Yuna receives her final gifts.

Thank you for the follows/reviews.

Pfffft so I know I said I would try to get this out on Friday, but the Holidays have me swamped.

italics = denotes thought or memory (for the most part)

Not Mine

Mementos - 1 Day Until the Coronation

- Family -

She almost made it back home. Almost. However somewhere between the beach of the Besaid Market and New Zanarkand vanishing behind her, her comm goes off. With the day that she's had so far Yuna wasn't surprised. Rikku's voice on the other end imploring her to come visit them in the Celsius wasn't one either. If she's going to do this day right she may as well see everyone and anyone she's close with. Rikku was no exception to the festivities it seemed. Leaning forward she directed Elma on where Rikku and Auron had parked their hulking airship and the woman changed the direction of their boat so that they headed to one of the less populated sides of the island. As the city disappeared behind them Yuna unwrapped the scarf around her head and put it on the seat next to her, "Once we get to the ship you are free to go home Elma. I don't think I'll do more than return home when all is said and done." She told the woman at the helm.

"I think Shelinda would have my head if I let you run off willy nilly like that." Elma said.

"You've followed me around almost all day Elma, let this be my gift to you."

"It's my job and my honor to follow you around My Lady. This is going to be our lives for a very long time, so might as well get the practice in when I can. Today has been exciting, so it's not a great loss." At that Elma smiled.

"If I promise you Rikku will see me home will you at least consider it?" Yuna asked.

"Not at all." Elma said with a tone that booked no argument.

And that was that Yuna supposed. What Elma said about this being their life now was true. It was bothersome to think about, a guard on watch for the rest of her life. But perhaps a time would come where she would leave the job behind and find freedom somewhere less populous. Or where she would not be hounded wherever she went. Where people knew who she was but kept their distance anyway out of respect. Besaid was no longer that place, and neither could Bevelle be. But there were still places she could go, pockets she could escape to when it was all over. As she thought this Rikku's airship appeared in the distance and her mind amended its last thought, not just places - people too.

The ramp into the airship was open, a small boat docked next to it for easy travel to and from the iron vessel onto the mainland. On the ramp Yuna could see Naimi smiling and waving to her as their boat drew nearer. Finally their wooden ship clunked onto the metal of the ramp and Elma dropped anchor to keep their ride home from floating away from the much larger mechanical airship. As Elma prepared their boat for their eventually departure Naimi held out her hand and helped Yuna out of her rear seat, "You made it!" She said excitedly.

"I made it."

"Tyt and sus are inside. I couldn't wait to see you so they said I could come out to greet you." Naimi told Yuna by way of explanation.

Behind her Elma finally climbed out of the boat and did a small stretch to shake off her sea legs.

"It's good to see you again Naimi. I feel like it's been awhile." Yuna said.

"It has!" As the three of them walked up the ramp Naimi turned to look at Yuna, "Look what I got."

She took out the garment grid that she had been given and handed it to Yuna who held it up so she could examine the gift her cousin had been given. Two small dresspheres were set in the nodes and sparkled up at her, "Gunner. That's my favorite. Did you know?"

"I did. Sus tells me all sorts of stories of your adventures in it. That's why I choose it."

"I'm honored." She told the girl.

"Tyt said you would be. He was all prideful when he said it too. Idiot."

They entered the lift and instead of hitting the the buttons for the bridge, which was where Yuna assumed they would be going Naimi hit the buttons for the cabin. Their lift ascended quickly and soon the door opened a long connecting hallway. Both Yuna and Elma followed Naimi into the guest quarters of the airship. For the most part the room looked the same as it always had. The small winding staircase in the back-left of the room that lead up to the balcony with the beds and general sitting area, the bar on the right-hand-side that stretched along most of the adjoining wall. It all felt so familiar. The only thing that had changed was the space in the right-hand corner where the large stage used to be. The whole area had been gutted and the stage removed. Instead, a large table with a sphere node in the center took up most of the same space. While the stage had been fun, the table was just more practical.

Their entrance alerted the people on the balcony and Rikku leaned over to stare at her cousin, "You made it! Come on up."

Hearing her mother's voice Naimi ran up the stairs two at a time leaving Elma and Yuna behind her. Having seen that Yuna was safe Elma bowed and then said, "When you need me come get me. I think it should be safe now to take a little break."

"Good. I like the sound of that." Yuna told her bodyguard.

