A/N: Here is the new chapter! As the title says things are getting a little more… intense and intimate between Yuna and Tidus. I hope you like it :-)

And, of course, the song 1000 words it's not mine.

Chapter 24

Intimacy

A few days later, Rikku stormed into my room early in the morning. "Yunie, Yunie, wake up!"

I pulled the covers up, in an attempt to block the sunlight that was coming from the window she was opening, and turned to the side, shutting my eyes again. "C'mon Rikku, it's too early!"

"But I really need to tell you something important!" She continued, sitting on my bed and yanking the blankets away. "Please, Yunie, listen; it's really important!"

I sighed deeply and opened one eye, still holding my pillow over my head. "What?"

She pulled her legs to her chest and rested her arms on her knees. "Pops is going away for the weekend!"

"What about it?" I asked, not following her line of thought.

"Well, he's taking Brother with him this time." She continued, grinning. "And… I was thinking that maybe we could… ya know… throw that party I wanted so badly…" She was still grinning and showing her teeth, as if to convince me to tag along with her crazy plan.

"You're out of your mind." I said, yawning and closing my eyes again. Maybe I could still sleep a few more minutes…

"No, no, no! Listen to me!" She shook my leg. "If we throw the party Saturday night, we can clean up everything before they arrive Sunday evening."

"Rikku," I began, sitting up and rubbing my eyes tiredly. "Do you really, really wanna do this? Especially now? I mean, Uncle Cid has just given you an opportunity to date Gippal openly… in the house… and you want to throw a party? You know if you mess this up he's probably going to ground you until you're thirty or something…"

She pouted slightly. "But I want it so much… And Pops will never know. And Gippal has nothing to do with the party. Even if Pops finds out and grounds me I won't stop seeing him."

Gippal had had dinner with us three nights before — I think it had been the first time I'd seen him so well-dressed, with an expensive jacket (that I believed it belonged to Baralai), new black pants instead of the usual jeans and a white buttoning-up shirt; he had even bought flowers for Rikku and for me. It had been a family dinner and even Brother had been there. Cid had asked a lot of questions, Gippal had answered them all. Brother had asked a lot of questions, Rikku had told him to shut up. I had tried to keep a light conversation, Rikku had tried not to show her nervousness, Gippal had been extremely polite and gracious — he could be a gentleman when he wanted to. When the dinner had ended, Cid had said in his grumpy voice that Gippal was allowed to date Rikku if she wanted to date him. "But if I ever find that you hurt my little girl…" He said threateningly, before shaking Gippal's hand. And so, Rikku and Gippal were now a "real couple", as my cousin liked to say.

"I know you won't stop seeing him, but it'll be more difficult." I told her. "Besides, that's beyond the point. What I mean is that your father trusted you… And now you're going to deceive him."

"Well, Yunie, you know Pops is really boring when it comes to parties. You can't count on him to lighten up the mood… And I know you want this party too. It'd be the perfect opportunity to introduce us to your new boyfriend…" She added mischievously.

I rolled my eyes. "There's no boyfriend, Riks. I've already told you that."

"You meaning you broke up with him?" She looked shocked.

"What? No! I mean…" I stopped, irritated with my cousin's growing grin. "It's way too early to argue with you!"

"Yeah, yeah, well… We can always talk about this later if you want." Rikku said. "But if you say you didn't break up with him it's because there's a guy after all."

"Oh, please, Rikku, give me a break…" I whined, pulling the covers over my head again. "You're being extremely annoying right now."

"I know. But you're not talking to me… and I want to find out who this boyfriend is." She paused and then continued, as if a plan had come up to her. "I bet he's not as good-looking as Tidus."

I smiled. If only she knew… "You're wrong, he's very good-looking." I told her, playing along with her.

"Ah-ah! So you're admitting there is a boyfriend?"

I pushed the covers aside and grinned at my cousin. "Maybe…"

"Who is he? Do I know him?" She asked hastily.

"Whoa there, girl! He's a very nice and funny guy, a bit goofy sometimes…" I laughed. "And I don't think you know him." At least not as I do…

"You meanie! You're not telling me who he is…" She pouted.

"Well, maybe I don't want you to know. Listen, if I help you out with the party, will you promise you'll leave me alone with this 'boyfriend' story?" I asked suddenly.

