Okay wow. As you're all aware (if anyone is even still reading this), it has been an epically long time since I've updated this story. And obviously if I'm going to finish this story, it needs to be finished before summer ends (because Gatsby is such a summer story). Sigh. Does this happen to other people or just me-my summers always slip by so so so fast and pretty soon there's only a few weeks left and I'm all of a sudden in a panic mode because I realize I didn't complete anything that was on my summer to-do list. Guh. But such is life...

Anyway, I've literally had this chapter written for probably... um... probably a month. I was just too lazy to post it and then I kept forgetting. That said, I do not have anything but a few paragraphs done on the next chapter. I can't promise that I'll finish this. And I apologize tremendously for that.

But, for now, enjoy!

IX. The Night

I walked back to where I had last seen Baralai feeling flustered and frustrated. I felt tired and groggy, and realized it was very late. Many of the guests had left and I was stepping through a litter of broken bottles and forgotten wine glasses. There was still music, but it sounded distant and hazy, almost as though I was dreaming it up entirely. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was going on three o'clock. How had it gotten so late? Or rather—so early.

I walked into the giant mansion that had so quickly grown familiar to me, my eyes scanning for a familiar face. The rooms were dark, though, and only a few guests lingered about here and there. I stepped over a passed-out girl, wondering if Tidus ever managed to get rid of all of the guests.

Finally, I made my way out back out to the front. There were a few cars lined up picking up people here and there, but for the most part, it was all quiet. I even noticed that some of Tidus' servants had begun cleaning up the messes from the party.

Rolling my eyes in my annoyance at not finding any familiar faces, I pulled out my cell phone, wondering if Baralai had just gone home without me without letting me know. And maybe Rikku and Gippal had let him go, assuming I wouldn't be going home.

I was just about to call Baralai when I spotted Tidus walking along one of the fountains. He reached down and picked up a wine glass before tossing it carelessly into the fountain. Then, he put his hands in his pocket and looked out. I followed his gaze, wondering what it was he was looking at so intently across the bay. And then I saw the flash of the green light that was at the end of my dock. I was about to yell out to him, but at that moment, Rikku suddenly walked over to him.

It wasn't that I suspected that anything was going on between Tidus and my cousin, but I crept closer, ducking behind the fountain as I did so. My heart was pounding, and I wasn't sure if it was doing so because I was hiding away so shadily or if it was because I realized that I could hear Tidus' voice—and just the mere sound of his voice sent me into a frenzy.

"Did you have a good time?" he was asking Rikku.

"I did," she said. "How about you?"

I tensed, realizing that after the way I had left him, Tidus probably wasn't in the best of spirits.

"She didn't like it," was what Tidus said.

"Didn't like it?" Rikku said. "I'm sure she loved it."

"No, she didn't like it," Tidus said again. I heard something splash into the fountain and I wondered if he had tossed another glass in, the way he would a penny with a wish on it. "She didn't have a good time."

There was silence then. I kept waiting for Rikku to assure Tidus that I had had a good time, but apparently Rikku doubted it as much as Tidus did.

Finally, I heard Tidus' voice again.

"She doesn't seem to understand," he said.

"Understand what?" Rikku asked.

Again, there was silence. I even almost braved a look over the fountain to see if they were still there.

But finally, Tidus said, "I want to marry her. We'd go back to Bevelle and do it properly, you see. It'd be a much grander affair than her marriage to Baralai was."

"Why go back to Bevelle?" Rikku asked. "Your place would make a marvelous place for a wedding."

I looked at the house behind me. It would make a marvelous place for a wedding.

"We would have gotten married in Bevelle," Tidus said. He sounded further away, and I knew he had turned away from the fountain and was looking off across the bay again. "All those years ago—we would have gotten married in Bevelle."

"Yeah, but that was then," Rikku pointed out quickly.

Tidus made a strange sort of sound. It was as though he started to immediately say something but then cut himself off. I went ahead and braved a look across the fountain at them. He was staring at Rikku with an incredulous look.

"It has to be just the way it would have been back then," Tidus said. He sounded upset.

"But why?" Rikku asked. "You're both here in Luca now, together. Isn't that enough?"

I heard Tidus laugh. It was a strange, bitter sounding sort of laugh. I crouched even further in my hiding spot.

"It has to be as though we were never apart," Tidus said, his voice sounding strangely determined. "She has to tell Baralai she never loved him."

There was silence again. My heart was pounding too hard for me to see what was going on.

Finally, Rikku said a small, somewhat uncertain: "Tidus, you can't repeat the past."

"Can't repeat the past?" Tidus cried, so quickly that I jumped slightly. "Of course you can!"

I heard someone behind me, then, and I quickly turned around, letting out a gasp that I hoped wasn't too audible. I saw that it was Gippal, and he was standing at the top of the stairs, giving me a strange look. I quickly put my finger to my mouth to signal to him that I didn't want to be heard. He answered by giving me a quick nod.

He ignored me then, and walked around the fountain.

"There you are," I heard him say, and I assumed he was speaking to Rikku. "Have either of you seen Baralai or Yuna?"

I beamed slightly, glad that Gippal hadn't blown my cover.

