Glak! This took so much longer then I thought. I'm sorry for the delay, stuff happened. This chapter didn't go so smooth for me either, trying to figure out how to start things off. I hope that once it gets moving, it'll be easier, it's just while they're stuck in Besaid with so many characters, it can get a bit overwhelming.
I never thought it would go this far, that I'd actually get so many wonderful comments. @__@ Thank you so much, again, and please keep them coming.
Oh! And to address one comment from- *checks* - Lib, thank you very much for pointing that out. ^_^ I have trouble seeing mistakes sometimes because I don't often read over my own work (just a weird habit of mine) so I really was hoping if there were any mistakes, they'd get pointed out. So thank you! I realize now how dumby that was of me to write it like that. Sometimes I get writing so fast I miss silly things like that. I'll edit it later and re-load the chappy. Thankies again! ^_^
And in reply to another comment- from Dark Ki A.K.A LEE – That's the not so good normal ending… to get the best ending you have to press X about four times at the end of Chapter 2 when Yuna's in the Farplane and wanders around saying she's all alone. Then at the very end when she's walking through the Farplane you have to press X again to talk to the Fayth and say yes. Don't worry though, New Game Plus lets you start over again with the 100 percent, so you never ever have to fight evil Trema again, just have to do the X pressing at those key parts. Evil tricky Square. @____@
By the way, to get the New Game Plus option you have to finish the game, and keep pressing X when the thank you thing comes up, and it'll ask if you want to start over with all your stuff and percentage.
I hope that helps, somehow.
And thanks to everyone else who's been commenting, makes me so happyeee. So, onward we go! As usual, I don't own FFX or FFX-2…
About the Perfect Ending… (yes… she's put it off again, ladies and gentlemen.) Well, I think I'm going to leave it for a few more chapters. Either it'll be at the end of this fic for closure, or it'll be in one of the next few chapters, when they go to Zanarkand. Terribly sorry about that…
Side note! The words that Yuna says in the first couple paragraphs, are lyrics… the translation (more or less) of Suteki Da Ne from FFX. I just thought it would be appropriate somehow, seeing she's all songstress-ish now and that song was a big part of FFX.
And here be Chapter 6 for you all! ^_^
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Chapter 6
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Words danced in Yuna's head, gently pulling her away from her sleep. But they were not words spoken by anyone save her own mind. Words she'd never heard before, or rather, not in such a sequence. They rang like a song in her mind. Just like the time Lenne's song had came to her so suddenly, the words seemed to be appearing to her on their own accord.
Stretching delicately she felt herself beginning to awake, as she murmured the words in a half daze, her lips barely moving. The words were comforting somehow, reminding her of something that had happened two long years before.
"My heart was swimming in words gathered by the wind… My voice bounded into a cloud-carried tomorrow… My heart trembled in the moon-swayed mirror, soft tears spilled with a stream of stars… Isn't it beautiful? If we could walk, hand in hand…" Her voice trailed off as she became aware she was being watched. Slowly opening her eyes she was greeted by warm glints of sunlight streaking down onto her face, and onto someone's golden hair.
Smiling, she blinked away the sleepiness in her eyes and stretched again lazily.
"What's that from?" Tidus asked, an eyebrow raised in question and a smirk on his lips.
"I don't know. It just sort of came to me." She smiled, yawning a little and sank back down into the covers. It was so wonderful, she didn't want to get up. Not ever.
"Are you always so poetic in the morning?" He grinned, sitting up and leaning on his elbow.
"I'm not sure." She answered after a moment, finding no answer come to her. Curling up into a ball she snuggled back into the covers and hugged him. He smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead, stroking her hair gently with his other hand.
"I don't want to get up." She sighed after a moment, and closed her eyes.
"Then don't! Stay here, with me." She could feel the grin in his words and she laughed aloud.
"I don't think the others would be too happy…" She mused, refusing to her open her eyes and face reality again.
"Who cares, Yuna? You should be happy."
She yawned again and opened her eyes, looking up into his blue ones. "Hmm." She smiled and hugged him tighter. "I am happy."
For a long few moments there was silence, until Yuna realized that no matter how badly she wanted it, she wasn't going to fall back asleep. Sighing she opened her eyes again to see him still watching her.
