Thank you to all my reviewers! The last chapter really did not satisfy me, but I was shocked to see how many of you liked it. I had been so afraid I was letting you all down . . . glad to know you still have faith in me! Anyway, enjoy chapter 16, even though I am not 100 happy with the quality on this one either. Sorry about the slight delay. As we all know by now, school greatly interferes with my writing time. --
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YUNA
Oh my god he's about to kiss me I can't believe this how is my breath am I staring too much I can hear his heart beat oh wait that's mine I think I'm going to faint why am I shaking so much it's just a kiss but it's Tidus I've been waiting for this all along I can't believe he's about to kiss me-
"Ahem."
Instinctively, Tidus and I pull away from each other just when his lips are a hair's breadth away from mine. My head snaps around to stare wide-eyed at the kitchen entrance. Next to me, Tidus does the same thing. His body feels unbearably warm next to me.
A short, stocky man is standing in the doorway dressed only in underpants and an open blue bathrobe. His hairy gut sticks out in a portly fashion, and he is abysmally bald with squinty dark eyes and a somewhat displeased expression on his scrunched up face.
"Good evening, Mr. Sehdan," Tidus says cordially, as if there is nothing awkward about the situation at all. "Hope we didn't disturb you." He is cheerful almost to the point of being cocky.
Ah, so this is Rikku's father. She often refers to him as 'Cid', or 'Pops'. He turns his beady eyes to Tidus with a less-than-favourable look.
"I heard voices," he grunted, folding his thick arms over his flabby chest. Then he returns his gaze to me, and I feel a blush flame upon my cheeks. I can imagine how the two of us must have looked to him when he walked into his kitchen. Tidus is still sitting quite close to me, although the young man in question is still smiling innocently.
But then, I see a spark of recognition alight his features. He stares at me for a moment, as if some kind of realization is dawning in mind. Then a wide smile breaks out across his lips, making him appear much less intimidating than I had pegged him for.
"Well," he says with a delighted chuckle, placing his fists on his blocky hips. "If I ain't the bastard son of Yevon! Little Yuna, right in my very kitchen!"
I stand up quickly out of politeness, but his statement confuses me. Usually people address me as 'Miss' or 'My Lady'. Never has anyone called me by such an affectionate term of endearment. I cannot say whether I am honoured or uncomfortable with it, but either way I am glad to see he is not angry with me.
"It's a pleasure, Mr. Sehdan," I say courteously, bowing my head. "I am very sorry we woke you up."
"Please, please! Call me Cid!" he says, waving his hands as if brushing aside my formal greeting. "The pleasure is all mine, Yuna. I didn't know you were one of Rikku's friends!"
I smile at him.
"Well, it's only been a few weeks, but yes, Rikku and I are good friends. I wonder if she told you, but she said it would be all right if I stayed here for a little while-"
"A few weeks! By golly, why the hell didn't that girl bring you over earlier? We got a lot of catching up to do. Of course you can stay! Stay as long as you want!" Cid hurries forward and takes my hand in both his own, squeezing it firmly and beaming at me. I blink at him.
"Excuse me?"
"Aw, come on girl! You saying you don't recognize me? Well, we've never met in person, but I'm sure your father's shown you pictures of me and your mom when we were kids, eh?"
I blink at him in shock. Tidus glances at me quickly, equally surprised, but I barely even notice him.
"M-my mother? You knew her?" I whisper, feeling somewhat faint. How is this possible? A man I have never met before was associated with my mother when she was a child? Why have I never met him? Are there really pictures of them together? Why has my father never shown me, or spoken of it?
Cid's smile slowly fades away.
"You mean . . . you don't know? Nobody ever told you?" he asks me, his forehead furrowing.
"Told me what?" I ask, taking a step towards him.
"All this time . . . all this time I waited for a call, or a visit . . . and all along you never knew . . ."
"Please, Mr.- Cid . . . what don't I know?"
Thankfully, Tidus remains silent at my side, watching this whole exchange with a bewildered look on his face.
