Disclaimer: Yeah. I still don't own anything. It sucks.
A/N: So yes. This is rated PG-13 or so. Nothing really happens, unless you like a little bit of Tuna stuff. Life is hard - but there's better stuff coming. I swear. Reviews are appreciated.
He was used to being the first person up in the morning. He wakes before the sun daily. It's nice, having a quiet suit of rooms to yourself, being able to spend a couple hours waking up and doing morningly things instead of trying to cram it all into a few minutes. He starts the coffee, showers, dresses, and other basic things, including practicing with his sword.
He settles himself into a pattern form, a complex and rather long series of attacking, blocking, and countering to keep the mind and body strong. Muscles cramped by sleeping in odd positions loosen up, and he increases the speed, dancing around the carefully arranged living room, dueling invisible enemies, and navigating around the furniture. He finishes with a slash, accidentally clipping a hank of blond hair from a very sleepy and now very alarmed Tidus.
"Heeeeey! Watch it!" They youth leaps back scowling with sleep bleared eyes. He sniffs once, twice, nose quivering rodent-like. "Ooooh! Coffee!" The perils of Auron's sword practice forgotten; the teenager launches himself at the appropriately dubbed 'Pot of Life'. He pours himself almost half a mug of coffee, before adding gratuitous amounts of milk and sugar to it. He then promptly disappears into the mug, leaving only blond spikes poking around the edge of the porcelain.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Auron asks dryly. It would amuse him greatly if his charge was proven to be hung-over from last night.
Sadly, at least for the older man, he wasn't. "Uh," a pause to resurface from the depths of his morning elixir and consider the question, "not as bad as I should be, actually." He slides onto the counter, banging bare heels against wood cupboards, staring into the depths of his coffee milk mix with the pure adoration of an addict. "So, what's the plan, Stan?"
Auron scowls and pours himself a cup of black coffee. Of all the asinine phrases coined by man kind, that particular one had to be the one he detested the most. He supposes he should be used to it, Jecht loved that phrase dearly, and perhaps it was fitting for his son to inherit the ability to drive Auron bat shit insane without even trying. Hell. "Thought we'd take a trip."
Tidus pulls himself away from the enticing flavors of his 'breakfast' to give Auron the most hang dog look he could muster at 7:28 am. "Awww, Auron. There's practice todayyyy." A death glare, courtesy of his foster father shuts him up fairly quickly. The older man crosses the room and places his katana on a heavy wooden rack.
Auron picks up his cup and takes a drink, more from a crippling caffeine addiction than any real need to wake up. "Penguins?" He frowns at the design painted on white porcelain. Maybe he didn't want to know. "I'll take you to practice after. It won't take long." Tidus grins and pumps his fist in the air, before dashing off to shower and put something more than a pair of flannel pants on. Auron rolls his eyes and pulls his long red coat on, sticking dark glasses on his nose.
By the time Tidus finally drags himself down to the garage attached to the apartment complex that he resided in; Auron has already finished the Besaid Globe, and has moved onto the Spiran Times, newspapers propped against the steering wheel. Tidus rolls his eyes, his mentor and foster father was /always/ reading, usually something dumb like biographies or newspapers. Yick. He navigates around the car to the passenger side. The door is locked however, and wrapping on the glass with his knuckles only causes Auron to start the car and roll it back a few inches. "Heeey!" He jumps back, before pulling the rear door open and climbing in, slamming the door behind him with more force than strictly necessary. "What's the big idea, anyways?"
Auron wordlessly hands him a traveling mug of coffee flavored cream and sugar, before pulling out of the garage. Seeing that his guardian looks like he would rather eat glass than hold a conversation, Tidus tries to amuse himself by peering through the tinted windows. For a while he tries to pick out familiar landmarks, but it's early, and his attention span is short, and before his tanned cheek hits the window he's asleep.