"Any more nightmares?" He asked, and a worried look seemed to settle in his eyes. She blinked, and tried to remember. She could still remember the nightmare with vivid detail, but after he'd come, there had been no dreams.
"No." She grinned, then added, "But I think your snoring chased them away."
"Hey!" He frowned, and she giggled in spite of herself. "I do not snore!"
"Yes you do." She grinned. She didn't think it was possible to be any happier.
"Well so do you!" He declared, pretending to be upset but unable to hide the smirk in his eyes.
"And how would you know that?" Yuna smirked right back at him.
"I… uh…"
When he couldn't answer, she giggled again and gave him a playful push, sending him rolling and onto the floor with a thud.
"Hey!" He cried, and quickly got back up.
"Sorry!" She managed through her giggling fit, as he jumped back onto the bed and grabbed her.
"You know, I think Rikku's had a bad influence on you." He grinned as he tried to push her off the bed.
"Maybe you were the bad influence!" She countered, crossing her arms.
"I am not!" He frowned, and put his hands on his hips. Grinning she was about to give him another push when voices could be heard outside.
"Shhh!" She whispered, covering her mouth to smother a giggle.
"You're the one who's being noisy." He whispered and held her tightly, burying his face in her neck.
"But, Paine! She's going to be hysterical! You can't just go in there and tell her that Tidus has disappeared!" Rikku's voice broke through the silence, and Tidus raised his head to give Yuna a questioning look.
"Hysterical, huh?"
"Ssshh!" She smacked him lightly, and covered his mouth with her hand.
"Rikku, you're the one who is getting hysterical." Paine's reply came after a moment of silence, her voice sounding somewhat stressed.
"You're worried too aren't you?" Rikku snapped back, and Yuna could hear the two of them stop.
"No, I'm not. You're irritating me, that's all." Paine muttered, and then resumed walking.
"You're worried!"
"Rikku, would you please stop yelling?" Paine sighed, coming even closer to Yuna's hut. Realizing where they were heading, Yuna looked at Tidus, then at her room. "I have a pretty good idea where he might be anyway." Paine concluded, stopping in front of Yuna's hut.
"You do? Then why didn't you say so?!" Rikku sighed, then pushed open the hut's opening.
"Don't just barge in-" Paine started, but was over run by Rikku's words.
"Yunie, we can't find Tidus and weeeeeeeeeee!" Her voice broke into a squeal and she nearly lost her balance and fell on her face.
"I told you." Paine sighed, poking her head in after Rikku. "Sorry to bother you, Yuna. Rikku wouldn't stop being a pest."
"That's okay." Yuna managed, feeling her face go quite red as Rikku stared at her, her cousin's mouth hanging open in shock. "But we didn't-"
"I don't want to know." Paine shook her head, then disappeared out of sight. Rikku however, was not so easily swayed.
"Yunie… Tidus… You… You! You!" Was all she could managed for a long moment, gasping like a fish as she stared at Yuna, then at Tidus.
"It's not what it looks like…" Yuna's voice trailed off as she quickly got up and straightened her clothes. She'd been so tired last night she hadn't even taken the time to change. But then, neither had Tidus.
After a long, uncomfortable silence, Rikku finally closed her mouth. "So… you two… didn't?" She blinked, as if this was an unbelievable thing she was being told.
"No." Yuna felt her face slowly get even redder, as she put thought into what her cousin was implying. She'd been so tired and so upset all she wanted was comfort. She hadn't thought of anything like that. Tidus, who was still sitting on the bed, seemed for a moment completely lost in thought, as if he was considering what Rikku had just said as well. Yuna quickly looked back to her cousin and tried to get herself to stop blushing.
"… Yunieeee!" Rikku sighed, looking surprisingly disappointed. Before she could continue Tidus finally spoke.
"So what's for breakfast?" He asked quickly, clearing his throat and standing up beside Yuna. Rikku's mouth dropped again, completely knocked from her train of thought at his sudden question.
"I… uh… We're… uh… airship…" She managed, staring at Tidus as if he were crazy.
