A/N: Hey, everyone, I'm back!

I just want to say that this story is not over yet. There are still more four or five chapters after this one and don't worry – when it's over, you'll know it, and if you don't, I'll tell you ;-)

Enjoy chapter 20…

Chapter 20

Secretly dating

"Will I see you today?"

"You're seeing me now…" I smiled, taking my seat behind the steering wheel and looking up, to meet Tidus' gaze.

We had just returned from our trip to the hills and we were parked in front of Shuyin's building, where we had stopped so Tidus could go home to get some sleep. He had stayed awake all night long and he had been the one driving on the way back. Not that I was complaining ― actually, I was so used to drive all the time that it had felt really good to let someone else drive instead of me, especially because that someone had been Tidus and because we had been holding hands during the entire ride. I know that it sounds pretty silly and girly-like but… it was nice, it made me feel warm inside. I hadn't felt that good in a long time.

And now here we were.

"You know what I mean…" Tidus continued, holding the door with one hand, the other one placed on top of the car in a way that his body was completely blocking the way.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But we said we were going to take things slowly and… I don't know." I shook my head.

"So you're saying we're not gonna see each other?" Tidus asked. "Then, how are we supposed to develop a relationship?"

I laughed. "Well, maybe we're not."

His face turned serious. "What do you mean?"

"Well… nothing, really… I was just joking, Tidus. It wasn't…" I trailed off, sighing and running a hand through my hair. This wasn't going to be easy to handle… "Maybe we're just expecting too much of this new opportunity." I muttered.

"Yeah, maybe we are." He responded gravely.

I looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Tidus. I wanna make this work too, but… I'm scared. I'm scared of getting hurt again. That's why I don't wanna jump in without thinking, you know… why I wanna take things slowly…"

"I know, Yuna, I know. Do you think you're the only one who's afraid?" He stared at me, his deep blue eyes softening. "But I would never hurt you again… because my fear of losing you again is bigger than any other fear I might have. So I wanna hold on to you."

"Is that a love declaration?" I asked playfully, blushing.

He chuckled. "If you want it to be… So, will I see you today?"

How could I say 'no' to him after what he had just said? I mean, he was definitely the sweetest, loveliest, most romantic guy I'd ever met and he had just said he was in love with me. And I had already lost the school day, so…

"Okay." I finally agreed. "We can meet later. I need to go home, tell my uncle and my cousin that I'm okay, take a shower and get some sleep… And then we can meet."

He beamed. "It's settled then. Give me a call when you're ready."

I nodded and started the car, but Tidus didn't close the door. When I turned to him to ask him what was wrong, he surprised me with a tender kiss on the lips, so soft I hardly felt it. I couldn't help but to smile. And suddenly, life seemed much better than before…

-----XX-----

"So, are we on for tonight?" Tidus whispered on my ear, coming closer to me and wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

"Watch it! Someone may see us…" I giggled, taking a step away from him and turning around.

"C'mon…" Tidus pouted. "The guys are in the living-room, they won't—" He didn't finish the sentence though, because I captured his lips with mine for a swift kiss.

"Yes, we're on for tonight." I said with a soft smile.

He smiled back and gave me another kiss, longer and more passionate. I was ready to throw my arms around his neck when suddenly a sound made us come back to reality and about five seconds later my cousin was entering the kitchen. "Yunie, is the tea ready?"

Thankfully, we were already on opposite sides of the room, acting as if nothing had happened. "Yes, sweetie, the tea is almost ready." I answered, trying to catch my breath. "I'll bring it in a minute, okay?"

"Sure." Rikku grinned and turned to Tidus "What about you? Did you find the chocolate cookies?"

Tidus smiled nervously. "Yeah, Yuna was just telling me where they were…"

"Well, in that case, you don't need my help." Rikku said. "I'll tell the others that tea's almost ready!" She added, turning on her heels and getting out of the kitchen. The others were Gippal, Baralai and Shuyin, who were currently in my living-room, playing cards and watching TV while the rain kept falling on the outside.

