When I originally started this story, I was going to switch views between Tidus and Yuna, and did so for a while, but then just kept with Yuna, being that I didn't want to give the story away with Tidus. However, now I think I'll put some of Tidus' point of view into this chapter, but let's just say there's some things that I'm going to keep hidden to you even from Tidus' point of view! Anyway, here it is, Chapter 3 of Part 2! By the way, from now until about mid-December, my story might be mainly just a filler...I'm waiting for it to get closer to 'Yevonistmas' for the exciting stuff! Lol! This chapter has kind of little to do with the story and all, but I just thought it was a sweet little reminiscing! Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Reminiscing
Tired, Tidus through his bag that was full of Blitz gear down as soon as he entered his house, and then threw himself on the couch, burying his head in the pillow that was there, smelling the smell of alcohol, being that his father usually slept on that couch.
Turning himself around then, he stared at the ceiling, his thoughts overcoming him.
"Why do things have to be so hard?" he just said out loud, hoping that resting his head would overcome the headache that he'd had now for quite some time.
He had just returned from a Blitz game, and the after-party. It was very late, but he had left the party early. He simply couldn't take being in that Grand Hall.
As the party had gone on, he became overly annoyed by Dona, and had decided to get away from her. The only place he could think of to go was to the balcony of the building, where he had usually gone to get away from everything.
With only his simple blue coat on, he walked out to the snow-filled balcony, staring off into the distance of Bevelle, and leaning his head in his hands.
He remembered that time there on the balcony with Yuna, before he had even been fully assigned to help Nooj's plan. It was the honest truth–the first time he had met Yuna, that time when he'd crashed into her–he hadn't known who she was. Then, on the balcony, he still didn't really know who she was, although he did have a better idea. Especially after Braska had shown up.
"Damn, she's the girl Nooj wants me to befriend?" Tidus remembered thinking as Braska took his daughter from him, "At least I've already basically befriended her..."
As Tidus remained on the balcony, recalling these thoughts, he suddenly remembered that he more than likely never would have ever chased Yuna down again if it hadn't been for his assignment to befriend her. Actually, he was only supposed to befriend her, maybe make her think he loved her. But...Well, actual love kind of got in the way.
"I'm supposed to date 'em and dump 'em," Tidus had said out loud on the balcony, as some snow flurries scattered their way across the sky, "That's why I was perfect for Nooj's plan. I could get Yuna to fall for me, without falling for her. Of course, Nooj was completely wrong. I did fall for her."
The balcony that Tidus stood on had two entries; one from the downstairs, and one from the meeting rooms upstairs. Tidus never noted the one leading from the upstairs, being that the balcony was always lonely, and no one was ever on it. He had been utterly surprised when he found Yuna on the balcony, being that in the million times he'd been on the balcony, he'd never ever ran into anyone else.
Suddenly, that door from the meeting rooms upstairs opened, causing Tidus to jump, as his blue eyes swiftly looked toward the door that had opened.
"Oh my Yevon," the door's opener said, and Tidus' eyes opened in surprise as he noticed who it was.
"Wait, don't go!" he had said, but she just shut the door anyway.
He thought about chasing her down, to tell her how much he honestly loved her, and how much he wished they could be together. He wanted to explain to her why he'd had to leave her, but instead, he just sighed, and slowly went back down to the party, deciding he didn't want to be at that place any longer.
A small tear formed in the corner of his eye as he recalled the night's events, wishing dreadfully he could go back to that balcony, and see her face just one more time. Maybe, if he could do it again, he'd even chase her down.
But he couldn't go back through time. What was done was done.
"It's about time it snowed, wouldn't you say, Yunie?" Rikku chirped alongside her cousin, as they made their way down the now snow-filled streets, shopping bags swinging along their sides, "So, what should I get for Gippal?"
"I didn't know you celebrated Yevonistmas!" Yuna exclaimed, realizing that here they had been Yevonistmas shopping now for quite some time, and she had completely forgotten that Rikku was Al Bhed.
"Oh, we celebrate it," Rikku said, smiling at her cousin, "But we celebrate it as the day Yevon died, not the day he was born."
"That's nice," Yuna just said, her eyes opened in disbelief. "Oh well, I suppose Rikku's entitled to her opinion..."