She eyed me suspiciously, weighting the two alternatives. She knew she couldn't throw the party without my help and she also knew she wouldn't find anything out about my so-called boyfriend. Finally, she ended up saying, "Fine, I want the party! You meanie!"

-----XX-----

Next Saturday, around eight o'clock, people started knocking on our door. Uncle Cid and Brother had left early in the morning and Rikku and I had been preparing everything for the big party that night. Gippal had helped us out, as well as Baralai, Paine, Nooj, Shuyin and Tidus, who had publicly announced he was going back to Zanarkand within a week and he was taking his brother with him.

"That means this is not going to be just a party!" Rikku exclaimed. "It's going to be a party in your honor! Both of you."

"Thanks, Rikster, that's kind of you." Tidus said, hugging her. They were good friends and now they had to say goodbye again.

I turned to Shuyin, to whom I would have to say goodbye too. "So, Auron took you, huh?"

Shuyin scratched the back of his head, just the way Tidus used to do. "Yeah, he's gonna give me a shot. He talked to the Abes and they're willing to contract me if I show them I'm good."

"You'll have no problem then. You've very talented, you'll be a great player for the team." I said, smiling. "And you and your brother will rock the city of Zanarkand."

He looked at me. "I wish Zanarkand wasn't so far away… I really didn't want to go with Tidus, leaving you here all alone."

"I'm not alone, Shu. I've got Rikku, Paine, Lulu, Baralai, Gippal…"

"Yeah, but you don't have Tidus. I know how things went last time he left." Shuyin finished somberly.

"Things will be different this time. I know it." I reassured him, touching his arm and walking away to help Rikku, who was carrying a tray full of plastic cups.

And now, a few hours later, people were finally showing up for the party. So far we were twenty: me and Rikku and our closest friends (adding LeBlanc, who had come with Nooj, and Dona and Barthello, who had come with Tidus) and some other friends of Rikku's, from high school, and mine, from college. Nevertheless, people kept arriving and arriving, until the house was practically packed.

I got to the living room and dropped myself on the couch next to Paine. "I'm exhausted and it's only 10 p.m.!"

She smirked. "Maybe you shouldn't have encouraged your cousin to invite all of her friends from high school. She seems to know a lot of people." She added, looking around.

"Yeah, and they're all noisy and perky like herself." I said miserably. "I just hope your sister won't sue us because we awoken Vidina."

"Don't worry, tonight she and Wakka went to have dinner with his parents and the baby will probably sleep there." Paine explained, taking a sip of her drink. "Anyways, he's used to sleep with noise around him. With Wakka for a father it couldn't be any different."

I laughed. "Don't be mean. Wakka is an excellent father."

"I didn't say he wasn't." She replied. "I just said he was noisy. But Vidina is already used to him. He is a very intelligent baby. You know, yesterday I found him playing with the Moogle; they are very fond of each other."

"That's so sweet…" I said gently, smiling upon seeing her proud look when talking about her little nephew.

She then turned serious and looked at me. "So, Tidus announced he's going back to Zanarkand. And he's taking Shuyin with him. How are you dealing with this?"

"I'm fine… I mean, I'm trying to be fine."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay." She replied simply. "However, if you need something…"

"I know. Thanks." I told her with a smile. After a moment, I got up. "I'm going to get a drink. Want something?"

Paine frowned. "I thought you and Rikku had agreed there would be no alcoholic drinks tonight."

I smiled. "And there aren't. At least for the guests. But I'm not a guest and if I don't drink tonight I think I'm gonna get nuts!" Paine laughed and I walked away.

After getting a strong drink in the kitchen I roamed through the house, making sure everything was under control and nobody was crossing the line. Surprisingly, the kids were actually behaving, despite the noise and the crowd. I spent some time talking to Shuyin, I danced with Baralai and Gippal (we had moved the furniture aside in the large living-room to make space for a dance floor), I had even met Dona and we had greeted each other courteously. I was currently on the kitchen once again, to refill my empty glass, when my phone rang.

"Yeah?" I answered, putting the phone between my ear and my shoulder, while I took a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge — it was time to return to my sweet old juice; after four or five strong drinks, I had already had enough alcohol for one night.