"Then let's go!" Yuna smiled, pushing past Rikku and heading towards the path, only to run straight into Lulu.
"Ah, so you did find him." Lulu's voice put a sudden chill in the air as Tidus and Rikku followed, stopping behind Yuna. Tidus smiled sheepishly, and Rikku seemed to still be in a daze.
"Um, Lulu…" Yuna started, but Lulu just smiled a little.
"You don't have to explain. Let's just go get some breakfast, before my husband devours it all."
Yuna nodded solemnly, feeling the redness slowly fade from her cheeks. As they walked towards the village, Rikku gave Yuna a sharp nudge in the ribs.
"Sooo what happened?" She hissed, a begging look on her face.
"I told you, nothing." Yuna sighed, but Rikku had no intention of giving up.
"Oh come on, Yunie! Why was Tidus sleeping in your hut?" Yuna cleared her throat a little, then looked towards the village.
"I'll explain later. There's something I have to tell everyone."
"Ohh! You're getting engaged! I knew it!" Rikku shouted suddenly, and everyone stopped in their tracks.
"… What?" Lulu asked, raising an eyebrow as she turned to look at Yuna and Tidus.
"That's not it!" Yuna sighed and quickly shook her head as Tidus began to cough absently.
"Well what is it?" Lulu crossed her arms, and blinked.
"You're going to have a baby! I knew it!" Rikku almost shouted, punching the air as if she'd made the correct guess.
Yuna's eyes went about twice their normal size as she looked over to her cousin and squeaked in surprise. "RIKKU!"
"I knew it! I knew it! Yunie's going to have a-"
"That's not it either." Tidus managed, coughing again as if something were caught in his throat. Yuna focused on a rock on the ground and felt her face burn.
"Rikku, here's some basic logic. Yuna couldn't possibly know if she was going to have a baby even if she had-" Paine started, emerging from the shadows of one of the huts and walking over to Rikku.
"That's not helping." Lulu's calm voice cut through Paine's, and the warrior shrugged in reply.
"But…" Rikku's voice trailed off, looking even more disappointed. "So Yunie's not going to have a baby?"
"No!" Yuna managed, though the sound was more of a squeak then an actual word. Tidus mumbled something but it was so low nobody quite caught it.
"Awww…" Rikku sighed, looking quite put off. "Well where's the fun in that?" She frowned, crossing her arms.
"To the point, why is the reason, Yuna?" Lulu sighed, ignoring Rikku completely.
"It's just… it would be easier to explain to everyone. It's something rather important, but it doesn't have anything to do with me. Or Tidus." She quickly added, eyeing Rikku's eager look.
"Nuts." Rikku muttered, and kicked a rock into the bush sulkily.
Lulu sighed and rolled her eyes, then started walking again. Yuna following closely, she tried to avoid her cousin's eyes and stare at a point on the horizon.
Passing through the village, they started towards the beach where the airship still sat. Apparently they had decided to have breakfast on the ship instead of in the village, so they could all talk without having to have all the villagers cut in.
As they came to the docking ramp that was now resting on the beach instead of the water, Lulu paused and held Yuna back as the others entered.
"I think it would be best if you didn't mention anything to Wakka about what happened between you and Tidus last night." Before Yuna could open her mouth to say anything, Lulu shook her head. "I know, you didn't do anything. I just meant, that Wakka might not be very understanding about you two sharing a room when you're not married. Wakka always has been a bit… set in his ideas about things like that." Yuna nodded wordlessly, knowing perfectly well how Wakka could over react about things. Even two years, he still held quite a few of the Yevon teachings to his heart.
"And… It'd probably best not to mention it around Cid either. He does like Tidus, but you know, he feels the same way as Wakka about this sort of thing."
"I know." Yuna sighed, but nodded. Even though she had no intention of telling anyone yet, she appreciated Lulu's understanding and wish to help. "Thanks, Lulu."
"I'm just glad you're happy." Lulu smiled a little then started up the ramp into the airship. Staying behind a moment to look to the beach where just yesterday she had seen him, she smiled and closed her eyes. It was finally sinking in. He was truly back, and it wasn't just a dream. They'd brought him back.
'Thank you, wherever you are.'