Cid sighs heavily so that his entire body seems to sag, closing his eyes as if in defeat.
"I dunno if I'm the one who should tell you, but . . . I guess it seems fitting, seeing as how your old man never bothered to let you know. Yuna," he says, opening his eyes again to look directly at me. "I'm your uncle. Your mother was my little sister."
It seems then that the world is standing still. First my heart stops, and then it begins to pound furiously. I sway on my feet, and Tidus automatically puts his hand on my shoulder to steady me.
". . . What?" I murmur, finding it oddly difficult to breathe. Cid nods, confirming what I think I just heard.
"Yup," he says, rocking on his heels. "It's the truth, kiddo."
"Shit," Tidus mutters, his hand strangely comforting on my skin.
"M-my father told me I had no other relatives," I say blankly. I feel the strangest urge to both laugh with delight and cry for reasons I cannot explain.
"Well, your dad is a lying sack of crap," Cid growls, glaring ahead as if seeing Lord Braska in mind. "Not to be too disrespectful. I told him after the funeral that I wanted you to grow up knowing about your Al Bhed roots, and that I wanted my family to meet you at least once."
The weight of all this information is becoming too much to bear. Two minutes ago I was simply Yuna, daughter of Lord Braska. Now I am Yuna, a half Al Bhed? I feel my knees give out beneath me and I collapse.
Before I hit the ground, I am dimly aware of Tidus quickly grabbing me around the waist, pulling me up against him and holding me still. Cid watches the whole thing with an understanding face.
"Hey, calm down," Tidus whispers to me, quiet enough so that Cid cannot hear us. "It's all right, Yuna."
My legs regain their strength once more, but I am disinclined to move right away. Although Tidus loosens his grip so that there is a considerable amount of space between us, his arms are still resting around my hips. I see no reason why I shouldn't prolong this contact.
"So, now you know the truth," Cid says with in a more cheerful tone, clapping his hands together once. "I can imagine this is quite an eye-opener for you. But hey, now you got all the time in the world to get to know the family, right?"
"Yeah, all this means Rikku is your cousin!" Tidus says, releasing me. "You know, now that I think about it, you two kinda look alike."
"Really?" I murmur, still slightly dazed. He nods and smiles at me.
"What's going on down here? Why all the voices?" a thickly accented voice demands from the doorway. We all turn to see a heavily tattooed young man standing in the kitchen entrance, hands on his hips. He has only a single square patch of blonde hair on the crown of his head, and he has pale blue eyes that appear almost colourless in their lightness. It takes me a moment to realize that he is only wearing a leopard-patterned thong.
Suddenly his eyes land on me, and his face twists into a mask of surprised delight.
"M-Miss Yuna!" he cries, rushing forward with his arms open wide in preparation for an embrace. I take a hasty step away from him, but Cid already has a hold on the situation. He backhands the young man roughly in the face, sending him crashing backwards to the floor.
"Keep your distance, idiot," Cid snarls, glaring viciously down at whom I am assuming is his son. I've heard Rikku mention him. Around us, she simply calls him Brother, as his Al Bhed is impossible for anyone else to pronounce. "Yuna Ressan is your cousin."
"My WHAT?!" Brother howls, gaping blearily up at his father. Then his gaze returns to me. I notice Tidus takes a protective step towards me, a cold scowl on his face. I cannot help but feel exceptionally grateful for his presence. The idea of that particularly enthusiastic young man touching me makes me feel more than a little bit queasy.
"You mean I have been lusting over a RELATIVE?!" Brother wails, burying his face in his hands. "This cannot be happening! This cannot be happening! I am a good man! I have never done anything wrong!"
Cid rolls his eyes and gives me an apologetic smile. "Sorry kiddo," he says sheepishly. "My family's a bit of a circus, but my son is the only real basket case."
At that moment, a very grumpy-looking Rikku appears in the room, rubbing sleep from her eyes to frown at us.
"Would everyone keep it down? What the hell is going on up here?" she asks in a rather impatient tone.
