A/N: Hey all! This is it! The moment you've all been waiting for...The Proposal! Ha-Cha! So, enough of my blabber. On with the story! Oh, and thank you for my lovely reviews.
Disclaimer: No, no no. I do not own FFX.
Chapter 24: Mission Impossible: The Conslusion
"Isn't it a beautiful night tonight?" Yuna asked as she walked along the beach. After dinner, Tidus had asked her if she would join him for a romantic walk along the beach. Yuna had hurriedly agreed, seeing this as a perfect place for him to propose.
So far, though, they had done nothig but talk though, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little disappointed.
"Sure is," Tidus agreed, looking more so at Yuna than anything else. With her blue satin dress -which complemented her nicely, if he did say so himself- the way her hair was laying on her shoulder, and just the general glow that had been about her all night, Tidus was finding that it was hard to keep his mind on anything but the gorgeous woman before him.
Yuna, oblivious to Tidus' adorement, plopped down in the sand and pulled her heels off. She then jumped up, and dashed towards the shore line, frolicking in the shallow surf. "Come on, Tidus," Yuna beckoned.
"Yuna, you're going to get soaked," Tidus chided. "Get up her."
Yuna just shook her head playfully. "No. You come down here."
Tidus sighed and pulled his shoes off as well. Shoving his socks in his shoes, Tidus rolled up his pant legs and trudged towards Yuna. Reaching the young women, he was suprised when Yuna greeted him by wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing him gently.
"I love you," Yuna whispered, laying her head aginst his chest.
"Love you, too."
Smiling, Yuna lifted her head and kissed him on the cheek before dashing off towards her shoes, which she had left laying in the sand a few feet away.
For a moment, Tidus stood in the surf, staring at Yuna with a bewildered look plastered on his face. She sure was acting playful. Quite different from her usual prim and proper routine. Not that Tidus minded. He loved to see the playful side of Yuna, and it helped ease the nervousness he was feeling about the proposal.
Walking back up to where he dropped his shoes, Tidus looked around the area. Where were his shoes? This was where he had put them, so why couldn't he see them?
"Looking for these?" Yuna questioned. She stood a few feet behind him, holding his shoes with a mischievous smile. Seeing Tidus return the smile, Yuna instantly took of, making her way farther down the beach.
"Yuna! Give me back my shoes!" Tidus cried, chasing after Yuna, who was quite a few feet ahead of him. Who knew the woman could run so fast?
Yuna sped on, running as fast as her legs would carry her. But soon, she started laughing, which slowed her down a great deal, and Tidus caught up with her.
"Gotcha," Tidus declared, wrapping his arms around the young women.
"You've always had me," Yuna whispered truthfully, dropping their shoes and wrapping her arms around Tidus neck as his lips met hers.
"Yuna," Tidus began, breaking the kiss. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you..."
Yuna's heart skipped a beat. Oh Yevon, this is it, she thought,. He's going to propose!
"I'm not to sure how to put it, so I'm just going to come on out with it," Tidus continued. He drew in a breath. "Yuna, will you-"
"Yunie! Is that you?" Rikku cried, appearing behind Tidus. She and Auron had been walking along the soreline, but she never expected to see her cousin. "What are you doing here? I thought Tidus was supposed to pro-"
"Supposed to be taking you on a date," Auron quickly interrupted, cutting Rikku off with a vice-grip of a hand sqeeze.
Rikku pulled her hand out of Auron's grasp and rubbed it. "Yeah. That," she mumbled, glaring slightly at Auron.
"We are on our date," Yuna said, trying to hide her disappointment at the interuption. "What are you two doing here?" she added, watching as Auron gave Rikku an apologetic look and slipped his arm around her waist.
"Oh, you know, just enjoying the night," Rikku replied, forgetting Yuna completely for a moment and turning to Auron.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Auron agreed, kissing the young Al Bhed lightly on the lips.
Beautiful? Since when was beautiful a word in Auron's vocabulary? Then a small smile spread across Yuna's face. Awww! They had finally admitted their feelings!
She flashed Rikku a knowing look before throwing in a 'you-interrupted-a-huge-moment' one.
Rikku instantly caught the look and squealed," Oh my Yevon, was he getting ready to-"
Quick as lightning, Auron placed a hand over Rikku's mouth. "Well, it's getting rather late. We'll leave you two alone."
Rikku tried to bid them a good night, but Auron's hand over her mouth proved to be a boundry. She moved her hand up to his in an attempt to get him to remove it, but Auron merely ignored her.