Once Elma had departed, Yuna climbed the stairs and joined Auron and Rikku in the sitting area. On the table were two objects - a large leatherbound book that looked like it had seen some wear and tear, and a blue recording sphere. There was also a pitcher of what looked like some sort of exotic juice, and a few small food items. Nothing that would be too filling but fruit, crackers, cheese, and small cuts of meat. It wasn't a party but it was clear that Auron and Rikku had set out to entertain. Not one to be afraid just to dig in Yuna grabbed one of the glass cups on the table and poured herself some of the bright orange-yellow juice. Taking a sip she smiled, "This is good."

"I thought you might like it." Auron said relaxing back into his seat while Rikku grabbed up a plate of the crackers and meat.

"I can't believe this is the first time I'm seeing you since I arrived here." Rikku complained, "It's been two days. Ridiculous. Lulu monopolizing all your time."

"It is a bit silly." Yuna said, shaking off Rikku's slightly bitter tone, "How have you been?"

"Good." Rikku answered, "I assume Naimi showed you her garment grid already?"

On the bed, where Naimi had eventually settled the younger girl frowned, "How'd you know?"

"You have been showing it off to any crew members that will look at it." Auron told his daughter.

"Oh." Naimi said a bit dejectedly, "But yeah I showed it to her."

"She's been very excited about it." Rikku said, "Beyond that our excavation of Spira goes well enough. We found a Cactuar Village recently. Which we are trying to keep it secret so you can't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed." Yuna promised.

"Good. I don't really want anyone disturbing their livelihood ya know? Not if I have anything to say about it. So far this kid who works for us sometimes, Benzo? He's doing translations with them for history purposes. Cactuars are his life. Which is... weird. But it's finally come in handy so I guess it paid off."

"How are you doing?" Auron asked, stopping his wife from rambling on for a bit which he knew she was prone to do when excited.

"Okay. Less nervous than I thought I would be. I went to the balcony today to try to get a feel for it but other than looking out over the city, I don't think I'll know what it feels like until I actually am standing there. Maybe everything will change, maybe nothing will change." At that Yuna laughed.

"I think it's so cool what you're doing." Naimi said, fiddling with her garment grid.

"Maybe not cool per-say, but we are proud of you." Auron said, to which Yuna flushed at his compliment, "Which is why I think everyone choose today to give you something. To say 'we stand with you'. Because we want you to know that even as you go forward and have all these difficult choices to make - we are with you. Whenever you need us."

"I know. I won't forget it."

"Good." Rikku elbowed Auron, "You want to go first or I should I?"

"You should go last." Auron told her, "I'll go first."

Reaching across the table he picked up the leather bound book and cracked it open to a page somewhere about one half of the way through. It was then that Yuna noticed that he had actually marked the page, and a red ribbon stuck out of the book, "What are you going to read to me?" Yuna quired.

"Shhhh." Rikku hushed her cousin.

Then Auron's warm lit filled up the room.

"Yuna turned five today. She's nothing more than a small child but I can already see her mother in her. In her one green eye, in the way that she smiles when she laughs, in how she explores everything put in front of her. There is a curiosity in her that cannot be stopped. I put her down and she walks away from me and the next thing I know she's fiddling with Al Bhed technology, touching something she shouldn't. She delights in curiosity, in the stories told to her, in the silence that comes as the sun sets and the moon rises. There is nothing she sees as out of bounds. I am oddly proud, despite the fact that she is so young. I wish in my heart that I could be around for her adult years. To see how that inquisitiveness will change her, how her need to question everything will allow her to make her mark on the world. But I also know in my heart that this will not happen.

The longer I look at her the more sure I am that I must take a pilgrimage, no matter how dangerous. I want to strike out and break the cycle so that she may never have to live in fear of Sin hanging over her head. What happened to her mother will not be repeated here. I hope that it isn't so terrible of me to want to do this to a child so young, to leave her motherless and fatherless. I wonder if she will grow up angry at me or be able to forgive me for this one sin, this one horrible selfishness. If she is anything like her mother I know she will. If I fail I worry about the part of her mother that I've seen in her, the part that I loved deeply but cannot erase for all my trying.

Her mother once told me that she would follow me anywhere. And if Yuna is to do the same, would follow in my footsteps… no, I believe that if Yuna was to take her own pilgrimage her mother's other characteristics would prevail as well. The woman I loved would not throw her life away for something that would not lead to success. Somehow, though Yuna's future is far off I know too that she would not give her life up unless she was certain of the future that awaited her - through the next door. I am not so free with myself, so able to live a life with no regrets. But my wife, my Sayda - if any of her lives in Yuna, if any of her pushes through into the adult Yuna will become, the child that I look at now - I know without doubts, without regrets, without fear - that Yuna will be okay.