"Rikku," Brother moans between his fingers, still lying on the floor. "YUNA IS OUR COUSIN!" He finishes with a distraught sob. With hardly more than a second's hesitation, Rikku gives a loud squeal of delight and races towards me, sweeping me up in a crushing hug.
"Yunie, is it true? We're related?" she cries happily, hopping up and down with her arms still locked around my neck in a suffocating hold.
"I believe so," I reply weakly, returning the embrace as best as I can, considering the fact I can barely breathe. Rikku pulls away and whirls around to glare at her father.
"Well, thanks a lot for telling me sooner, Pops!" she says accusingly, narrowing her viridian eyes at him. He coughs uncomfortably and shifts his weight from foot to foot.
"Now, hold on," he protests, quailing under his daughter's glare. "I wanted to surprise you and your brother. I was going to wait for Yuna's first visit before breaking the news to you. And, well . . . as time went by she never came around, so I guess I just kept pushing it back."
"I have sinned! I have had unclean thoughts about family!"
"Shut up, Brother," Rikku snaps to her hysterical sibling over her shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself." She turns back to me with a sweet smile. "This is definitely good news and all, but I'm sacked. I'm going to go back to bed."
"Me too," Cid declares, yawning. He then gives me a quick flash of teeth. "Good to see you, Yuna. Glad to have you with us."
With that, he heads towards the door, dragging his agonized son by the patch of hair behind him. Rikku gives me another hug.
"I'm going to share the news with the gang as soon as everyone's awake," she says with a promising wink. "This is huge! I'm so glad we're cousins, Yunie!"
"Me too, Rikku," I reply, offering her a genuine smile. It suddenly dawns on me, as Rikku turns around and skips out of the kitchen and down the hall, that for the first time in my life I have a real family. The days of loneliness and solitude seem miles behind me, even though I only learned the truth no more than five minutes past.
In mere seconds, Tidus and I are standing alone in the kitchen once more. As soon as I bring myself to look up at him, I remember with almost a start that he nearly kissed me not too long ago. The same thought seems to have occurred to him, because I catch a distinct shade of red in his cheeks. I'm certain the same thing is happening to my complexion, for I feel the familiar telltale heat rising in my face.
"Well, uh . . . quite a night, huh?" he says at last, chuckling slightly. I smile.
"Indeed. But . . . I rather like the idea of being Rikku's cousin. I always felt some kind of sisterly bond with her, but I suppose this is the next best thing," I reply with a shrug.
At the same time, we both move towards the door. His arm brushes against mine, and by instinct I jerk away. Instantly I regret the gesture, trying to ignore the strange glance he gives me. How can I pull back when I want so desperately to feel his hands on me constantly? How can I be filled with such nervousness at the thought of him being so close to me, and yet desire it so much?
Walking down the dim corridor at his side, I notice a wall of pictures and family portraits. I stop instantly and squint at them in the darkness, hoping perhaps to catch a glimpse of something I can recognize-
There!
"Oh, my," I gasp, moving closer to the lone picture at the end of one column. The woman in the portrait looks strikingly familiar.
"What is it?" Tidus asks in a hushed voice behind me. I cover my mouth with a limp hand.
"It's . . . my mother. I can't believe I didn't notice it right away!" I whisper through my fingers. "I have this very same picture of her."
It is her wedding portrait. She smiles beautifully at us across time through a thin pane of glass, immortalized on the happiest day of her life.
Hungrily my eyes roam the other pictures while Tidus gets a closer look at her, desperately searching for other pictures of her.
"She was really pretty," Tidus comments softly, smiling at my mother's face. "You look a lot like her."
I have enough sense to blush slightly and thank him, in spite of my urgent investigation. The further I walk down the hall, the more I start to see my mother's face. There is a portrait of her and Cid as children, sitting on a bench side-by-side holding ice cream, grinning impishly at the camera. In another one, she is standing waist-deep in a pool, shielding her eyes against the sun. I see one of her sitting on an unfamiliar man's lap. It takes me a moment to realize that he must have been her father, for he does resemble Cid a great deal.