"Yuna, I've got a surprise for you!" Lenne's voice said from the other side of the line.

"What is it?" I asked excitedly, knowing it had something to do with the song 1000 words — we had named it a couple of nights before, when I had met her and her producer to know about the progresses of their work.

"Remember when I said the song would take a moth to be ready?" I answered affirmatively and she continued, "Well, it's going to take less than that. Ruber and I had a sudden inspiration for the music and we spent all yesterday and today recording a demonstration!"

"That's great!"

"Yeah, I know! I've got it right here with me. I was thinking of going over to your place to show it to you. Are you home?"

"Yes, I am." I looked around me to the crowd of kids. "Actually, Lenne, Rikku's having a party, so if you wanna come, you're welcome."

"A party? It sounds cool."

"Yeah, everyone's here. Everyone." I added, feeling the need to warn her that Shuyin was at the party too.

"Oh. Well, I'm going there anyway. I'm not thinking of staying too long anyway…"

"Okay, then. I'll be waiting for you."

After hanging up, I started looking for Tidus. I hadn't seen him much that night, but then again I was worried about keeping everything under control. I found him chatting with a couple of guys near the entrance — I recognized them as being our classmates in high school and also Tidus' friends. I approached them silently and touched him gently on the arm. He turned around and smiled at me. "Yuna."

"Hey. Hello, guys. How are you?" I greeted the other boys and then focused on Tidus again. "I need you to do me a favor."

He stepped away from the group and grabbed my hand. "Sure, anything. What's wrong?"

"Lenne's coming on her way here." I explained. "She knows Shuyin's here, but she's coming anyway; she needs to talk to me. Shuyin doesn't know anything yet and I don't know how to tell him…"

"You want me to tell him."

"If you could just keep him away long enough, maybe… Yeah, maybe it's better if you tell him." I ended up agreeing with him.

He put an arm around my waist, caressing the small of my back. "I'll do it. I just hope they don't… you know."

I nodded and placed my hands on his shoulders, leaning my face against his chest and closing my eyes, resting a little. After a moment, I took a step back and smiled at him. "I'm gonna wait for Lenne on the front porch. It's quieter there."

In fact, the porch wasn't much quieter, for there were still lots of noise coming from the house. Nevertheless, there was no one there and that was a blessing that night. Lenne arrived about five minutes later, driving a small blue car. She parked it near the house and came walking the last few meters.

"Here's your song." She said, making a reference to a similar sentence I had said to her the week before.

I smiled. "Come on in. Let's go and listen to it in my room."

She hesitated. "I'm not sure, Yuna. Maybe I… should go."

Understanding her uneasiness, I said calmly "Don't worry, the party is downstairs. There's no one on the first floor."

"Okay, then. But I won't stay for long."

-----XX-----

"It is beautiful, Lenne!" I exclaimed, a few minutes later, after listening to the demo Lenne had given me.

"I'm glad you like it. We still need to make it better, of course. The sound isn't the best and we want to introduce a few more instruments — this is still a very acoustic version. And there are a few parts that I must perfect in someway. But all in all I think we did a pretty good job."

"Yes, I think it's wonderful."

At that moment, there was a soft knock on the wooden door and both Lenne and I looked in that direction as a blonde haired head came into view from the slightly open door. "Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure, Tidus." I said, watching him entering my room and closing the door behind him. A sudden thought crossed my mind — the last time he had been in my room had been when he had visited me during my sleep, on the night he had come back to Besaid.

"Hello, Tidus. How are you?" Lenne greeted, smiling at him. "I heard you're returning to Zanarkand soon."

"Where did you hear it?" He asked, glancing at me.

"Downstairs." She simply replied. "Then I asked Yuna and she confirmed. I thought you would stay longer this time." She added, after a short pause. "For Shuyin."

Tidus looked at me again. I knew he was wondering how much I had told Lenne — but he knew I hadn't told her about Shuyin. That was something I would leave up to him himself. Yet, Tidus also knew his brother wouldn't seek Lenne again, so he faced Lenne and told her quietly, "Shuyin doesn't need me to stay… He's coming with me — Auron got him a contract with the Abes."