Signed, Braska on the accordance of his daughter's fifth birthday."

When he was done he handed the leather bound book over to Yuna who had gone rather still, "He would have wanted you to have it." He said.

"How did you find it?" Yuna finally asked after a long pause.

"I've always had it." Auron answered honestly, "I suppose I wanted to wait for the right time to give it to you, or perhaps I could not give up the nerve to part from it. But it is yours now."

Clutching the journal close to her chest Yuna sniffled once and Auron could tell that she was trying to keep from crying. Swallowing tensely she looked at Rikku, "And just what do you have to show me?"

Rikku handed her cousin a small packet of tissues that Naimi had run to go get while her father had been reading, "You may need these."

Yuna took them placing them on top of the journal that she had moved to her lap. Then Rikku picked up the sphere, and tapping it activated its magic. For a moment nothing happened and then the room around them slowly shifted. It reminded Yuna of how Seymour had shown them the memory of Yunalesca. Like they were standing in the middle of a memory that did not belong to them, teleported to a world that was no longer their own. Then a voice started to talk.

"Right. I said I would record this because I know my dumb brother wouldn't believe me if I just told him."

A girl with a short bobbed haircut that spiked at the end stepped in front of them and she glanced around the city that she was in with awe in her eyes. For the most part the girl looked like Rikku from a few years ago. But she was a little taller and a little more well built, with a face that was slightly rounder around the edges. Without even questioning it, Yuna knew that she was looking at her mother. Her father's Sayda.

A woman walked by her mother and Sayda waved at her. The woman didn't wave back but Sayda didn't let that daunt her, "This is the first time I've been in the city and it's huge and it's so so beautiful!" She paused, "I have to wear these dumb goggles to hide my eyes because my brother Cid says people are not very friendly to Al Bhed here. Something about our technology being dangerous. Which is silly."

Sayda kept walking but didn't wave to any more people. As she walked the world shifted along with her. Eventually she reached a small cafe and sat down. A waiter came and took her order and then disappeared, "I heard that they have better cactus tea here then back at home but I know that's not true. Non Al Bheds always think they have the best tea, but it's all clearly lies." She said to the sphere.

The waitress returned and placed a cup in front of Sayda, steam was clearly visible from the top as she took a sip. She let out content sigh, "It is good. But nowhere near as good as tea from Home. Maybe someday an Al Bhed will be able to open up a shop here and teach these people how it's done." She continued.

"Oh?" A voice interrupted her.

As soon as she knew she had been overheard Sayda flushed and then glanced over to the table next to hers. A man sat there with bright blue eyes and despite the plain cloth and simple presentation of a man Yuna had only seen in fancy robes, she too knew instinctively that this was her father. Not only was this her father but Yuna had quickly put together the puzzle pieces. This was the first time her father and her mother had met. A tear snaked down her cheek and then another as the scene played on, "You shouldn't have heard that." Sayda said to Braska.

"Should I have not? There is no shame in being Al Bhed."

"Not to you or I. But to the people around us, they will judge me if they know." Sayda said.

At that Braska laughed, "Let them have their judgements. Judgment gets people nowhere."

"That's what I told my brother but he refused to let me go unless I promised him not to show my eyes."

"Your brother is not here though is he?"

At that Sayda laughed and pointed the sphere Braska's way, "I'm recording this for him. Wave. He will be glad to know I have made a friend."

Braska waved and then pulled his chair over to Sayda's table, eating some of the free bread they had brought her, "So, in lieu of sounding like every other man who you may meet down the line - what brings you to Bevelle?"

"No other men, just you." For a moment Sayda seemed shocked she had said such a thing, eyes widening. Taking a sip of tea to brush off her awkwardness Sayda attempted to recover and address his original question, "Trade. There is a very small -" at this point Sayda's voice turned into a whisper, "Al Bhed port here where we can smuggle parts in. Cid said I would be less conspicuous than him if I came, so here I am."

"I am glad you did. So that I could be the first man to ask you what brought you here." Braska said with a soft lit to his voice.

Confusion showed on Sayda's face while Yuna knew she was trying to work out if the man in front of her was flirting with her. As she did so something on Sayda's belt started flashing and she glanced down to look at it. Her eyebrows knit and she looked frustrated for a moment and then resigned, "Cred." She swore.

"Is that your, I have to go message?"

"Something like that. I wanted more time to to explore the city."

"I would have liked to show it to you." Braska told her. He absolutely was flirting with her Yuna decided, her own face still wet with tears, "Can't help life though." Sayda said wistfully, "I hope I get to see you again. It's rare to see a Yevonite Priest who is okay with Al Bhed."