I walked to the door to check if Rikku was really gone and then turned to Tidus, sighing. "That was a close one…"

He smirked. "Don't tell me you didn't like the rush…"

"Yeah, right, the rush…" I said ironically. "How could forget the rush? I was almost having a heart attack and you talk about the rush?"

He laughed and approached me, putting his arms around me again. This time I didn't fight it and leaned against his chest. He kissed my hair and said softly "Don't worry, Yuna, Rikku didn't understand anything."

I smiled, noticing the tenderness in his voice. He was always so sweet and gentle when it came to me, that I couldn't help but to love him even more. We had been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now, since the night he had taken me to watch the sunrise, and those had been the best weeks I'd had in a long time. Despite being together again, or trying to be together again, we had decided not to tell anything to anyone, not even our closest friends, and I was loving the secrecy in which we were living our hidden romance. Even though sometimes I got a little nervous, just like it had happened a few moments before, I was actually enjoying the rush, the adrenaline, the fear of being caught… It just made everything seem more intense, more real… And even though we had to be extra-careful around everyone else, our friends had come to realize that we were finally at peace with each other — no tension could be felt, no unspoken accusations, no anger kept inside… We had finally forgiven each other and now we were friends, or so they thought. Of course, some of them weren't so easy to mislead. I could often sense Paine's intense stare following our moves and I knew she had her suspicions; and I had been unable to lie to Lulu when I had gone to her place the week before, to tell her I had followed her advice. She didn't really fall for the 'friends' story and so I told her the truth, or at least half of it — that Tidus and I were still trying to understand our feelings and work things out, but we were taking our time doing it. She just nodded her agreement, with a very understanding smile.

The rest of the group was easier — Rikku and Gippal were too much into each other to notice anything going on around them; Baralai didn't mess with other people's business and what he watched he kept to himself; Wakka was having some problems at work, so he really didn't care at the moment; and Shuyin… well, it was really hard for us not to tell Shuyin, but I guess we were afraid that Shuyin would have many expectations and we really weren't ready to face any of them right now. So we kept our silence about us and no one knew we were secretly dating.

Dating… I let the word linger in my mind, enjoying the sensation of being once again in a relationship, even though it was a secret one. Then, as if reluctantly waking from my reverie, I got away from Tidus and went to check if the tea was ready or not, but not before giving him another small kiss on the lips.

Five minutes later everyone was drinking mint tea, with the exception of Gippal who didn't like tea at all, and eating chocolate cookies and strawberry cake. The games had been interrupted and even the TV had been turned off and we were just chatting there, talking about everything and nothing.

"We could go out tonight." Rikku suggested, after someone had mentioned a party somewhere.

"When it's raining like this?" Gippal asked, pointing out the window to the heavy curtain of water that was falling from the sky.

"Well, inside the clubs it's not raining, you airhead!" Rikku said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Yeah, but…" Gippal started again.

"No buts, Gippal. C'mon, I haven't danced since Luca…" Rikku pouted, looking at him with her huge green swirls.

We all saw his resolve fading. "Okay, Cid's Girl, let's go dance, if you want it so much… But I'm not really in the mood to go spend some cash, so we're going to Zouga's party."

"It's fine for me!" She exclaimed, beaming with excitement and throwing her arms around his neck, giving him a kiss full on the lips. I smiled and exchanged looks with Tidus, who was smiling back at me.

"Zouga…" Baralai said, thoughtfully. "Isn't that the guy who's in our Al Bhed class?"

"Yup, that's the guy!" Gippal answered. "He was inviting everyone at college this morning. I guess his parents went out for he weekend or something like that and so he has decided to throw this huge party. I really don't care, however — as long as there's free booze and chicks, I'm cool…" That last comment earned him another elbow in the ribs. "What?"

"Anyways," Rikku continued, completely ignoring Gippal and his offended look. "We can go check that Zouga's party and if we don't like it, we can always go somewhere else, right?"