The sudden stillness and lack of engine noise is what rouses him. He sits up, trying to ignore the pain that results from sleeping against a window, impressed that he still holds the mug Auron gave him upright in very stiff fingers. "Uuhhhg." He yawns and stretches, knuckles thumping against the ceiling of the vehicle by accident. "Ow. Where are we?"
Auron doesn't bother answering, just gets out of the car and dragging Tidus out shortly afterwards. He forcibly drags the still mostly asleep, despite massive amounts of ingested caffeine, boy into the building, up a short flight of stairs, around a corner, down a flight of stairs, before shoving him into an elevator. Once the elevator stops moving, Auron continues propelling Tidus down a twisting hallway, before coming to stop in front of a door.
Tidus stops, rests his hands on his knees, and pants, "What the hell, Auron?" The older man doesn't bother to dignify such lousy acting with an answer, only tosses a small box wrapped in shiny red paper over. "Whoa…" Tidus rips the paper off, and opens a small brown box to reveal a small silvery key on a ring. "Wha? What's going on, old man?"
Behind his sunglasses, Auron rolls his good eye. "Open the door, boy."
"Oh. Okay!" The key fits into the lock smoothly, and a twist opens the door to reveal a simple, but nice bachelor's pad. "Holy mother of Yevon…" The boy breathes, stepping into the living area, looking around, dumbstruck.
"I don't believe Yevon would like you taking his mother's name in vain." Auron shrugs and passes over an envelope fat with papers. "A trust was left for you. This place is legally yours until you sell it now." He turns on his heel and walks out of the apartment, calling over his shoulder, "come down and get your stuff when you want it."
Tidus blinks and jogs after his foster father. "You mean…? You're crazy, Auron." Of all the weird birthday presents, an apartment purchased in the same damn complex they were already living in?
Auron ignores the comments. "Don't you have practice to be going to?"
Tidus grins genuinely, not his movie star trying-to-make-all-his-female-fans-have-a-stroke grin, but a real smile, and he steps forward to hug the man he had grown up knowing as dad, before thinking logically. He had never, ever, seen anyone get remotely touchy feely with the Legendary General. "Thanks, Auron." He dashes to his old room and grabs his blitzing gear before following Auron to where the car was parked outside.
Tidus vaults out of the car as Auron pulls up beside a small gym a few minutes later. "See ya, Auron." He trots into the gym, looking around the empty and somewhat dirty lobby expectantly.
A tanned face, crowned by a hair bearing a striking resemblance to orange soft serve ice cream bobs around at the far end. "Heeeey bruddah! Where you been, man?" Roughly 200 pounds of boisterous and enthusiastic blitzball player tackles Tidus, knocking him tail over ears onto the floor.
Tidus hits the floor and rolls, trying to cushion his equipment and face as much as possible. He scrambles up, brushing dust off his knees. "Hey, take it easy, Wakka! I was just getting something from Auron AND I'm still hung over from last night… sorta." He grins as Wakka raises a neon orange eyebrow. "Shut up. Just because I can't hold anything stronger than Sprite.."
"Ya, whatever, man. Ley's practice an' then you can spill all about that place, Sin-fully Delicious, ya?"
"Sure." And practice begins as normal.
It wasn't a bad practice, he enjoys Blitzball, he really does. Today he's just, distracted. Last night had been amazing, beyond amazing, and he had to go back again tonight. Maybe he'd even see the girl, Yuna again. Yeah, that would be nice.
Wakka doesn't even wait until he's out of the shower before the bombardment of questions begins. "So, how was it, bruddah?"
"How was what?"
"The club, man! Was it as good as we was told?"
Tidus pauses to consider and rub conditioner into his hair. "Hell yeah."
"Were the chicks hot?"
"Of course they were." He knows he has a sappy grin on his face now. He tries to wipe it off and fails rather miserably.
"Are they good?"
"Jeez, Wakka! I don't know! It's not like I sleep around and compare!"