"Come along, Rikku." He steered her towards the sidewalk. "Have a nice evening," Auron called over his shoulder, his hand still placed firmly over Rikku's mouth. He didn't plan on letting go until they were quite a few feet away from the young couple behind him.
"Yeah, yeah. Have a good time," Tidus mumbled, highly annoyed at being interrupted during one of the biggest moments of his life. Now the moment was ruined, and who knew when he'd find another oppurtunity!
"Bye, Rikku," Yuna giggled, watching as her cousin gave up her fight and feebly waved a good-bye. "Now, where we're we?" she questioned, turning back to Tidus.
"Uh- I was going to ask you, if you wanted to- you know..." Tidus trailed off. Great! Now what he supposed to say? "Uh, go down to the square with me?" Smooth. Real smooth.
"The square?" Yuna tried to mask her disappointment. She was was sure that that was not what he had planned to say, but she couldn't blame him for changing his mind. They had been interrupted. Besides, she wasn't even supposed to know about the proposal, so she had to act uneffected.
"Sure," she answered, putting on a smile.
As Tidus slipped his hand in hers and picked up their shoes, Yuna glanced up at the sky. Perhaps she would have a nice time up on the square...
0000
"There's nothing on," Wakka grumbled, surfing through the channels for seemed like the hundreth time.
"Let me see the remote," Lulu sighed, making a grad for the device. She had seen quite a few good movies. How could he say there was nothing on?
"Oh-no." Wakka held the remote control above his head. "You are not gonna make me watch some chick flick."
"Just let me see it."
"Nope. This is my-"
Sighing, Lulu reached up and snatched the remote awasy from Wakka's grasp.
"-remote," Wakka finished dumbly. Grumbling, he settled down into couch, prepared for the worst. Who knew what kind of sappy movie Lulu would make him watch?
Stopping on STfW, Spira's Television for Women, Lulu snuggled into Wakka's chest.
"Not Spira's Television for Women! C'mon, Lu. Change it, ya!"
Ignoring Wakka's comments, Lulu tossed the remote in the chair a few feet away from them. "If you want to change the channel, go get the remote."
Wakka stared at the remote control. Yeah, like he was going to get up and get the stupid thing. He didn't want to change the channel that bad.
Smiling to herself for thinking up such a brilliant plan, Lulu once again settled herself against Wakka's chest.
"This movie sucks, ya?" Wakka announced, breaking the silence. He repostioned himself to where he was laying down on the couch and Lulu was laying on top of him. "How many minutes does it have left?"
"I don't know. Probably about an hour and a half."
"An hour and a half!" Wakka groaned. Ten minutes was long enough for him.
Lulu chuckled, and turned her attention away from the television to look at the man she was using as a pillow. "I wonder if Tidus asked Yuna yet?"
"I dunno. Probably. It's already past ten," Wakka answered, hoping that his surrogate siblings knew what they were doing. Marriage wasn't just a game that you could quit in the middle of; it was permanent, and he hoped Tidus and Yuna realized that.
Lulu smiled reassuringly, reading the worry sketched on Wakka's face. "They'll be fine. Tidus knows what he's doing, and Yuna loves him so much that I believe she'd walk to the ends of the Spira if he was going as well."
"I know. They just," he sighed, "they worry me, ya?"
Lulu nodded her head. "I know." She was worried about them, too, but she had confidence in them as well. She knew that the young couple loved each other dearly, and that they had a good head on their shoulder's. They'd do just fine.
Glancing down at her own engagement ring, Lulu changed the subject to her own relationship. "Wakka, in a few short months, we'll be living like this all the time."
"What? You mean watching the blasted Spira Television for Women?"
Lulu rolled her eyes. "No, I mean like this," she motioned around the empty hotel room, "alone. Just the two of us."
Wakka nodded his head and grinned. "I know. It's one of the perks of being married, ya? You get to live with your wife."
Lulu gave a small laugh. "Are you nervous at all?" she questioned after a moment of silence. She twirled her ring absent-mindedly. Yevon knew she was.
Wakka pondered her question. Finally he answered, "Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, it's going to be different, ya? Living together, seeing each other everyday of our lifes, even when we're mad at each other. Things will change." He drapped his arms across her back and continued:
"But, I'm more excited than nervous. I can't wait to call you my wife, and share every moment of our lifes together. The good and the bad." He kissed her lightly on top of her head. "I love you, Lu."
