker, so he poured himself another glass and continued.

"You know what Gippal and Nooj are like, don't you? I think that putting them in the same squadron was just asking for trouble. We had a week in the Camp to settle down and socialize with each other, but during this time, Nooj preferred to keep to himself. We basically only saw him at meal times."

"Now, Gippal, being the typical Al Bhed that he is, was like a cat watching a bird inside a cage. He just couldn't bear that Nooj was there, and that he wasn't allowed to have a tinker with his machine parts."

Yuna laughed. "It must have been hell for him!"

"I think it came pretty close to that, yes." Baralai agreed. "Anyway, on the last night in the camp his curiosity got the better of him and he snuck into Nooj's tent. I guess that Gippal's intention was to have a look at the leg, whilst Nooj was asleep. It didn't turn out that way, though…"

Yuna was intrigued.

"Why, what happened?"

Baralai snickered throatily.

"Nooj, uh, had a guest…"

"A g-guest? Oh. Oh my goodness!"

Baralai laughed and wiped a tear from his eye.

"I don't think they noticed he was there, so he just left. He didn't try that stunt again."

More to cover up her embarrassment then anything, Yuna proffered her glass.

"I think I might try some of that wine now."

Eventually they ended up walking laps around the ship and laughing at stupid things. Yuna had found the wine quite delightful, and had almost caught up to Baralai. She was surprised how well he, they, could hold their alcohol. It was almost amusing. After a couple of hours, they stopped by the bow, eating ice cream sundaes. Baralai had loosened up considerably, presumably from all the wine. He finished the last spoonful of his vanilla fudge sundae and knelt quickly to put the bowl on the floor. He stretched and then swung his arms by his side.
"I've enjoyed my night, Yuna. Somehow you've been able to ask the right questions and give all the right answers. I haven't been able to talk like this in quite awhile."
Yuna stirred what remained of her strawberry sundae and smiled, thinking back to her Summoner days.
"It's nice to have someone that actually listens properly."
She began to feel a little strange again, in this somehow familiar way, so she had another spoon of melted ice cream and syrup, before also putting the bowl down. Baralai swung his arms again and laughed as the wind whipped back his hair.
"You have..." he said slowly, gesturing to his lips. She stared at him blankly, not understanding. He laughed again, but it trailed off into silence. That was when he hesitantly leant forward and kissed her softly on the lips.

When he stepped back, Yuna stood very still. Baralai flushed an intense red that was visible, even in the moonlight.
"You had, uh, ice cream..."
There was no response, except the smallest frown. The Praetor of New Yevon began to stutter, as his rush of emotions overwhelmed him. Something inside him had clicked.

"Yuna, don't go to Kilika. Please. Come with me, to Bevelle!" He asked eagerly, taking her hands in his.
Yuna stared perplexedly back at him, somehow feeling the same rush. She opened her mouth to answer, before sharply pulling her hands away. Instead of following her instinct and throwing herself into his arms, she found herself backing away and leveling an accusing finger at him.
"I didn't think you would be the kind of person who would get a girl drunk and try to take advantage of her, Baralai. Obviously I was wrong!"
She stormed through the door and slammed it behind her.

The dull anger returned instantly to the young Praetor. He walked aimlessly for a few steps, before kneeling and slamming his fist into the deck.
"Damn it!"