Disclaimer: I don't own any characters involved in this story, although I have named a couple of locations.
Warning: love begins to blossom in the form of yaoi (boy x boy), so if you're offended by such, please stop reading!
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Chapter 4: Late at Night
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Wakka sat up in his room, thinking about how he hadn't gone to see Tidus in the street. It was to protect Tidus from his own father, Wakka knew, but it still hurt, not being able to go and speak with him. With one leg hanging over the bed and one arm propped up on his second knee, Wakka casually looked out his window and watched the dark street in front of his house. He was the only one of the group who lived on this street; everyone else lived on the street behind his house.
Wakka sighed and looked at the clock. It was two in the morning and he couldn't sleep, still. He just continued to think about Tidus being locked up in his house for all but ten minutes a day. And apparently, it was Wakka's fault. Wakka, more than any of the others, wanted to know why.
Wakka stole a glance out his window again. There were no lights on anywhere on his street, and he knew that it would be the same for Tidus' street, except for Tidus' bedroom window. Sora had said that Tidus hadn't turned it off in a couple of days. That kind of worried Wakka, as well.
It sure is dark out there, Wakka's mind began to wander, but it never strayed far from leaving the house in the middle of the night and going to see Tidus, just to ask what was up. Wakka's eyes widened. It'll be just as dark on his street as mine. Why shouldn't I head over there? Maybe I can get some answers!
Wakka jumped quietly out of bed and opened his window. He lived in a single-story house with his father and Chappu, his brother, so jumping out the window was no real adventure. Landing in the soft grass outside his window, Wakka snuck around the back of the house, avoiding any dry leaves that may have fallen lately. He rounded his way around Riku's house and stood at the edge of the dark road between Riku's house and Tidus'. Wakka took a deep breath and ran as quietly as he could across the cold asphalt and into Sora's side yard. He snuck around to Sora's backyard, finally crossing over to Tidus'. He reached the back of Tidus' house and pressed his back against the house. He looked up and saw Tidus' bedroom window, lit up, like he knew it would be. Wakka noticed the lattice heading up and started to climb as carefully as he could. He sure as hell didn't want it to break on him.
Tidus was almost asleep from crying so much when a knock on his window startled him. Tidus looked over at his north window and gasped. Wakka was grinning at him from the darkness outside!
Tidus rushed over and opened the window as fast as he could. "Wakka!" he hissed. "What are you doing here?"
"Gee, is that any way to say hello to a friend?" Wakka answered in a whisper.
Tidus wrapped his arms around Wakka's neck and started to cry again. "I'm so sorry I couldn't speak with you earlier today," Tidus was mumbling.
"Hey, woah, woah, I'm not safe yet," Wakka replied hastily. "Let me in."
Tidus backed up and helped Wakka through his window. Wakka quietly landed on the floor of Tidus' bedroom. The redhead looked at Tidus and grinned.
Tidus rushed up and gave Wakka another big hug, this one returned by the older boy.
When they broke, Tidus had tears running down his face. Wakka blinked in confusion, and reached up with his left hand and wiped them off of the younger kid's face.
"What's with the tears?" Wakka asked the blonde.
Tidus sniffed. "You shouldn't be here," he replied in a silent whisper. "Dad might hear you."
Wakka snorted. "I dun' care," he said quietly. "I needed to come and get some answers."
Tidus' eyes went wide. "You came for answers? Like what?" the boy asked his friend.
"Well, for one," Wakka said thoughtfully, "I want to know why it's my fault that you're grounded."
Tidus slumped back onto his bed. "I-I can't."
"You told Riku late at night," Wakka reminded him. "Why can't you tell me? Your dad doesn't need to know I know."
Tidus blushed and looked out the window that faced Sora's house. There was a long moment of silence, then Tidus said, "I'm sorry, Wakka, for getting you mixed up in this. I still can't tell you. It's…too embarrassing."
Wakka crossed his arms and huffed. "So that's how it's gonna be, eh?" He walked over to Tidus' bed and sat down in front of the younger boy, facing him. He put on a pouty face. "Pwease?" he said in his most sickeningly innocent voice, his bottom lip sticking out.
Tidus closed his eyes, trying to ignore Wakka's tactic, but he couldn't resist looking at the redhead. A smile reached Tidus' face and the two boys started chuckling. Tidus shook his head. "Wakka, I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you right now. I'm not ready."