"How did you know?" Braska asked.

"The staff." She pointed over at his table, "You should come to Home. I'd show you all the sights, make a grand tour of it. I'd take you out for real cactus honey tea."

"I'd like that." Braska answered, "If I happens, consider it a date."

"Ahhhhh. You can't say those sort of things when I'm leaving!" Sayda pulled out her watch and glanced at it, "I'm going to be late! I'm so sorry I couldn't stick around."

She stood up and put a high value gil coin on the table, enough to cover the bill and then some. Wiping her mouth off one last time she rushed down the street. It took a moment but Braska slowly realized she had left her sphere behind, "Ah. Well, now I'll have to go to Home if I don't see her again. Just to give you back." He told the sphere, "But without you or not, I do think I would like very much to see her again. Just to see the green of her eyes for the first time."

The recording ended and Rikku turned to see Yuna dabbing at her eyes with the tissues she was holding, trying to stem the flow of her tears. For a moment Yuna wanted to turn away but she found that to do so would be to hide herself. For all that she wished it Yuna had very few memories of her mother. She could remember how she always smelled of sweet perfume, of oil smudged against her cheek, how loud she was but how she could speak softly too - the timbre of her voice like a warm blanket. But it was just flashes, just small fragments in the back of her mind. She could stare at her mother in the farplane as much as she wanted but sometimes it felt empty. Hollow.

Her father was much the same, but there were statues of him everywhere. Books with his name in it, stories that talked about his valor and his honor. How in his death he had expunged the shame he had brought upon his family by marrying an Al Bhed woman. It was easier to remember because the world never let her forget. One time, years ago - she had asked Cid about her mother but an odd look had crossed his face - as if it still pained him to talk about it, so she hadn't asked again. Her mother's memory had faded while her father's only grew until Yuna had been able to eclipse it with her own. But now her mother was illuminated in front of her, in all her radiance and Yuna was overcome. Through her tears she was able to get out a few words, "Where did you find it?"

"My father had it. Braska gave it to him after Sayda died and he buried it in a box with his grief. We found it together a few weeks ago and he asked me to give it to you. To say sorry. If you want any stories he wants to tell them to you. All of them. Wants you to know the person she was before he let his rage at her marriage cloud his vision." Rikku told her cousin.

"I don't know how Tidus is going to top this." Yuna said, laughing while she still wiped away tears.

"Oh he'll find a way I'm sure." Rikku grinned, "Now, let's eat our feelings away."

"Yes! Food!" Naimi exclaimed as she dove forward.

"Don't overeat." Auron warned her.

"I won't." Naimi said, and then promptly did.

- Love/Self -

Much later, after hugs had been given and goodbyes had been spoken Yuna arrived back home with Elma in tow. Torches were lit in front of her house and soft light cast shadows on the sand. Behind them the sun was starting to set, and everything was awash in a soft golden glow. Seeing this as her cue to leave Elma bowed and after farewells were said, began her walk home. Finally alone for the first time the whole day Yuna stood outside for a moment and allowed the feeling to linger. She soaked up the peace and quiet, infusing it into her skin and into her memories. Into the water pool where she kept all her good memories and good feelings now. To drink down later in case things became difficult. The feelings stored away, she walked forward and into her home.

Inside the table had been set for dinner. Off to the side, there was a beautiful green salad with local vegetables. Next to the salad soft looking rolls were in a small wicker basket. For the centerpiece of the table a large cut of a local red snapper, presented with what smelled like a hint of lemon greeted her senses with its homey smell. Two wine glasses stood ready to be filled with wine. Sounds could be heard behind the cloth that separated the cooking area from the table and Tidus came out holding a bottle of what looked like very expensive white wine, "Welcome home."

"This is nice."

"I didn't want to overwhelm you, I thought after all you had been through today a quiet night in with a simple dinner might suit us well."

"I think it would." Yuna said and pulled her chair out, sitting down.

"Wine?" Tidus asked.

"Please."

He poured her a glass before sitting down himself, and pouring his himself a small amount asked, "How was your day?"

At that Yuna laughed, "I'm sure you felt some of it. And I did tell you about some of it."

"It felt exhausting. I was glad that I was not training for blitz later in the day, and instead did morning practices. I could have blocked you out but feeling what you felt today, I wanted to experience it with you."

"You didn't have to." Yuna told him, "But I'm glad you did. And yes it was exhausting, but it was good. Everyone was doing their best to tell me in their own small or large way that they were here for me. Here with me, in this."