Lenne blinked. "Really? That's… wonderful. I didn't know…"

"No, you didn't." I intervened. "Only today did they tell us. Apparently it was all a big secret, but… Well, it's only a week left before they're gone, so…"

"A week? That's… so soon." Lenne looked at Tidus, but he was staring at me. And I was staring at him. I think that, at that moment, she understood what was going on. "I think I should go now." She announced, slowly getting up. "I took more time than I needed."

"No, Lenne, don't say that! You're always welcome."

"I know, Yuna. Thanks, but… I really need to go." She looked at Tidus again; this time he was looking back at her. "Maybe I should… Do you think I should talk to him?"

Tidus shrugged. "I don't know, Lenne. Maybe… I don't know."

"If you want to say goodbye, Lenne, then I think you should talk to him." I whispered. "Everything needs a proper ending; otherwise it will hunt you with doubts and memories. I know it."

"I know you do." She sighed and then turned to leave. When she reached Tidus, who had remained near the door, she turned around and said to me "I'll call you soon. And… don't forget to show him the song, okay?"

I nodded, thanking her silently. Tidus blinked, not understanding. "Song? What song?"

"The one she wrote for you." She spoke softly, opening the door and disappearing behind it.

Tidus and I remained in silence for awhile, just the two of us in the large room. The music was still very loud beneath us, and even with the door closed we could still hear it clearly, as well as people's voices and laughs. Sighing, I fell onto the bed with my arms wide open and closed my eyes. Why had I agreed with that party again?

I heard Tidus steps approaching me and then I felt the subtle change of weight as he lied on the bed next to me. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, kissing my outstretched hand.

I smiled as I heard his sweet voice. "Yes, I'm just a bit tired. It's been a busy day."

"Yeah." Another short pause. "Why was Lenne talking about a song?"

"Because that's the project we have in common. I wrote her a poem, she turned it into a song. It's called 1000 words."

"I see. Did you write it for me?"

"She thinks I did." I turned my head to the side, so I could look at him. "I think I did. It just flew out of my hand and into the paper. But I was thinking of you… as always."

"I would like to listen to it sometime."

"Well, you can listen to it tonight. That's what Lenne came here to do — she wanted to show me the demo. It's not the final product yet, but I think it's very good. And I'm sure she would like a second opinion." I stood up and walked to the small secretary.

"I don't think Lenne would want my opinion." I heard him saying from behind me. Looking over my shoulder I saw he had sat up on the bed and was scratching the back of his head. "I'm not the musical type, as you know it."

I chuckled. "Yeah, you're right, she probably wouldn't want it." Then I turned serious again. "But I want it."

He got up and slowly walked in my direction. Encircling me in his arms, he kissed my forehead. "And I want to give it to you."

Suddenly, the door flung open, startling both of us. Quickly turning in that direction, I found myself looking at a very drunk couple. I didn't know them, so I supposed they were Rikku's schoolmates. The girl had short black hair and was wearing very revealing clothes and too much make-up that covered her face. She could hardly see where she was going and the boy was in the same state of drunkenness. His hair fell to his eyes and he was holding a bottle of vodka in his right hand, while the other arm was wrapped around the girl's waist. They were laughing too loudly and also kissing violently, their tongues out of their mouths in a passionate encounter.

Tidus and I looked at each other and then back at the couple who had stopped kissing and was now staring at us with wide eyes. "Whatcha doin' here?" The boy asked, his words stumbling out of his mouth all mumbled and hard to perceive.

"That's what I ask you!" I exclaimed, stepping forward.

Tidus put an arm around my waist and shook his head. "They're drunk — they don't understand and they don't care." He whispered to me. Then he let go of me, moving towards the couple and grabbing the boy's right arm. "C'mon, you two. Can't you see this room is taken? Go somewhere else."

The boy eyed him from below and then turned around and stepped out of the room, dragging the girl with him. Tidus followed them until they were completely out, then he came back in and slammed the door, making sure he locked it this time. "There, they won't bother us now. They'll find another room." He said as he sat on the bed again.

"Oh, Yevon, that's so disgusting!" I said, thinking about how close it had been my room and my bed. I couldn't even imagine a stranger lying in my bed, even less doing it! I thought that if that ever happened I would never be able to sleep in there until I had it all cleaned up again. And even so, I wasn't quite sure if I would feel comfortable…

"What's so disgusting? Spending a nice time with your girlfriend?" Tidus asked mischievously, a naughty smile playing on his lips.