~~~~~~~
Breakfast, under Tidus's honest opinion, was not going as well as he'd hoped. Yuna sat beside him, though she was staring at her plate wordlessly and looking somewhat unhappy.
Rikku was sitting across the table, chattering endlessly to Lulu who gave the occasional nod in reply, but didn't seem very interested. Beside Rikku sat Brother, who had never taken his eyes of Tidus since he'd entered the room. Fixing his eyes into a glare, Brother seemed to still suspect Tidus of being Shuyin. Tidus found it quite difficult to eat and ignore the fact that he was being watched. Like Yuna, he sat silently staring at everything around him.
Cid too, was chattering endlessly, though his conversation was directed more to Tidus and Yuna, saying things about how happy he was to see his niece finally settle down and how happy he was to see Tidus was back. Rikku would occasionally cut in with a poisoned remark about how Cid was being overly protective of Yuna, and Cid would retaliate with an equally poisoned remark about how Rikku was running around showing off skin and still hadn't settled down.
"Are they… always like this?" Tidus whispered to Yuna, finding himself slightly weary of the whole thing.
"Yes." She sighed, picking up her fork and poking at the food on her plate aimlessly.
All the others sat quietly and ate, either speaking among themselves or watching the spectacle of Cid's family.
Slowly, Yuna placed her fork back down onto the plate and cleared her throat. No one seemed to notice and continued chattering away.
"Rikku, you should go find yourself a man and settle down too. Look at Yuna! She's happy. And she didn't have to go running around Spira to find herself a man. She just came home, and there he was! Maybe if you took a moment in your life to stop and smell the flowers, you'd be happy too!" Cid was raving, waving a fork in his daughter's direction with a disturbing amount of purpose.
"Grow up, old man! I'm doing fine by myself, and don't treat Yunie like some housewife! She's not going to quilt the Gullwings just because she's found her hunky guy!"
"A hunky guy, huh?" Tidus grinned, and Yuna elbowed him with a frown.
"How do you know?" Cid glared, standing up and glowering over at his daughter.
Across the table, Brother scowled even darker. Tidus sighed and stared at his plate.
Yuna cleared her throat again, but still no one seemed to notice. Finally, Tidus couldn't take it anymore. Jumping up, he waved his arms and yelled.
"HEY!" A deafening silence fell over the table and everyone looked up at him in surprise. "Yuna's trying to tell you something." He said quickly, then sat back down and looked to Yuna. She nodded distantly and smiled, then stood up herself. All eyes were on her, even Brother's, as she looked around the table.
"Everyone… There's something I have to tell you. Last night I had this dream…"
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Yuna sat silently at the table, aware that everyone had gone utterly silent and was watching her with confused looks on their faces. She knew they believed her, their expressions didn't deny it, but she also knew they were confused by the whole matter, and wanted her to explain it. But she was just as confused as they were.
"So… this creature, is what made that fiend last night go crazy and attack?" Lulu spoke first, carefully putting down her cup and folding her arms over her chest.
"Yes. That's what Sir Auron said. He said that it was making the fiends go crazy, and if it wasn't' stopped, it would eventually harm the Farplane." Yuna said quietly.
"What does it matter if it reaches the Farplane? The Farplane can't be hurt, right?" Rikku frowned, tilting her head.
"Yes, it can. You remember, how Shuyin and Vegnagun hurt the Fayth and made fiends pour from the temples. This is probably the same sort of thing." Paine said from the far end of the table, watching Yuna carefully but with a calm look upon her face. "Right now it's only making the fiends attack. If it goes on, it'll affect the spirits in the Farplane, and then, the Fayth. Right, Yuna?"
Yuna nodded again. "I think that's what my father, and Sir Auron, meant. If the Fayth are disturbed again, the fiends will start coming back. And anything connected to the Fayth…" Her voice trailed off and she felt her throat begin to clench.
"Meaning…" Wakka blinked, then looked over to Tidus and quickly stopped before he said anymore. Tidus stared at the table and didn't say anything.
"How long do we have?" Buddy asked, sounding as calm as ever.
"I don't know. I think we're alright for now, as long as we start looking." Yuna replied, forcing the tightness out of her throat and clenching her fists against the rising worry.