She was looking at us and that made me realize that she wasn't planning a date with Gippal, she was planning a nigh with her friends. I looked at Tidus again; we had other plans for the night — a romantic dinner on the downtown and then a walk on the beach. The moment our eyes met, though, we knew at once that the dinner had to be postponed; Rikku was expecting us to go with her and we were not going to let her down. Besides, if we wanted to keep our relationship a secret, we had to be discreet and that meant we couldn't simply refuse our friends' invitations all the time, like I was aware we had been doing for the last few days.

"So, Shu, what do you say?" Tidus asked his brother. "Wanna go check some ladies out? I heard that college girls rock…" He added playfully, stealing a glance at me.

He's trying to make me jealous, I realized. With a mischievous smile, I said, throwing my hair back "Of course we rock! That's why tonight I'm going to be ready to party all night long!"

"Wow, that's new — Yuna pretending to be a party animal!" Gippal mocked me, laughing, and then added "Please, don't let that be a joke, 'cause now I really wanna see it."

"Gippal, shut up," both me and Rikku said at the same time.

The rest of the guys laughed and then Shuyin said "Well, it's my night off and I've never really been to a college party, so… I'm going. Besides, checking out the ladies sounds good."

Rikku grinned and turned to Baralai. "What about you, Baralai?"

"Come with us, Lai." Gippal invited. "It'll be fun and maybe it'll lighten up your spirit."

"Yeah, c'mon, Baralai."

"Okay, okay, I'll go." Baralai finally gave in.

"Great!" Rikku exclaimed. "Now all we need to do is call Nooj and Paine and—"

"I'm not sure if she'll want to go." Baralai interrupted, casting his gaze down. Things between him and Paine were getting worse with each passing day. Since the day we had met him with Anaïr, Paine hadn't spoken to him and was even avoiding and almost ignoring him, which was rather difficult because they shared a lot of classes and they were in the same group of friends. This was even more complicated, because it was hard for us not to take sides in this little war of theirs. Paine and Gippal had already had a huge argument because of that — she had ended up turning her back on him, saying that there were things he would never understand.

"Don't say that, Baralai." I told him, touching his arm to reassure him. I wished I could tell him everything was going to be alright, but I knew Paine and her stubbornness and she was determined not to speak to Baralai at any cost. I felt sorry for him, but somehow I knew Paine had her reasons for acting the way she was acting — after all Paine had never been this way to anyone before, which made me believe that Baralai was not just anyone but someone quite special, maybe not for the best motives… Still, he was my friend too. "I'll go see her and talk to her and you'll see she'll come." I continued, placing my cup on the small support table.

"I hope so. I'd hate to be the reason why Paine wouldn't enjoy the night with her friends." Baralai said sadly.

At that moment, Tidus cell phone rang and he took it out of his pocket, answering it. "Yup, it's me… Hey, Dona. No, I'm at Rikku's. Why?… Oh, is that so?… Sure, tell him I'll meet him for dinner… Yeah, I know I need to talk to him. It's just that I've been busy lately, that's all… Don't worry, I'll tell him. Okay… Yes, seven is fine. I'll be there… Okay, see ya. Bye." Tidus closed the phone and looked around. Everyone was looking back at him.

"What did she want?" Shuyin asked the question for me.

Tidus shrugged. "Nothing important. Auron wants to meet me for dinner. He wants to talk to me about… certain things."

"That's why Dona called you?" Rikku raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Couldn't Auron have called you himself?"

Tidus smiled. "Yeah, he could, but I bet Dona bugged him until he told her to do it. Dona is… Dona." He finished with a laugh.

"Yeah, and what a fine and hot woman she is!" Gippal remarked with a mischievous smile. Before Rikku had time to smack him again, though, he continued "So, Tidus, is she good or what?"

Tidus blinked twice. "What do you mean?"

"Gippal…" Baralai began in a warning tone.

"C'mon, don't tell me you got a woman like that coming on to you with all her might and you don't know what I'm talking about? What I mean is that you must've been with her in a more… intimate way. Is she as hot as she looks?"