"No, silly!" I giggled, sitting by him and throwing him a pillow. "Doing it in some other person's bed. I mean… C'mon, having sex is personal, it's not—" I interrupted myself, feeling my cheeks burning. I knew I was blushing madly, so I tried to change the subject, "And where did they find the vodka? Rikku and I agreed to stick with the non-alcoholic drinks."

Tidus chuckled. "Probably the bottle was theirs and they brought it with them. After all, no teenager likes a non-alcoholic party. As for what you were saying…" He continued, his eyes bright with mischief.

"What about that?" I asked, swallowing. Suddenly I was feeling quite nervous.

"No big deal. I was just wondering… So you prefer it on your own bed." He said in a low voice, as if speaking to himself, while glancing behind to the large empty bed, the same smile plastered on his face. I could imagine clearly what was going through his mind and I began to feel self-conscious. I mean, we were locked up in my bedroom, in a house where apparently the alcohol was running free and we had just been caught by a couple of teenagers. People would definitely get some wrong ideas about that. And so would we, if we stayed there much longer…

"Maybe we should go back downstairs." I said, ignoring his last comment. I began to stand up, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down again, into his strong arms.

"Why? Don't you enjoy being here?" He whispered against my ear, his warm breath sending chills throughout my body.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "You know I do. And you know I want you too. But… I don't know…"

His arms slowly let go of me and he looked me in the eye. For a moment I thought I could see the hurt in his blue ones, but he hid it and said softly, "You're right, I'm sorry. Let's go downstairs."

The moment he got up though, I knew I was making a huge mistake. I don't know if it was the feeling of emptiness that filled me when he stopped touching me, or if it was the pain I had seen in his eyes, but I just knew I couldn't let him go away without showing him how much I loved him… how much I needed him. Within a week he would take off to Zanarkand and if I kept being stubborn like I had been so long ago, I would lose him once again. And losing Tidus was something I could not bear again.

He wanted me, I wanted him — it was as simple as that. Why did I have to complicate things? Why did I have to doubt and wonder at a time like this? To the hell with doubts! I loved him! I didn't care about tomorrow, as long as I had him with me that night. It was a feeling I could not stop, like one cannot stop the rain.

"Tidus." I called, getting up and grabbing his arm. "Don't go."

He turned to me and placed his hands on my shoulders gently. "Yuna…" I could see in his eyes that he was unsure. I knew he wanted to be with me, but I could see he was also afraid of it. Neither of us knew what the future would bring.

I slowly lifted my hand and caressed his cheek, a shy smile forming on my lips. "Would you like to hear the song now?"

"Would I?" He questioned, his eyes searching mine.

My smile broadened, reassuring him, and I nodded. "I think you would." Walking away from him, I turned on the CD player and the song began to play.

I know that you're hiding things…

I returned to the bed, where Tidus was seated again. Sitting next to him I closed my eyes and leaned in, closing the distance between us and softly kissing him. Then I just placed my head on his shoulder and we listened to the music. When it ended, Tidus looked at me and held my face in his hands. "It is wonderful. Thank you." He whispered, placing a gentle kiss on my lips.

"You don't have to thank me. It's just a way of expressing my feelings for you. But it's not the only one." With that said I began kissing him again, more ardently this time, my hands running trough his hair and neck. I parted my lips and the kiss became even more intense — his hands traveled from my shoulders to my back and back again, pulling me closer; mine had fallen to his chest, beginning to unbutton his blue shirt, taking it off so I could feel his soft skin on mine.

The kiss we were sharing was going out of control, so we broke apart, breathing heavily. I opened my eyes and met his, where I saw lust and love in equal parts, but also a glimpse of insecurity. I couldn't blame him, for I felt uneasy myself, not knowing if we were making the right decision. But I wanted it so much that I just didn't care about the consequences anymore… My desire was taking over me.

I kissed him again, to reassure him I wanted this as much as he did. I ran my hands through his abs, while I traced the tip of my tongue over his neck and approached his ear. "I need you, Tidus. Stay with me tonight." I whispered, before gently sucking on his earlobe.