"So, Yunie, how are you going to spend Yevonistmas?" Rikku then asked, nodding toward a store that they were passing.
"I don't know, the usual way, I suppose," Yuna simply said, shrugging, "My father will go and give some speech, and I'll spend the day with Seymour and..." Yuna paused at Dona's name, shuddering as she did so, blaming the cold weather for her shudder, telling herself that she didn't care a bit about Dona.
"And....?" Rikku said, and Yuna realized she'd completely forgotten that she had stopped in the middle of her sentence.
"And...I don't know!" Yuna finally said, "Yevonistmas is still about a month away."
"I know what I'm gonna do!" Rikku said, putting her bags down, "I'm gonna spend the morning with the fam., Brother and Cid, and then the night with Gippal!"
"Sounds nice," Yuna said, hiding sarcasm that was impossible to keep from coming out.
"I know!" Rikku just said, "Ooh, I wonder if Brother will like this?"
Yuna just smiled at the weird little piece of machina that Rikku held up, but her mind was definitely elsewhere.
"Nah, let's go someplace else," Rikku said after some consideration, and then lead the way out the door, "So, did you go to your dad's meeting thing last night?"
"Oh...Yeah, I did..." Yuna said softly, "It was boring."
"Yeah, I figured it would be. But the Blitz party was going on right downstairs! You should have gone!"
"No, and I'm glad I didn't," Yuna said bitterly.
"Hee, my gosh, for a hottie, he sure knew how to break your heart, huh?" Rikku said, shaking her head, "Come on Yunie! He's just a guy! There's plenty of others! I would have been thrilled to get a day in with Tidus, but you got how many months? And you also got to go to that week-long tournament with him...Even if it was cut short."
"I'd rather not talk about him," Yuna said softly, remembering how he had told her not to leave the night before, but she had anyway.
"If only I could go back through time and see him one more time..." Yuna thought to herself, "Maybe I would have even stayed..."
"Yunie, look!" Rikku suddenly said, pointing toward a store window that had jewelry displayed, "It's all the way from Luca! Ooh, look at that pretty bracelet!"
Yuna turned to see what Rikku was pointing at, only to see a bracelet that was silver with emerald studs, the exact opposite of the sapphire one Tidus had given her so long ago.
Yuna just stood there, staring at the display case, thinking back to that day.
"Someday, I'll get you an emerald one."
"Come on Rikku!" Yuna cried then, tears threatening to fall. She grabbed her cousin's coat sleeve, and pulled her away from the case.
"Hey! Yunie, what's wrong?"
All Yuna could do was remain silent, thinking of Dona receiving that emerald bracelet for Christmas.
"I just want to go home," Yuna said, as she waved down a taxi.
"But Yunie, I can drive you home," Rikku said, but the taxi had already pulled up and Yuna had climbed inside.
"Thanks for the offer," Yuna just said, climbing in the taxi, "But I just need to get home. Goodbye."
"Okay, bye Yunie!" Rikku just said, and watched as the taxi containing her cousin drove out of sight. "That girl gets more and more confusing..." Then, smiling to herself, Rikku simply continued her Yevonistmas shopping.
Yuna slid open the top drawer of her dresser. It was a small little drawer where she kept her most precious belongings. Inside was a picture of her mother, a little ribbon from her first pair of ballet slippers, as well as her first ballet medal, a little certificate from the spelling bee that she had won in the third grade, and finally, the small bracelet that Tidus had given her.
She delicately took the bracelet out of the drawer and sat on the side of her bed, fingering the small chain, looking it over with a smile on her face.
She remembered how she had wanted so to throw it out of the taxi window, being that she had been so angered at Tidus, but simply had to return back to him. Her thoughts went further back, to the night that she had met him out on the balcony, to the first day of school, when she came home to find him, to the night where Bickson had wisped her away and Tidus had saved her, and finally to their last days together, in Luca.
She had been wearing a small smile all this time, and it faded at the thought of Luca. If she had known what would happen, she wondered if she would have still gone to Luca with Tidus.
"If I didn't go to Luca," Yuna said softly to herself, "Would my father be dead now?" For some reason she just couldn't picture Tidus going through with Nooj's plan, but at the same time, wondered if he would have.
Then, she stood up, and put the bracelet back in its drawer, and left her room, deciding to return to the piano, and play yet another sad, mournful song...