"Yeah, but for what?" Rikku sighed, shaking her head. "How are we supposed to find something we don't even know about? I mean, did Auron tell you anything about it?"
"Not really." Yuna sighed. "But… I think the dreams hold a clue, somehow. I'm not sure yet. We have to find out more about these crazed fiends. The pyreflies that entered me from that fiend last night seemed to trigger something. Maybe… if we… find more of them, the same thing will happen."
"Sounds like a good idea, but how do we know it's not hurting you?" Paine frowned, crossing her arms.
"I… think it's just the dreams. I think they'll go away if we find out what's going on."
'I hope.' She added to herself, feeling her mood sink. 'I think. I don't know. Why did it have to become so complicated again so soon.'
"So, I guess that makes things pretty clear." Buddy stood up, looking around the table. "We have to find more of these fiends, somehow find some clues to what's making them go crazy, and then go after it. And somehow stop it, before it reaches the Fayth."
"Yes." Yuna nodded, feeling oddly helpless.
"Great! Another mission for the Gullwings!" Rikku cried, jumping up enthusiastically. Yuna almost smiled, but even despite her cousin's happy nature, she still felt horribly worried. Worried that somehow they wouldn't be able to stop it. Worried that it would reach the Fayth, and… She didn't want to think anymore about it. Closing her eyes she bowed her head, clenching her fists at her sides.
"Yuna…" Tidus whispered beside her, and she felt him take one of her hands and hold it firmly. They both knew what he was going to say. Unspoken words passed between them and she somehow felt lighter again. She had her friends. She had him. And she wasn't going to let anything take it away again.
"Alright! Hey Brother, go get the Airship started!" Rikku waved her hand at her brother with a grin. Brother stared at her blankly and frowned.
"And go where?"
Rikku paused, then looked over to Yuna. "Yunie…?"
"I don't know." Yuna managed, still keeping her eyes tightly closed. "Sir Auron didn't say."
"We have to find more fiends. Maybe there are more around Spira. We should check the commspheres and see-" Paine started, but was cut off when Shinra entered the room from the hallway.
"One step ahead of you. Yuna, I've got a message on the commsphere for you. It's from Nooj in Luca. He said they've been having problems with some fiends and they'd appreciate it if the Gullwings would come help. Seems they're pretty over run."
"Well, I guess that solves that problem." Yuna sighed, seeing the beginning of a long road ahead.
"Hey, wait! That means you're going to Luca, ya?" Wakka looked around the table, and as no one answered Yuna nodded. Wakka grinned, and rubbed his hands together. "That's great, ya! We can come with you and go to the tournament!"
Lulu sighed beside him but didn't say anything. Yuna saw Tidus's eyes light up at the very mention of the word 'tournament'.
"This isn't some pleasure cruise." Paine muttered, shooting a look of distaste at Wakka, who seemed completely oblivious to it.
"That sounds great!" Rikku piped up, grinning madly and bouncing again. "When Yunie's all done with her chat, we can all have some fun!"
"We're supposed to be finding out what's wrong with the fiends, not playing Blitzball." Paine muttered again, but Rikku stuck her tongue out at her.
"Oh stop it, Paine! I know you like playing Blitzball just as much as Yunie does."
Tidus looked over to Yuna with a surprised look. "Blitzball?" He blinked, staring at her in disbelief. "You didn't tell me that."
Yuna grinned a little. "Well, you didn't ask. The Gullwings took the place of the Aurochs for the first part of the tournament."
Tidus blinked again and smiled. "Wow. I never thought you'd be one to play Blitzball, Yuna. I'm impressed."
From across the table, Brother muttered something in Al Bhed that sounded suspiciously rude.
"Well, I'm not very good." Yuna smiled a little then looked down at her plate.
"I'm sure you're great!" He argued, a smile on his face that lit up his blue eyes.
"We're getting away from the point." Paine sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. "Shouldn't we start off for Luca before it gets any later?"
"You're right, we should." Yuna stood up, and slowly the others followed suit. "So, who's going?"
"Well, I'll come as far as Luca, but I've already done my last mission with the Gullwings." Shinra said quietly from the hallway, and Yuna felt her face drop.