"Gippal!" Rikku yelled. She wasn't looking at her boyfriend, though; she was staring straight at me.

Gippal followed her gaze and swallowed hard. I guess he must've forgotten that Tidus and I had dated — after all he hadn't been in Besaid during that year. Suddenly, all eyes were fixed on me and a tense silence fell over us.

Before I could say anything though, Tidus spoke again, calmly and relaxed. "C'mon Gippal, that's not the kind of conversation a gentleman should have in front of two ladies like Rikku and Yuna." Then he winked in my direction and added with a smirk "Besides, I never knew Dona in the way you're implying. She's nothing more than a friend."

"Did I hear it right!" Gippal was completely stunned. "Just a friend? I must be dreaming; that's it, that's the only explanation."

"Yeah, yeah, Gippal, you are dreaming if you're thinking I'm letting you proceed with this!" Rikku reprimanded, getting up from her place next to him and coming to sit by my side. "You should learn how to use your brain before using your mouth, you know? Eteud (idiot)."

Gippal didn't reply to the insult. Instead, he crossed his arms on his chest and let the conversation flow, not taking part in it — it was his way of telling Rikku he was upset with her. A few moments later, Rikku decided it was time to go get ready for the party and got up.

"When do you want me to come pick you up?" Gippal asked, not looking at her.

She hesitated for a moment, while approaching the loveseat where he was. "I don't know… What time do you prefer? I can be ready anytime you want." She finished in a soft tone. It was her way of making up with him.

He looked up at her, giving her a half-smile. "Seven thirty. The party doesn't start before eight, but it'll give you time to be fifteen minutes late, as usual."

It was Rikku's turn to stay silent. She just bent down slowly and gave him a small kiss on the lips. She wasn't expecting Gippal's quick movements though, and when he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to him she fell on his lap and what had begun to be a small kiss turned into a passionate tongue-battle.

"Well, while they're… enjoying the moment," Shuyin said, laughing, "I think it's better if we go. You still have to go to your dinner with Auron and I have things to do." He told his brother.

"Yeah, you're right, Shu." Tidus said, getting up. "Want a ride somewhere, Baralai?"

"No, thanks, I'm with Gippal. We live together, as you know…"

"Yeah, I know. Okay then. Before we go, Yuna, can you give me a glass of water? I'm thirsty." He said, looking at me intensely.

"Sure, Tidus, let's go." I got up and made my way to the kitchen.

He followed my lead and closed the door behind him, once we were inside the kitchen. "Come here." He said, grabbing my waist and pulling me towards him. His lips were warm on mine and his hands held me securely against his chest. When we broke for air I looked at him inquisitively and he said with a smile "I was getting jealous of Rikku and Gippal. I wanted to do the same with my girl."

"Your girl? Who told you I was your girl, Tidus?" I asked playfully, between small kisses.

"You. Long ago. You said you wanted to be my girl, remember?"

"Oh god, that was ages ago!" I laughed, remembering the day we'd kissed for the first time. Then I added as an afterthought, "I'm sorry for tonight. I know you had something special planned."

"It was no big deal, really. This party seems much more interesting, especially after your remark about being a party animal…" I laughed again, lightly biting is lower lip. "Then again, I'm going to have dinner with Auron. I bet he'll want to talk about Zanarkand." He sighed. "I've been avoiding this for the last… for the last two weeks actually. He must be pissed."

"He'll want you to return, won't he?" I asked, fearful of the answer.

Tidus sighed again and pulled me even closer to him. "If I don't give him a strong reason to stay here… yes, he'll probably want me to go. My job's there, my life's there… he won't understand."

I nodded, biting my lip. I really didn't want to think about Tidus' departure when I finally had him back in my arms again. "Let's not think about that right now, okay? Let's just focus on this party."

"Okay. I don't know if I'll be there on time, but I'll try. I promi—" I stopped him, placing two fingers on his lips.

"Don't promise. Please." I kissed him again, a soft kiss. "I love you no matter what. But this time I don't want us to be making promises we don't know if we'll be able to keep."

