Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X and all associated materials are property of Squaresoft. Kingdom Hearts and all of its own related material is the property of both Disney and Square… and probably a bunch of other people. The song Knowing The Way belongs to Fastball.
Knowing the Way
By: Nanaki BH
Morning came as gently as the rise and fall of the waves on Destiny Island. Wakka was up with the sun each day, gaining the upper hand before Riku or Sora ever got the chance to pick up their swords. That one morning though, someone had finally beaten him to the beach. He approached cautiously, as to not startle him. There, in the water, hair glistening with every subtle movement was Tidus. So entranced by the shocking and ethereal image of him, he hadn't the mind to notice what he was even doing. He paid closer attention to the way he dove under the water with grace that of a fish. With him, Wakka's ball, the one his father had given him for a recent birthday.
He started down the beach, abandoning the caution he had previously held. That ball was special to him. It was like no other he'd ever seen. Even his father had told him that it was used in a sport from a far away place; a sport he could never play, nor ever know the name of. There was no way Wakka would let Tidus ruin his ball before he got the opportunity to learn how to use it properly.
He didn't reach the water. He stopped halfway and watched in fascination as Tidus, still beneath the water's surface, spun and sent the ball flying into the golden morning sky. Time slowed momentarily and it felt like forever until the ball came crashing down again. Wakka winced, expecting to hear the ball break the surface, but the sound never occurred. When he opened his eyes, albeit hesitantly, Tidus stood before him with a grin on his face; soaking wet, the ball tucked securely under his arm.
"What's with the look on your face, man?" Tidus laughed. "Never seen somebody play blitzball before?"
What a ridiculous question, he thought. "Of course I've…" He paused, suddenly realizing that he knew the word 'blitzball' as though he'd known it all along. "Have we ever… played it together?"
"I don't think so, you know? But I've got this feeling that we have before or something." He laughed, cheeks glowing. "If we haven't, we sure should!"
Wakka's mind refused to tell him why he recognized the game or why he and Tidus felt was though they'd played it before. The more he thought about it, the more familiar it became. He ran the name over in his head, saying the name over and over until he thought it was a word he's always known. "Tidus," he muttered, his friend's own name sending a shiver down his spine. "Man, are you sure we haven't played it together?"
His hands felt like they were aching to grab the ball. It was like it was his connection to another memory or something he forgot and he wanted it claim it again for himself. After all, it was his to start with.
"I don't think we've ever played it before," he said. Reaching forward, he took one of Wakka's hands and faced it palm up so he could return his blitzball. He formed Wakka's fingers around it and stood there for a moment, his own fingers lingering on the ball and his warm hands.
Wakka stayed silent and reflective; inside, being taken to a place he'd known and loved before. "Tidus," he said, voice soft, "where in the world did ya ever learn to play that game? It looked really familiar to me, but I've never played it before. My father got me that ball but even he wasn't sure how you were supposed to use the thing."
Tidus shrugged, finally letting his hands fall away to his sides. His eyebrows were furrowed and he stared at the ground. In truth, they shared similar expressions. "You know," he said with a small chuckle, "I'm not sure myself." And although he laughed, he was completely and utterly perplexed. "I think I've known how to do that all my life, so I must have learned it from wherever I came from. When I got in the water, I just knew what to do and it felt really nice."
The water, golden in the morning light, drew back and came forward with a small ripple to lap at their ankles. "It's funny. When I came to the island I didn't know anyone. I felt so alone; so different from everyone else. When I met you though, I seriously felt like I'd known you my whole life. I felt like we were the same. When I tried to remember what life was like at my old home, I couldn't remember. I tried to remember my old friends but it was like their names had vanished from my memory. Eventually, I didn't want to remember because…"
The sand slipped between Wakka's toes as he came forward to put a gentle and reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. He tapped the bottom of his chin and brought their eyes together. Silently, he begged him to continue.
Tidus looked away. "I didn't want to remember because I didn't want to imagine a place without you." His embarrassment was overwhelming, but for once his heart felt at ease.
"Then this will do, ya?" Wakka took his hand in his own and guided him down to sit beside him in the sand. "It won't matter if you don't remember that, so long as you remember this, right? So long as you remember… me?" He didn't want to be as presumptuous as to assume his importance to him. Clearly, he was someone of importance to him, but so were the others. Somewhere inside, a part of him hoped that he held something more than them though. There had always been something suspiciously intimate about their playful sparring. Was it so wrong for him to be wishing for something to come from it?
His friend took a little while to mill it over in his head. He crossed his legs Indian-style and folded his hands in his lap. An adorable, light blush spread across his cheeks. Slowly, timidly, he nodded. "You're right, Wakka." He looked up; eyes clear, iridescent blue. "Thank you." He leaned forward and kissed him then. It was slow enough to allow him ample time to push him away, but he didn't. Tidus was thrilled to feel Wakka's lips meet his own halfway.
"Odd," Wakka sighed.
"You think you've done that before too, huh?"
"Nope. And you would think I would remember something like that if I had." Wakka paused for a few moments, eyes blankly staring off across the water. Tidus watched him in equal silence. His eyes were unreadable. It was impossible for him to make out what Wakka was thinking from his placid, quiet eyes.
"I wonder what we were like," he said after a moment. "Ya know. Back when we knew each other."
Tidus was confused, but only for a second. "Right," he said with a nod. "I bet we were something great."
Author's Notes: That one was incredibly short; sorry about that! It was written for a friend on Livejournal, as I sort of owe her still for something. With that said – it was my first Kingdom Hearts fic, so I hope it was at least somewhat decent. Hope you liked it!