"You really are leaving?" Rikku cried, looking over to the Al Bhed.
"I've made a deal with Gippal and everything is arranged. I'm going to be working in Luca from now on. But don't worry, you guys can still contact me with the commspheres." Somehow Yuna could tell that he wasn't entirely cheerful about leaving.
"You're always welcome here." Yuna smiled, feeling herself missing him already. Shinra mumbled something, then walked over to where she was, hugging her knees. Kneeling down she hugged him back, telling herself inside to smile and not show any tears.
"I know." He sighed, then stepped back and looked over to the others.
"Alright, so Shinra's going. Anyone else?" Buddy raised an eyebrow, looking around the table.
"I'm staying!" Calli announced from the corner, and Yuna realized for the first time that the girl had been present. She'd been sitting in the corner and had been so quiet, no one had seemed to notice her at all. Buddy nodded with a grin then looked back to Yuna.
"How about you, Yuna?" He said with a grin in his voice, knowing perfectly well that she was the main reason they had to go in the first place.
"Of course."
"I'm in too, but this is the last time." Paine added, not looking at anyone in particular and seeming to have an edge of regret in her voice.
"You're… leaving?" Rikku cried, turning to Paine with a look of horror.
"Not yet. But this is my last mission. I have to take care of things in my life too, you know." Paine continued, though her eyes seemed to betray a hint of sadness. Rikku looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
"But you can't go… You're…" Her voice trailed off and she sat back down, staring at her lap and biting her lip.
"We'll just go as far as Luca, ya? Then we'll stay there for the tournament, and let you guys do your thing." Wakka quickly said, trying to avoid another conflict between Rikku and perhaps some other member of the Cid family.
"What happened to staying home and being a father?" Tidus asked, raising his eyebrows with a glint of a smile.
"Hey! I still am, ya? Lu's going to come with us, ya?"
"Is that alright, with the baby?" Yuna asked, looking over to Lulu who nodded quietly.
"I have a friend in Luca whom I wanted to see, it's a good a time as ever." She said, looking to her husband with a sigh. "And even if I tried, there'd be no talking Wakka out of the tournament, not with Tidus back."
"Ah, sorry Lulu." Tidus said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
She smiled a little as if she found is comment amusing, but didn't say anything.
"What about him?" Brother finally spoke up, pointing to Tidus. "Where's he going to go?"
Rikku looked up at her Brother with a look of surprise. "Haven't you been listening? He's coming with us of course!"
Brother scowled, eyed Tidus suspiciously, then looked back to Rikku. "To Luca, yes. But not on the mission."
Rikku paused, looking from Yuna, to Tidus, then back to Brother. "No… silly! Tidus is going to be part of the Gullwings!"
"Here it comes." Paine muttered as Brother squawked aloud.
"HIM?" He shouted, pointing at Tidus but not making eye contact. Tidus sighed and crossed his arms, looking quite fed up. Yuna felt herself wanting to slid down further in her chair and disappear. 'Is this ever going to end?'
"Yes, him!" Rikku snapped, pointing to Tidus as well.
"Ohh no! He's not coming on this ship!" Brother snarled, and crossed his arms. "I don't want any Farplane Freaks following us around so he can destroy all of Spira!"
Rikku stared blankly at him for a moment, then scowled. "Oh! Why do you have to be so stupid! He's not Shuyin!"
"Who is Captain? I am! I am the Captain! I say that he is." Brother declared, pointing once more at Tidus who glared.
"That doesn't make it true!" Rikku sighed, shaking her head. Brother paused, then scowled at lack of anything to say in reply.
"That's it, who made you Captain anyway?" Rikku continued, waving her hands in the air with too much purpose. "I say we make a new Captain!"
"Mutiny!" Brother shouted, jumping backwards and looking somewhat shocked.
"Brother, calm down." Buddy sighed, sitting back down in his chair and looking a little annoyed. "Nobody's taking over."
"But she said-" Brother started, but was cut off when Yuna stood up and everyone stopped to look at her.