"You're right. Sorry."

"Don't be. Just tell me how much you love me." I hugged him tightly, never wanting to let go.

"I love you very, very much. Is that enough?" He asked, running his fingers through my hair.

I smiled. "I don't know, let me think… Well, I guess it'll have to do for now. Okay, it's enough. Now you must go before they start to suspect something."

"Okay, let's go."

He let go of me and we both got out of the kitchen. When we got to the living-room, Gippal and Rikku had already finished their make out session and Gippal and Baralai were also getting ready to leave. Rikku and I accompanied them to the front door and bid them farewell.

"We'll see you girls later." Gippal said, starting to descend the porch stairs. But the moment they turned around, Baralai froze. Paine was at the bottom of the stairs.

I heard Tidus whisper something in Shuyin's ear and they said goodbye one last time before leaving without looking back. When they walked past Paine, they both greeted her but they didn't stop. As for Gippal and Baralai, they waited until Paine climbed the stairs.

"S'up, Paine?" Gippal asked, running a hand through his hair.

She looked at him. "Hello, Gippal." Then she turned to me. "Can I talk to you, Yuna?"

"S-sure…" I answered, glancing at Baralai. His head was down and his hands closed into fists — she hadn't even acknowledged his presence! Suddenly he lifted his head and stared at her; determination filled his eyes.

"Hello, Paine. Before you talk to Yuna, can I have a word with you?" He asked politely, touching her forearm.

She turned her head to the side, to look at him in the eye. For a long moment I thought she was going to ignore him, but she ended up saying dryly "If you must. But please, hurry, I don't have much time."

"Privately." Baralai replied, turning around and starting to walk away. Paine stood still for a second, before following him without looking at us. They disappeared from our sight when they reached the corner of the house.

"What do you think they're talking 'bout?" Rikku asked.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Riks." I reminded her. "Come inside and let them have some privacy, okay?"

"Oh… You're a party-pooper, Yunie…"

-----XX-----

"Could you lend me your mascara?" Rikku asked, entering my room, where I was still getting dressed for the party.

"Sure, it's there on the nightstand." I pulled the black high heeled boots' zipper up and got to my feet, turning to my cousin. "What do you think?"

She stopped and looked me up and down, smiling approvingly. "Sweet!"

I made a face. "Sweet as in... sweet little girl or as in… ready to rock?"

Rikku laughed heartily. "Sweet as in beautiful and hot at the same time… Good enough?"

I nodded and turned once again to the mirror. I was wearing a fuchsia blouse and a short denim skirt with a silver chain hanging on my hip as a belt. Silver dangling earrings and my mother's necklace were the only jewels I had chosen and I had dried my hair in a different style that night. I was now applying the make-up. When I finished, Rikku entered my room again, giving me my mascara back.

"So, are you ready?" She asked, adjusting the straps of her orange halter-top. "Gippal's already downstairs."

Since Gippal was picking up Rikku, he had offered to take me and Paine too, and Baralai would go with Nooj and LeBlanc and they would meet us at the party, just like Tidus and Shuyin. Then, at the end of the night, Gippal would bring us back home.

Rikku and I descended the stairs and walked into the living-room, where Gippal awaited us. Paine joined us a couple of minutes later. I never got to know how the conversation between Baralai and her went, but I guessed it couldn't have gone that bad, because, once it was over, she met me in my room, but instead of talking, she just said that she was going to the party with everyone else. She didn't talk about Baralai and so neither did I, but I was hoping they had at least come to the decision of speaking to each other again, for the sake of our group.

We climbed into Gippal's convertible and hit the road. When we reached Zouga's house, the party had already started — there were kids everywhere, the lights of the house were all on and music could be heard even on the street. Gippal parked his car near the house and we got out, walking the rest of the way.

"Think the others are already here?" Rikku asked, holding Gippal's hand. I knew she was excited about this party — it would be her first college party ever and she wanted to see if it was that different from the high school parties she attended to.

"Maybe, let's see inside." Gippal answered, pulling her with him.