Wakka was confounded by this statement. His pouty face disappeared and was replaced by a wide-eyed stare. After a moment of silence, the redhead nodded. "Okay, I can wait until you're ready to tell me, I guess," he said slowly. He stood up and headed for the window. When he reached the glass pane and lattice, without looking at the blonde, Wakka said, "You know, when I saw the others crowding around you like that, I wanted more than anything to rush over there and be there with them, saying hi, prodding you with 'how are ya?' and 'when are you ungrounded?'…"
Tidus' eyes teared up. "Wakka, please," he began, but Wakka continued.
"Then, when I tried to go over to you, Riku stopped me and told me that if your dad saw me there with the others, you wouldn't be allowed to go outside at night anymore."
Tidus felt a tear fall down his face. "Riku's probably right," he whispered. Wakka cringed at that, but went on.
"Tidus, I…" Wakka began, but something stopped him. "I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to see you again. It hurt so much when I realized that I wouldn't be able to talk to you anymore. I felt like I was losing my best friend."
A tear hit Tidus' leg. "Wakka, stop," Tidus whimpered. Wakka didn't hear him.
"I'll be watching you from the other side of the street at night when you come out," Wakka told the blonde. "I can sneak in again after midnight. It won't be the same as hanging out on the island, but at least we can talk again this way."
Tidus nodded, his eyes closed tightly.
"I guess I'll see you later, when you come out for your ten minutes," Wakka said softly, reaching for the lattice.
Suddenly, arms wrapped around Wakka's chest in a hug from behind. Wakka was surprised when he heard Tidus' sniffling behind him. Wakka turned and gave the blonde a proper hug before heading out the window. Wakka had thought that the hug was a 'goodbye, see ya later' hug. Tidus knew, however, that it was more than just a hug. It was a 'Don't leave me!' hug. It was a hug that represented Tidus' feelings. It was a hug that meant the world to the blonde, just to be able to touch Wakka again.
As Wakka landed in the grass outside Tidus' bedroom window, Tidus watched the redhead round the corner of the house. Tidus jumped onto his bed to continue to watch the boy creep out of their yard and into Sora's, the dash down the length of Sora's house, to the street. When Wakka hit the street, he turned and gave Tidus a huge wave of an arm. Tidus' eyes watered again and he waved a tiny wave that he knew Wakka wouldn't be able to see. Wakka turned and dashed across the street and through Riku's yard, and vanished from sight. Tidus sighed and turned away from the window. He drew his knees up to his chin and buried his face in his arms.
"I can't keep this up," Tidus whimpered into his arms.
Not without you, Wakka…- - -
The next morning, Sora got up a little late and rushed outside to see if anyone was around. He looked over at Tidus' house and received quite the shock. Tidus was drawing on his front walk with sidewalk chalk.
Sora rushed over to Tidus and knelt beside him. "Woah! Are you ungrounded?" Sora asked the blonde.
Tidus grinned briefly, but it disappeared quickly. "No. Dad said that I've been a good kid lately and that I deserved the day to myself. He said I couldn't go to Destiny Island, but I was free to wander the street today."
Sora stood up and laughed. "This is huge news! I've gotta go tell everyone!" he cried with a laugh, rushing over towards Riku's house.
Tidus continued to draw, happy to be out in the sun again. His normally tanned skin had paled a shade or two in the past week.
Riku and Sora came running up to Tidus, who wiped off his hands on his shorts and stood up. Riku gave Tidus a nod and looked over at his house. After a moment, he looked back at Tidus. "We're all going to the island today," Riku told the blonde, "but I'll make sure that Wakka stays behind."
Tidus' face took on a massive grin. "Thank you, Riku," he said.
Confused, Sora glanced at Riku. "What's up with Wakka?" he asked the white-haired boy.
"Don't worry about it," Riku answered, brushing Sora's question off. "Let's go get the others – I want to be back by two or three to hang out with Tidus."
Sora nodded and turned towards Selphie's house and started running down the sidewalk. Riku was charging ahead towards Kairi's house.
Tidus grinned. Today was going to be a great day!
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See? Everything works out, eventually. But things are just getting started, believe-you-me! Read and review if you'd like.