He didn't reply, but he became bolder after that — I let his hands explore my body as I pushed him onto the bed, me on top of him. He smiled, as I spread my legs around his torso, and rested his hands on my thighs. Slowly, he started gliding them under my skirt. I threw my head back and moaned softly. His touch was so sweet….

I lifted my arms above my head and allowed him to take the dress off, so slowly that my body was aching in anticipation. He was taking his time because he knew how aroused that made me. He knew everything about me — what to do, where to touch, how to pleasure me… He was perfect!

He threw the dress aside and looked at me with longing. "You're so beautiful…" I smiled in response. He had said the same thing the first time we had been together, my first time ever. Apparently he hadn't forgotten how I appreciated those words, how important and special they made me feel.

I bent down for another kiss and he wrapped me in his arms, rolling over and trading places with me. Now I was flat on my back and he was on top of me, still looking me in the eye. "I love you." He added in a serious and truthful tone, caressing my face with his fingers.

I felt an overflow of emotions and found myself unable to prevent a tear from sliding down my cheek. It was so good to hear him saying those words — it was just like a ray of sunlight.

He kissed my tear away, stopping its progress down my face. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm sorry about everything…" He would have continued if I hadn't hushed him, placing two fingers on his lips.

"Not tonight." I begged. Right now, I didn't need apologies. I just needed to sense his caress, to feel his love… "I don't care about what happened anymore. I love you."

"I love you too." He replied, softly kissing my fingers and bending down to another passionate kiss that led to a lot more throughout the night.

-----XX-----

Next morning, the sunlight flooded my bedroom, hitting my face and forcing me to wake up. I yawned and stretched myself; then, swiftly remembering the events that had taken place the night before, I looked to the pillow beside me and, for a moment, I wished I was still asleep, for I woke up to an empty bed.

Tidus was gone and he had taken all of his belongings with him.

I let myself fall again onto the soft pillows and sighed deeply. Even though I tried to think rationally, I couldn't. I couldn't understand why Tidus hadn't stayed, why he hadn't at least said goodbye… Before I realized he had left, I had been dreaming of waking up in his arms — soft lips touching soft skin, gentle fingers caressing warm bodies… All those thoughts of affection and intimacy were now gone. All I felt was a growing cold taking over my body and soul — I was alone… again.

An hour later, I finally got out of bed. I put a dressing gown over my naked body and went to the bathroom, where I took a long hot shower — the water running down my skin soothed me and when I dried myself with a white towel I was appeased. After returning to my room, I got dressed in white cotton pants and a baby-blue t-shirt and pulled my hair back into a short ponytail. Then I decided to check on my cousin — I had noticed the house was incredibly quiet that morning, considering there had been a party there last night.

I knocked on Rikku's door and opened it, entering my cousin's room and going to open the curtains. "Rise and shine, princess!" I told her, turning to her bed and pulling the covers aside.

"'Morning, Yuna." replied a very sleepy Gippal.

My eyes widened in shock as I placed my eyes on his figure. Rikku's blonde head rested on his shoulder, her eyes peacefully closed. At least they were both wearing clothes under the blankets, as I noticed when Gippal gently woke Rikku up. Hopefully they hadn't done anything. Like you did? I asked myself, feeling my cheeks warming up.

Rikku slowly opened her eyes, smiling at Gippal. He kissed her forehead and then pointed at me. Rikku followed his finger and she almost jumped when she saw me, sitting up nervously. "Yunie!"

I gave her a small smile. "It wasn't my intention to interrupt anything. I just came to check on you, but I can see you're okay, so… I'll be downstairs." With that said I walked out of the room, not even waiting for a reply.

I descended the stairs and entered the living-room. It was a complete mess — the furniture was still pushed aside, there were glasses all over the place, as well as plates with leftovers. The kitchen wasn't much better, with everything out of place. I didn't even know where to begin cleaning up…

About fifteen minutes later, Rikku and Gippal came down, holding hands and fully dressed now. "Are you sure you don't need any help?" Gippal asked, kissing my cousin's hand.

Rikku grinned. "Yeah, I'm sure. Yuna and I can handle it. But thanks anyway…"

"Okay then." He waved in my direction and Rikku escorted him to the front door. They kissed goodbye and then he walked away. Rikku came back inside and headed my way.