"Chill, man. Just asking. So, you going again tonight?"
"Probably." And that is that. Damn, being an adult kicks ass. No more needing to check in with Auron before making plans. Yep, life is good.
"Heeeey, look man. That chick's staring at me, ya?" Wakka winks at the woman who sits at the bar with a younger girl, probably the only couple in the bar actually trying to hold a conversation and succeeding.
"Wakka, you have bright orange hair that almost fucking glows and does a weird swirly thing two feet above your head. I've known you for ever and I /still/ don't get how you do it. Of course she's going to stare." Tidus grins and punches his friend on the shoulder.
"Well then lets go say hey then, man." Wakka grabs Tidus' arm and drags him over to the bar. "Four beers, bruddah!" He shouts to the bartender, a capable looking man who probably doubles as a bouncer as the need arises.
Tidus is distracted be a pair of mismatched eyes staring at him around a pale woman with dark hair. "Yuna?" The black haired woman shifts slightly, allowing the two to see each other.
"Hello, Tidus." Yuna smiles, illuminating the entire room, at least in Tidus' vision. She pats the stool beside her. ""Come sit down, please?"
Tidus grins and glides onto the stool beside her, resting his feet on the legs of her stool. "Come on, Wakka. Pull up a chair." He accepts the beer from the bartender and sniffs, pulling a face at the stench.
Wakka laughs and plops onto his own stool, taking a pull of his own beer. "Aw, come on, man. Can't even smell the good stuff without getting squeamish?" He sets his glass down thoughtfully. "Though, course, if any beer could make my toss cookies, that shit sure could." He takes another gulp and grins appreciatively, determined to enjoy himself.
"Most people don't come here to drink." A voice like ice cuts into Wakka's good mood and crimson eyes flash at him.
"Ease up, sweet. No offence meant, ya?" He gestures at the bar tender to give the remaining beers to Tidus' friend and her fire eyed companion.
Yuna giggles and pokes her friend's shoulder. "I think he's hitting on you, Lulu." She lets out a most uncharacteristic cackle at Wakka's unsuppressed blush reflex.
The woman Lulu raises a feathery eyebrow, first at Yuna, then Wakka. "Cute, but superfluous." She takes a pull of her beer without flinching, then looks Wakka up and down, taking in gaudy yellow jumper, blue headband, carrot colored hair, tanned muscles and abashed brown eyes. "Though I'm not working right now."
"Great!" Wakka drains his beer and hops up, offering his hand to Lulu. "Would you dance with me, fine lady?"
"For ten dollars." Yuna blinks at her friend; they were supposed to charge more than that, a lot more. Lulu offering herself for so little, even for just a dance would probably prove to be a bad idea, later.
"Aw, you don't like me enough to dance for free?" Wakka teases, pulling out two crumpled fives and offering her his arm.
"Not yet." Lulu tucks the money into the front of her low cut shirt and accepts his arm with a smile, allowing herself to be led onto the dance floor.
Tidus watches his friend dance. Wakka isn't an amazing dancer on his own, but he is certainly eye catching, especially with an experienced partner. And Lulu was obviously a professional at the fine art of dancing, just a few steps down from foreplay. Someone pokes his ribs and he jumps, much to Yuna's amusement.
"They look good, don't they?"
He shrugs, "we could do better."
"You think so?"
"One way to find out."
It's later. Much later and the two boys are driving back home, slowly, and very carefully. Tidus is the first to break the silence. "So, d'j'a have fun?" He stifles a yawn.
"Ya, man." Wakka turns his face to the side, trying to hide the self satisfied grin of someone after a good lay.
"Say no more, no more." There is more silence, each man reflecting on his inner thoughts that only come during a brief time of being borderline tipsy. Neither speaking, but both understanding the other.
"But bruddah," this time Wakka breaks the silence. "Those girls, they deserve better. Ya, much better.
And Tidus can not find any argument with that.