"Brother…" She sighed, knowing perfectly well why he didn't want Tidus to be part of the Gullwings. Why Brother didn't want to accept the fact that Tidus was back at all. "Please… let him, for me?" She said quietly, not wanting to say it in such a way. Not wanting to hurt him any more then she probably already had.
Brother fell silent, and watched her with a growing sadness in his eyes. He was slowly realizing that no matter how hard he fought against it, he couldn't stop the feelings Yuna felt.
After a long moment, Brother slowly sat back down. Though he didn't say anything, Yuna felt as if he'd somehow replied. But the expression on his face made her want to somehow comfort him, though she knew if she did it would only make things worse.
"I'm sorry, Brother." She said quietly, so quietly that only he and Tidus seemed to notice.
"Alright then, so that's settled?" Rikku shot another glare in Brother's direction, but he didn't seem to notice. "Tidus is coming with us! More members for the Gullwings!" She grinned, and bounced a couple times in glee. "This is going to be great!"
"I bet!" Tidus grinned back, looking quite happy at finally being accepted into the 'family' of sorts. Yuna had always had a feeling that if he'd been around, he would have fit in with the Gullwings perfectly. Now it seemed she had a chance to see if she'd been right.
"So, we're off to Luca?" Buddy asked, standing up. "I'll go get the engines started." Without waiting for an answer, he left the room and headed towards the elevator.
"Hey! I give the orders! I fly the ship! Wait for me!" Brother suddenly shouted, running after Buddy without so much as a second glance behind him. Cid followed the two with his eyes then glared, standing up.
"Those kids don't know anything about how to take care of this ole girl. I'm going to go make sure they don't screw up." He announced to no one in particular, and started off after them. Rikku frowned, and shot a dark look at her father's direction.
"As if you know anything!" She snapped, and leapt from her seat. Trotting after him she started to berate him, and he shouted something quite unpleasant sounding in Al Bhed. Rikku, completely unaffected, retaliated with another bout of insults.
"Well, I guess it's all settled finally." Paine sighed, looking to Tidus. "Congratulations. You've become part of the happy, crazy, family. You should have run while you could." Though she sounded serious, Yuna could see a small glint of humor somewhere in her eyes. Tidus only laughed, and shook his head.
"Nah, I think they're great." Paine raised an eyebrow in question, but simply shrugged.
"We'll just stay out of the way until we get to Luca." Lulu said quietly, nodding towards herself, Wakka, and the Aurochs. "There's no point in us crowding around the bridge, when it'll just be a short trip."
"Are you kidding, Lu?" Wakka exclaimed, staring at her in surprise. "You want to miss the chance to go see this thing fly? It's been ages since we've been on one of these!"
"Yes, and this was too soon." Lulu sighed, reaching over to the crib beside her chair to soothe a crying Vidina. "I'll stay here and look out the window, thank you. If you must go watch, then go." Wakka hesitated for a moment, as if torn between the duty of being a father and the want to go see. "It's alright, Wakka. I'll be fine." Lulu sighed after a moment, and it seemed to quell all the worry in his mind. Bounding off down the hall, he too left the room and disappeared into the elevator.
"So much for breakfast." Yuna sighed, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. "So much for peace and quiet." She added, looking up at the ceiling.
"Hey, peace and quiet is over-rated." Tidus grinned, grabbing her hand again and holding it tight. "We can always come back here, Yuna." He said quietly after a moment, and she felt herself smile. He was right. She had to learn how to stop worrying about things.
Except, it was hard to not worry, when things seemed to always go badly.
'Maybe this fiend business won't be so bad. Maybe we'll find the answer quickly.' She almost laughed at herself. 'Maybe.'
"Well, onward to Luca." Paine said after a moment, then got up and headed towards the bridge. "Golly, the fun just never stops."
Once again, Yuna found herself agreeing with the warrior's sarcasm.
~~~~~
A/N: Waahoo! That only took… forever to get out right. @_____@ I'm sorry about the delay. But in any case… finally, we're starting to move along! Next chapter we have – Meeting with Nooj, Baralai, Gippal, and some others yet to be named ^_^ - Blitzball – and more plot! (And no doubt, more fluffy romance stuff…. Oopsy…)
Coming soon… whenever I can get the chappy out. Probably in a week, but hopefully less. .