A strong and well-built guy opened the door for us when Gippal rang the bell. Apparently he wasn't the host, for the moment he opened the door he turned his back on us and darted away. We entered the house and made our way through the people — the house was crowded! How are we supposed to find the others here?

"Yuna!" I looked over my shoulder and found Shuyin walking in my direction.

Smiling, I waited for him. "Hey, stranger! Are you having fun?"

He returned the smile. "Yeah, I am. I haven't been in a party in so long that I almost forgot how great it is to just… relax and have fun."

"I'm glad you're liking it, Shu. See, this is the way I want to see you — smiling and laughing and having a great time."

"Yeah, well, I'm having a good time, but…" His smile faded and he bent his head, continuing in a sad tone "You know it's not easy to forget Lenne and our break-up is still very fresh. I can't help myself; I always end up thinking of her."

"I know." I gave him a hug. "But you can't think that way now. You must move on, Shuyin. I'm not saying you should find another girl, I'm just saying that you should try to… meet new people, make new friends. And who knows? Maybe it won't be that difficult then…"

"You're right as usual. It's not easy, but—"

"Hi, Yuna! I didn't expect to see you here!" A feminine voice said from behind me. I turned around to see who it was and found myself face to face with a very beautiful and elegant girl. Her black curls fell over her bare shoulders and her huge green eyes sparkled. She was dressed in a short black dress and was holding a beer in her hand.

"Kissara!" I greeted. Then I pointed at Shuyin and said "I'm with some friends…"

"Yeah, I can see that…" Kissara eyed Shuyin up and down and finally stretched her hand, smiling at him. "I believe we haven't been introduced yet. My name's Kissara, I'm a… friend of Yuna's."

Shuyin took her hand in his. "I'm Shuyin. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kissara."

"Oh, please, call me Kiss…" She said seductively, winking at him. "It's much catchier, don't you think?"

I tried to contain an amused smile but failed miserably. "Listen, Kissara, can you just give me two minutes with Shuyin, here? Please." I asked, putting my sweetest and nicest face on.

She looked at me and after a moment she agreed, telling she'd go get us something to drink. I could bet that when she'd return she would only bring two drinks — one for herself and another one for Shuyin — and she would say she only had two hands. It was her way of getting me out of the way.

"She seems… nice." Shuyin remarked, staring at her back while she walked away, swaying her hips with every single step.

"She is nice." I agreed, trying not to laugh. "That is, when you're a handsome, cute, nice guy. Or when you're a girl who happens to know a handsome, cute, nice guy."

"Whaddya mean?" Shuyin looked at me, frowning.

"Let's put it this way, Shu. Kissara is… well, she doesn't exactly like commitments. She's just looking out for some fun, you know… She's already dated almost every single guy at college, and it's usually just a one night stand. I'm not saying this to get you away from her or anything, it's just that I wouldn't go look for anything there but a night of pure sex."

"Maybe that's what I need." Shuyin joked, smiling wickedly.

"Maybe. I must also say that Kissara has a certain tendency for blondes. Gippal was one of— Kissara, you're back! And you only brought two drinks!" I noticed with a smile.

"Yeah, well, Yuna, I'm so sorry, but you know how it is. I have… small hands." She replied, unfazed.

"Sure you do. Well, Shuyin, I'm gonna try and find the others, okay? You staying here?"

Shuyin looked at Kissara for a moment. I could guess what was going through his mind — he had suffered a lot because of Lenne and he was still suffering, but they had broken up over a month ago and now there was this gorgeous girl hitting on him and flirting with him. And according to what I'd said to him, he didn't even have to worry about the girl's feelings because she was just looking out for some fun. Maybe this was in fact what he needed… Turning to me again, he smirked. "I think I'll stay here a little longer."

"Okay, sweetie. See ya later." I kissed him on the cheek and departed, leaving those two alone.