Lulu moved her lips to Wakka's, her nervousness quickly diminishing. She loved the man before her more than anything in the world, and she couldn't wait to share everyday with him. Sure things would be difficult, most things were, but with Wakka by her side, Lulu knew that she could face them.
"Just think," the mage began, pulling back to look Wakka in the eye. "Soon I'll be Mrs. Lulu-"
Just then, the door to the hotel room blew open. "We're back!" Rikku annouced, waltzing into the hotel room, Auron in tow.
Auron looked around the hotel room, and noted the slightly annoyed looks on his friend's faces. Looked like they had interrupted another moment.
"Are we interrupting?" Rikku questioned, voicing Auron's thoughts. She grinned as she and Auron sat down in one of the armchairs. Two moments in one night. That was a new record.
Lulu just rolled her eyes and layed her head on Wakka's chest. At least when she was married she wouldn't have to worry about interruptions.
"So did you two make up?" Wakka queried, settling his arms on Lulu's back.
"You could say that," Rikku answered, snuggling down into Auron's chest. She sighed contently as she felt Auron wrap his arm's around. Yep. This was how it should be.
Once again, Lulu rolled her eyes, but this time she wore a knowing smirk. "So, did anything interesting happen?" she probbed, wanting a little information on what had transpiried.
"Yes, actually. We saw Yunie and Tidus."
Well, that wasn't what she had expected. "Really? Was she wearing a ring?"
"Nope."
"I think we ruined the moment," Auron chimed in.
"We have a knack for that," Rikku joked, intertwining her fingers with Auron's. She turned back to Lulu. "I wonder what Yunie's doing right now?"
The mage shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever she'd doing, I hope she's enjoying herself."
0000
As the couple exited the coffee shop, Yuna looked up at the sky and realized how much fun she was having. After leaving the beach, she and Tidus had walked up to the square, browsing the few shops that were open and merely enjoying each others company.
"Where to now?" Tidus asked, glancing around the area. Most shops were closed; they were lucky that they had been able to find a coffee shop. He looked down at his coffe. He really didn't like the stuff, but it sure was helping with calming down his nerves.
Yuna walked over to the fountain that sat in the middle of the square and sat down. "Let's just sit down and drink our coffee," she replied, patting the seat next to her.
Sitting down next to Yuna, Tidus placed his hand over her's and took a sip of his beverage. Ever since they had been interrupted down at the beach, he had been trying to find another oppurtunity to ask her again. But now his nerves were in a bunch and he was beginning to think that he wasn't going to have the courage to go through with it again.
Yuna leaned her head over onto Tidus' shoulder. "I've had a really nice time tonight. But, it's getting late, and we should probably head back."
Sighing, Yuna removed her head. She had really thought that Tidus was going to propose to her tonight, but perhaps Rikku had been mistaken. Maybe he hadn't planned on asking her to marry him at all.
Tidus nearly choked on his drink.
Go home!
They couldn't go home! He hadn't asked her yet. "Uh, we can't."
"Can't? Why not? I'm tired, Honey."
"Because..." Tidus scanned the area for some excuse. Finding none, he continued, "Because...I-" He faltered. What could he say? He wanted this moment to be perfect, yet it wasn't working out the way he had planned.
Sitting his coffee on the ground, Tidus moved to where he was on a bended knee. "Because, Yuna, I love you and I want you to be my wife." He pulled out the ring from his pocket and lifted the lid. "Would you give me the honor of calling you my wife?"
Yuna let out a small gasp when she saw the ring. It was really happening. Tidus was really proposing. "Oh, Tidus, it's beautiful." She shuffled her feet nervously, prepared to spill her heart out and let him know that she would love to be his wife.
That was what she had prepared to do.
What actually happened was, in her nervous feet shuffling, Yuna accidentally knocked over Tidus' coffee, spilling the hot liquid on his leg.
"Y'ouch!" Tidus yelped, jumping up hurriedly from his position on the ground.
To hurriedly actually. Because in his process of leaping from the ground, Tidus caught Yuna completely off-guard and she jumped backwards as well. Only she had nothing behind her but water from the fountain.
Water that she was more than likely to end up in.
"Yuna!" Tidus cried, grabbing her hand quickly. But it was to no avail. She still ended up in the water, but because Tidus had grabbed her hand, he ended up in the cold, wet, gil filled water as well.
And so, the couple sat in the fountain, completely soaked. Yuna wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry, and Tidus was so discouraged that he wished a Chimera would swallow him up.