"I'm with you too." Tidus said.

"I know. It's impossible not to. But even if we didn't have the connection we had. I would know." Yuna reassured him.

And she did know. Above all she never questioned Tidus's dedication to her. When she was hurt or scared or afraid, he would always be there as a shoulder to lean on. Even when he was not in the same room, or the same city, or even the same landmass as her. Their connection was not something that would be broken so easily. There was still something in him, she could feel it deep down that was a little unsure - and he would tell her in time what it was, but for now in this moment she wanted to reassure him that she would never question his love for her. She let that warmth build up in her and then passed it to him, soothingly and so as not to jostle his own emotions, "Thank you." He told her.

As the meal progressed Yuna told him about the parts of her day she had skipped over in their prior conversation. About each gift that everyone had gotten her, about Paine's Symbol, Lulu's charm, Kimahri's statue, and the gift of family that she had been given from Auron and Rikku that she could never replace. And Tidus listened, openly and with the same warmth that she had shared with him at the start of their dinner. By the end they were both full of comfort and red snapper, "Delicious as always."

"I have one more thing for you." Tidus said.

"I thought the meal and company was the gift?" She teased him.

"It was the prelude."

He walked upstairs and Yuna heard the opening and closing of doors and eventually he came back downstairs with what looked to be a dress on a hanger, but was covered in a very large and long zipped up black bag so as not to ruin the surprise. Yuna quirked her eyebrow at him, "It's beautiful?"

"I hope so." Tidus said and then unzipped the bag leaving Yuna to try to find the words for what she felt. While she struggled Tidus continued, "A few days ago you were struggling to find your final Coronation gown and eventually I realized that you might not have the time to decide upon one. So I spent the day thinking about what you would want to wear, and what would make the best statement piece and eventually this is what I came up with. I know it's not -"

"It's perfect." Yuna told him, not letting him finish his nervous ramble.

It felt like staring back into the past. After she had defeated Sin her wardrobe had slowly begun to mutate. For everyday wear she wore her gunner outfit when she could get away with it. When she couldn't it was either white mage robes or the High Master Summoner robes, which she hated to the depths of her core for how much they resembled Maester robes. Eventually she had gotten used to it, even if she still disliked it - and any sort of connection to her past in her wardrobe had faded away.

Looking at the dress in front of her was looking like a long lost friend. She walked around it looking at the changes that Tidus had made. The purple pleated long skirt had been made even longer, pleats removed - and now a very long cathedral style dress train had been added. A quick glance at the train told her that it would drag more than just a few steps behind her. The white vine-like flower pattern from the original dress wound around the edge of the skirt until it reached the front and climbed up to obi. As if the dress were a tree trunk.

For the most part the obi's old yellow color and pattern was still intact, but the bow tails had been lengthened so they now trailed down the length of the back of the dress. They stopped short of the end of the skirt train. Above it the white criss-cross top was just as it had always been but the unattached kimono style sleeves had been further exaggerated and were just a little bit longer in every way. Although not so much so that they looked cumbersome. Despite the small changes to the sleeves the pink fading color at the edge of both sleeves had been left the same, "I wanted the world to see the you I fell in love with." Tidus said, "Not the politician. Just you as you were when I met you. Determined, and beautiful."

"I was a mess when you met me." Yuna said, "I fainted right in front of you and Kimahri had to rescue me."

"But that didn't stop you. That never stopped you. You kept going and kept fighting on, despite the pain, despite the hardships, despite losing me, despite almost losing everything. That's who you are, that's what this dress is. That's what this dress says. It's not traditional, it's not part of their rules, or their laws, or their beliefs. You wore it proudly when they called you traitor, and sought to put you in prison for what they said were crimes against Spira and Yevon but you knew were the first steps to peace. This dress was a long journey and a hard fought battle. It was your battle armor against injustice. The woman I met wasn't a mess at all. Not even close, not even a little bit. The light behind you made you glow like a goddess and I was in love."

When he was done Yuna was crying again, "I love you too."

With little aplomb she threw herself at his chest and let him wrap her up in the safety and tenderness that his arms provided. In that moment Yuna felt truly cherish. Beloved in all things.

A/N: Re-working Yuna's original FFX costume into her coronation gown was a ridiculous amount of fun. A lot of time spent looking at wedding gown trains and trying to figure out length.

The name Sayda means lucky, it is also a derivative of the name Saida meaning princess or lady which, is a derivative of the name Said or in some languages - Cid.

Cred: This means Shit, in Al Bhed.