I spent the next hour walking around the house, meeting some people from college, averting people I'd never seen before in my life, drinking a little, dancing a lot… The living-room had been transformed into a dance floor, the furniture all moved aside to leave a big empty space in the center, where kids were dancing wildly, moving in sync with the beat. Gippal and Rikku were there, dancing together, as well as Nooj and LeBlanc. Baralai was nowhere to be seen and Paine was seated near a corner, talking to a friend from school. The only person that wasn't at the party — and the only person I was anxiously waiting for — was Tidus. I'd checked my cell phone several times but he hadn't said anything so far. I was starting to wonder if anything had happened, when he finally arrived, entering the room followed closely by…

"I can't believe this!" I muttered, shaking my head at the sight of Dona smiling by Tidus' side and Barthello behind them.

Shuyin had also seen his brother and had gone to meet him. They talked for a few minutes, but Tidus didn't pay much attention to his brother; his gaze was constantly wandering around the room, searching for something… or someone. I stood where I was, on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall and watching everyone dancing. From the corner of my eye, though, I kept glancing at Tidus and saw him walking in my direction. I looked away and pretended I hadn't seen him.

"Yuna…" He called, gently touching my arm.

I forced out a smile. I knew I was being ridiculous and stupid, but I couldn't help but to feel upset with Tidus. Dona had probably insisted and bugged him until he told her that she could come to the party with him, but still… Why had he brought her? Even though I knew there was nothing going on between them, and that I was the one he wanted and he loved, I still felt a little jealous of Dona. Maybe because of that quiz, maybe because looking at her reminded me how many things I didn't know about Tidus' life in Zanarkand…

"Are you alright, baby?" He asked, leaning in so that no one else would hear us. "You seem annoyed…"

There was no use in pretending, since he knew me all too well, so I just pointed my chin in Dona's direction and asked "Why is she here?"

Tidus smiled broadly, apparently amused. "Are you jealous?"

"Of her? You must be joking!" I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "I thought we had already had this conversation."

"And we did. And I'll tell you now what I told you then — Dona's just a friend, she's Auron's niece and… C'mon, Yuna, do you really think that I would bring her just to upset you? She asked me to come and I couldn't say no in front of Auron; he would be suspicious of something. That's why she's here." Tidus uncrossed my arms and held my hands, looking me in the eye. "Yuna, baby… Please, don't be upset because of Dona. Please."

I gave him a small smile, to let him know that we were okay, and he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, bending down and planting a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Wanna get out of here?" I whispered, looking around the room. There were too many people there, too many indiscreet eyes that were just looking for something to gossip about.

"Sure."

Five minutes later we were on the most secluded side of the garden, seated on a wooden bench. There were little drawings carved on the white wood and I ran my fingers over them, leaning my head on Tidus' shoulder and smelling his masculine scent. Some things never change, I thought with a smile. No matter how long it has been, he still smells like my Tidus.

"It's so quiet out here, isn't it?" Tidus asked, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to him.

"Yeah. I confess I was getting tired of that party. The music is too loud, there are too many people, everyone's getting too damn drunk…"

"C'mon, Yuna." Tidus laughed. "You sound just like an old woman talking."

I giggled and looked up at the starry sky. "Yeah, right. Well, if you haven't noticed yet, I am getting old…"

His laughter made me turn to him once more. He was looking straight at me with his sweet, adorable azure eyes. "Well, you certainly don't look that old… But that's just my opinion, right?" I smiled and he kissed me. When we parted, he continued, changing the subject, "Anyways, if you think this party is noisy and messy you should see the ones in Zanarkand."

My smile faded at the mention of that city and I looked away. "Yeah, I bet you had many wild nights back there…" I scolded myself for not being able to contain the bitterness in my voice.