"Tidus," Yuna began, turning towards the wet blond. "I-"
Tidus swatted the water with an open hand, cutting Yuna off. "You don't have to say anything, Sweetheart. I wanted this evening to be perfect and," he sighed dejectedly, "luck just wasn't on my side. So-"
Now it was time for Yuna to cut-off Tidus. "Tidus, honey, this is perfect." She was sitting in water, dress soaked, hair plastered, yet she honestly found his moment perfect.
"What?" Tidus stared at her as though she was crazy. How was this perfect! Sitting in cold, wet, nasty, gil filled water with your clothes completely ruined was not his idea of a perfect proposal.
"Oh, it is." Despite the fact that she had ended up in a fountain, Yuna found the moment perfect. Tidus had asked her to be his wife, and nothing could ruin that. "I love you, Tidus, and I would love to be your wife, as well."
Tidus grinned, forgetting the fact that his perfect proposal hadn't turned out quite the way he ahd planned it to, and pulled Yuna to him.
After pulling back from the kiss, Yuna lifted up her left hand and presented her ring finger.
"Oh, the ring!" Tidus cried, panicking. Where was the ring? The last time he had had it, he was on his knee and then...And then Yuna had knocked over the coffe..and he had...
He had dropped the ring.
"I dropped it!" he shouted, jumping out of the fountain and searching the ground frantically. After an unsuccessful search, he jumped back into the fountain, figuring that he must have dropped it in there.
"Tidus, are you sure it wasn't on the ground?" Yuna questioned, wondering how on Spira they would ever find it if it got mixed in with all the gil people had thrown into the fountain.
Tidus ignored her comment. Instead he busied himself with looking through all the gil, praying to anyone that would listen that he would find that ring.
"I see it!" He cried, plunging his hand into the water and grabbing a the ring, along with a handful of gil. Turning to Yuna, he grinned sheepishly as he placed the ring on her finger. "So, you'll be my wife?"
Yuna smiled happily, feeling her eye's moisten. "Yes. I'll be your wife."
As she felt the band slip onto her finger, Yuna gave a delightful giggle and threw her arms around Tidus.
"I love you, Yuna," Tidus said softly, as he gently sealed his words with a kiss.
0000
Reply to my wonderful reviews...
Chibi-Sorrow: I've not played ToS since, like, October. Heh. I should probably pop it on...Oh well. Anyways, yes, Aurikkuness. It kinda hard to write that, seeing as how Auron is all stonic and stand-offish. Oh well. It's not like the gangs really in-character in my fic. He he.
Yuna-Elena: Ugh! Lol! Don't worry, it does take a little getting used to. Glad you liked my last chapter!
GiGgLyGaL: You hate me? -Sob- I'm sorry I didn't make Tidus propose! I got all caught up in my Auron and Rikku! But, Tidus proposed this time! Yay!
Crazyanimelover: I have short term memory loss, as well. I can't remember what I did this morning. Heh. Well, I'm glad you liked it!
Motet: Will do! Well, this wasn't as soon as I would have liked it to be, but I did update.
The Dr: I laughed so hard when I read your review. Thank you for the laugh! It was great! Your favorite fic EVER! Whoo hoo! Thanks! Poor Tidus really had a hard time in this chapter. I'm cruel...Mwahahaha! Ahem, not that's that outta my system, you didn't sound cranky at all, and I thank you for my review.
tiduxXyuna637: Thank ya! Here's the proposal!
Darkestsoul: That's ok. No problem. Thanks for the review!
Mandyfanforevr: Thankies! Is 'thankies' even a word...O.o. Oh well! Thankies anyways!
Dstar504: But, chocobo's are overgrown chicken! The gang had to eat something! So, I had them eat SFC. I'm sorry if I offened you. I didn't mean it! Anyhoo, thank's for the review, and no, you do not sound corny.
Cazzyrulz: Here's the proposal, as promised!
A/N: I did it! I finished chapter twenty-four, and Tidus and Yuna are engaged! Yippie! Well, I will be leaving on Saturday to head to Tennessee, so I won't have the next chapter out until sometime next week. But, have no fear, I shall have it out! It just might take sometime. Hmm...Oh, as always, thank you all so much for my great reviews! I love them all. Please leave me one and let me know what you though of this chapter. I know there are a lot of Tuna lovers out there. Tuna...He He...Well, I should be back with chapter twenty-five in a short while. Thanks you all again for the reviews, and please do it again!