"My family," I murmur to myself, feeling suddenly overwhelmed again. Up until tonight I had never really given thought to family aside from my departed mother. It did not occur to me that I had a grandfather, or uncles or cousins.
To my surprise, I even see a picture of my mother with Lord Braska. I blink and do a double take, moving in for a closer look. The two of them are sitting on grass, his arm around her waist. Her head is resting against his shoulder, and the two of them are grinning broadly at me through the protective glass frame.
It is bizarre to see my father smiling in the photo. He actually looks . . . well, happy. I don't think I can even remember the last time I saw him smile. Perhaps he hasn't since my mother was here.
"He was happy once," I say out loud, reaching up to touch the frame with a tentative hand. "Before I was here, he used to smile."
Behind me, Tidus says nothing for a moment. "Yuna . . . you know that it wasn't your fault. Really. What happened to your mom happens to a lot of people. Your dad has no right to resent you for something like that."
I turn to look at him, touched by his concern. I try to smile. "I know. Thank you. But . . . it doesn't change the fact that my mother is gone, and she died giving birth to me. My father will always hold that against me no matter what. I've accepted it, and I'm ready to move on. Still . . ."
"What?" he asks gently, taking a step closer. In the dim light of the hall, I can only faintly make out the golden glimmer of his hair and the brightness of his eyes. Even so, he is painfully beautiful.
"Still," I continue, looking away from him. "It saddens me to know that my father will never smile again. He . . . really loved her. And as often as I find myself disagreeing with him, I feel bad for him."
We are silent for a long time, simply gazing at each other. I wish I could read his mind. I would give anything to know what he is thinking about, staring at me so intently. When he opens his mouth to speak, I am almost startled at the interruption.
"Yuna . . . can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why do you hang out with me and the gang?"
The blunt change of topic almost startles me.
"What do you mean? I hang out with you because you're my friends."
"Well, why? Why did you give us a chance?"
I blink at him slowly, wondering where on Spira this conversation came from.
"I-I don't know. I just know I liked you a lot better than Seymour and his gang."
"What about Dona and her clique?"
"Oh, Dona's very nice and all, but . . . I have a lot more fun with you guys."
He crosses his arms and looks down at his feet. I frown at him slightly.
"Why are you asking me this?" I demand suddenly.
"It's just that . . . well, before you came along, the gang had this rock wall around it, you know? Nobody could get in. We were solid together. But then, you show up and you managed to break your way in without any effort. I guess it just feels strange, that's all," he says after a moment of thought.
I tilt my head to the side a bit. "What feels strange?"
"The fact is, I've only known you for a few weeks and it already feels like it's been years," he replies frankly. "Everyone in the gang has been together since we were young kids. You've been around less than a month and you're one of us now."
My heart swells with each word. I grin hugely at him, hardly believing he is saying such wonderful things to me.
"Really? That's so sweet of you," I tell him, touching his arm. "I had no idea you felt that way. I'm honoured, Tidus."
"Well, I'm not the only one who thinks so," he says hastily, trying not to smile back. "We all feel it too."
"I'm so glad to hear it," I reply. "I've been wondering just how far I could dig into the gang's core."
"Pretty damn deep, as far as I'm concerned."
Without stopping to think, I go up on my toes and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him slightly down towards me. He remains motionless as I place a gentle, chaste kiss on his cheek that lasts no longer than a second. He is warm to touch, and I fill my lungs with his scent as I move to rest my chin on his shoulder. I feel him stiffen with surprise at the suddenness of my gesture, but slowly his returns the embrace, slipping his arms around my waist.
"Thank you," I whisper into his shoulder. "It means more than you think."
"You're welcome," he replies softly, his voice tinged with a linger daze. His arms are so strong, so secure . . .
When we withdraw from each other, we spend a quick moment simply smiling at one another. Then, without speaking further, the two of us turn and head down the hall towards the basement.
Only now am I aware how tired I am. Tired, yet endlessly happy.