A heavy silence fell over us. Apparently, Tidus didn't know what to say. From the corner of my eye I saw him running his hand through his already messed hair and then dropping it onto his lap, sighing heavily. "You know, Yuna, unlike what you guys might think, my time in Zanarkand wasn't all that great…"

I turned to him and eyed him closely, but he averted my gaze. I didn't know what to say. Zanarkand wasn't "all that great"? What had he meant? I had always thought Zanarkand were his dreams come true. "Tidus…" I called softly, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Don't look at me like that, Yuna." He smiled, lifting his head so that our eyes met. "I'm not unhappy or miserable… It's just that… Well, everyone thinks I'm so damn lucky with the life I got… But no one really understands. No one knows what it's like to be on the spotlight, unable to do whatever you want 'cause that can ruin your image and—" He stopped abruptly and drooped his head again. "Sorry. We shouldn't be wasting our time together talking about this…"

I left my seat on the bench and kneeled in front of him, taking his face in my hands. "Yes, we should, Tidus." I said carefully, looking straight into his bright eyes. "We should be talking about whatever makes you happy or sad, whatever your problem is, whatever you want to tell me… That's what we should be talking about. You know what they say — a shared burden is only half a burden… Even if I can't help you with your problems, I can at least listen to you and support you, no matter what."

He looked back at me, sighing heavily once more. Then he let out a small smile and put one of his hands on top of mine. "Thank you, Yuna. I… I haven't met many concerned or understanding people lately. It seems like… like everyone wants to take something from me and I'm always fighting against the world. Sometimes I just get so tired of it all…"

I sat again and he pulled my hand down to his lap where he grabbed it between both of his, playing with my fingers as he talked, something he had always done… He was now telling me about Zanarkand and his life there. Apparently, his life of superstar wasn't as easy as everyone had thought — he had had to fight hard to become the star player of the Abes, because the competitiveness between athletes was rough and not always fair; his private life was constantly being invaded by the press and when they had nothing solid they based their stories on false rumors (at his point I could not prevent myself from thinking about that stupid magazine that had brought me so much pain…); he had suddenly found himself with lots of money but without many friends — everyone wanted to meet him and be his "buddy", but no one really wanted to hear him out or help him if he needed; he had to do things he didn't really want to, like going to certain public events or advertising some product, because he was part of the team and he had to do what was best for the team…

"The funny part is that no one ever asked Mhiggel to do it. But I had to do it; I always had to do everything they said."

"You don't have to, now." I sad quietly, looking at my hand in his.

"But I will have to when I return…"

We remain quiet for a few moments, his fingers tangling with mine. I just didn't know what else to say. I wished I could comfort him in some way, but on the other hand I was just alarmed with the thought of Tidus going away again. I wasn't ready to lose him all over again… I guess I would never be ready.

"The only person I could rely on was Auron," he continued. "But he's so much older and so cold 'bout everything that sometimes I felt like it'd be useless to talk to him…"

"What about any others friends you might have there? What about Dona for instance?" I asked, remembering the black-haired girl.

He snapped his head back at me and I noticed he was trying to hold back a smile. "Dona?" He asked arching an eyebrow. Then he couldn't contain his laughter anymore. "That's funny."

"Why?" I try to act like I was offended, but his laughs were contagious and I found myself giggling too.

When we had both calmed down, he answered, a grin still plastered on his face, "You know Dona, Yuna. The girl doesn't think of anything else but clothes, shoes, make-up and guys. She'd never help me or have the patience to hear me."

"Yeah, well, you're probably right. She would be wanting much more than talk from you." I replied, a hint of jealousy in my voice.

Tidus smirked. "Well, whatever she would want, she'd never get it. Wanna know why?" His eyes locked on mine, but I didn't respond. Then, taking my hand to his lips and kissing it softly, he proceeded, "Because she's not you. And for me there's no one else, Yuna."

I melted with his words and leaned in, trying to show him all my love with a kiss.

A/N: Well, I know this is not a huge chapter, but think of it as a bonus chapter – because there's lots of love and kissing and hugging and, well, you get the picture ;-) – for everyone who's been sticking with me during the entire story, wishing Yuna and Tidus to be together again – now they are! This is for you, guys, thank you.

I'm already working on the next chapter and hopefully it'll be out sooner (I'm trying hard not to take another month or so, because I know how boring it is to wait. Sorry). So, now I'm leaving you to review (please, please :p ) and I'm off to go and work on chapter 21. See ya.