"Nothing happened." She quickly explained, her cheeks a light shade of pink. "You do believe me, don't you, Yunie?"

I smiled at her, gently touching her arm. "Of course I do, sweetheart. And even if something had happened… it was none of my business. As long as you're happy, I'm happy for you."

She looked down. "I'm happy. But Gippal and I did nothing. We just… slept. Literally." She added, lifting her gaze to me.

"Okay, sweetie." I assured her. Then I decided to change the subject and I looked around. "So, where do you want to begin cleaning up?"

We spent the next five hours cleaning everything in the house and we only stopped for breakfast and lunch. When everything was finally spotless and immaculate we sat on the couch, relaxing for a bit. I quickly drifted away in thoughts — I still couldn't assimilate that Tidus had left me to wake up alone.

"Are you okay, Yunie?" Rikku asked, eyeing me closely.

I looked in her direction. Even though she was serious, her eyes were still shining with love — she was really happy. Trying to smile, so I wouldn't worry her, I said softly, "I'm just a little tired. I didn't have much sleep last night, you know… because of the party and all."

She nodded. "Yeah, I understand. I'm very tired too. But the night was sweet…" She looked down again, embarrassed, a slight blush coloring her face. "You know, yesterday I went to look for you, so we could send everybody away, but you had disappeared and your door was locked so I supposed you had gone to sleep. I ended up asking Gippal to help me and… he stayed for the night." She completed.

"Yeah… well as long as Uncle Cid doesn't find out, you're fine." I told her. She looked at me pleadingly. "I won't tell him anything, Riks, you know it."

She hugged me, thanking me. "I know, Yunie. You're the best cousin ever!"

A few minutes later I climbed the stairs and went to my room. Lying on the bed, I let myself drift away in thoughts, reliving the sweet memories of the previous night, the moment when Tidus had laid his head on my shoulder, closing his eyes and falling asleep. I had stayed awake for a little longer, playing with his blonde hair and thinking how good it was to have him in my arms again. But now he wasn't in my arms anymore. In fact, he hadn't said anything yet, not calling, not sending a message, not coming to explain it in person… I didn't know anything about him.

Maybe I should call him. But I wouldn't. He was the one who had left, he was the one who should say something first.

Getting up, I walked to my desk. The CD Lenne had given me was still on the CD player. Biting my lower lip, I pressed the play button and sat on the chair, listening to the song with my eyes closed. The melody flooded the air… and my soul.

I know that you're hiding things, using gentle words to shelter me

Your words were like a dream,

But dreams could never fool me, not that easily

I acted so distant then, didn't say goodbye before you left

But I was listening

You fight your battles far from me, far too easily

"Save your tears 'cause I'll come back"

I could hear that you whispered as you walked through that door

But still I swore to hide the pain, when I turned back the pages

Shouting might have been the answer

What if I cried my eyes out and begged you not to depart

But now I'm not afraid to say what's in my heart

Though a thousand words have never been spoken, they'll fly to you

Crossing over the time and distance holding you, suspended on silver wings

And a thousand words, one thousand confessions will cradle you

Making all of the pain you feel seem far away, they'll hold you forever

The dream isn't over yet, though I often say I can't forget

I still relive that day

You've been there with me all the way, I still hear you say

"Wait for me, I'll write you letter"

I could see how you stand with your eyes to the floor

But still I swore to hide the doubt when I turned back the pages

Anger might have been the answer

What if I'd hung my head and said that I couldn't wait

But now I'm strong enough to know it's not too late

'Cause a thousand words call out though the ages

They'll fly to you, even though I can't see

I know they're reaching you, suspended on silver wings

Oh a thousand words, one thousand embraces will cradle you

Making all of your weary days seem far away, they'll hold you forever

Oh a thousand words have never been spoken

They'll fly to you, they'll carry you home and back into my arms

Suspended on silver wings

And a thousand words call out through the ages

They'll cradle you, making all of the lonely years to lonely days

They'll hold you forever

Ohhh a thousand words

A/N: That's all for now, guys. I hope you liked it. Please tell me what you think of it :)

I decided to add the complete version of 1000 words in the end; I hope you didn't find it too boring.

I would really like to know what you think, so you know what to do… R&R people!