"No," Rikku answered. I peeked over the fountain and saw that their backs were to me. Gippal seemed to be ushering them away from the fountain. I smiled again, glad to have him as my friend.

Then, I stood up and quickly walked away before they could see that I was ever there.

I went back into Tidus' house and called Baralai. He didn't answer, though, so I then called Rikku.

"Hey!" she answered, sounding rather chipper for it being so early in the morning. "Where are you?"

"I'm still at Tidus'," I said. Where are you?"

"Out in front by the bay. Come join us."

I hung up and walked out. Rikku was next to Gippal, and they were both sitting at the edge of the fountain that I had previously been hiding behind.

"Where's Tidus?" I asked, feeling disappointed that he wasn't there.

"He had business to attend to, or something," Gippal said with a loud yawn.

"Where's Baralai?" Rikku asked.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. I looked at Gippal, but Gippal immediately avoided my eyes. I knew that Gippal knew exactly where Baralai was. But I decided not to press.

"Well, what now?" Gippal asked then, standing up.

"I suppose we go home?" I said with a shrug. "It's almost four now."

"Do you want to wait for Tidus?" Rikku asked.

I looked behind me at the house. It appeared almost tragic now that the party had completely died down.

"I think he thinks I've left," I said. "We got in a bit of an argument, I'm afraid."

"Well, it's late and we're all tired and irritable," Rikku said, standing up. "Do you want me to take you guys home?"

"I'll call for a car," a voice behind us said. My heart immediately sped, because I knew it was Tidus.

"I actually have my car here," Gippal said quickly. He shook Tidus' hand and turned to me. "Do you want me to drop you off, Yuna?"

"That won't be necessary," I said, hoping Gippal didn't hear the slight shake in my voice. I gave him a hug then, and kissed him on the cheek. I knew he could tell I was trying to thank him for not blowing my cover earlier.

"Alright. Goodnight everybody," Gippal said. He gave us all a wave and then started off.

"I-I'm gonna go, too," Rikku said. "Goodnight, guys."

"Goodnight," Tidus and I both said in a strange sort of embarrassed unison. We stood in silence awkwardly as Rikku disappeared.

Finally, Tidus looked at me and said, "I thought you'd gone home."

"I planned on it," I admitted. "But I couldn't find Baralai."

Tidus rolled his eyes.

"I'll call a car for you," he said then. He started to walk away.

"Don't," I said. It came out without me even thinking about it. I even surprised myself.

"What?" Tidus said, stopping and turning to face me.

It was harder to say it this time. But, I swallowed and said it again.

"Don't."

It was habit for me to check my phone first thing in the morning. Nothing seemed amiss at all until I saw the eight missed calls I had from Baralai along with a splattering of "Where are you?" texts. I dropped my phone on the nightstand it had been sitting on and felt a moment of panic—where was I?

I felt calm then, and I laid back down, my head sinking into the lush pillow that was behind me. I was with Tidus. None of last night had been a dream.

I turned to look at him, only to realize he wasn't there. His spot next to me was vacant. Maybe I had dreamt it after all? But I knew I hadn't. I knew exactly what had happened. It all just seemed too good to be true.

I noticed then that a beautiful silk robe had been laid out, and there was also a bucket of ice with different beverages in it. I smiled and slipped on the robe and took a bottle of water.

I was just about to leave the room in search of Tidus when my phone suddenly buzzed at my side. I swooped it up and was not surprised to see that Baralai was calling. Letting out a sound of exasperation, I answered it quickly.

"Hello?" I said.

"Where the hell are you?"

I let out a loud yawn and said, "At Rikku's."

"Why didn't you come home last night?"
"Well, I spent an hour trying to find you and then got angry that you left without me."

"I couldn't find you."

"I had my phone on me the whole time. You never called me."

"I was looking for you, though. Yevon, Yuna, I shouldn't have to call you when we're at the same party. You're the one that disappeared."

"Well, when I wanted to be found, you were not around," I said. "And I tried to call you, but you didn't answer."

"My phone died."

"Mm-hm, sure it did," I said, stretching again. I was suddenly aware of the fact that I felt greater than I had in a long, long time.

"Well, would you get home? I told the Maester we'd be at his luncheon today."

"You'll have to go without me," I said.

"Is this some sort of joke?"

"No. Why would you even think I'm joking?"

"Yuna, you know as well as I do that the only reason we got invited to this luncheon is because of your dad's connections. I can't just show up."

"Sure you can. You're the one whose sister married the Maester's nephew."

"Get home. Now." His growl was right in my ear.

"I don't feel like going," I said stubbornly. "Go without me and have fun. Goodbye!"

"Yuna don't you dare h—"

I hung up and tossed my phone back where it was. Then, feeling rather pleased, I turned my phone off completely. Sitting there, in Tidus' bed, and knowing that Baralai had no way of reaching me suddenly made me feel completely liberated.

I sat there for a while, upright in the bed, my eyes lazily looking out the wide windows. Everything looked so peaceful.

I heard the door open then and I turned swiftly to meet my visitor, knowing that my smile showed who I was hoping was walking in.

"Oh, hey, you're awake," he said, grinning at me.

"I am," I said, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my appearance. He was dressed and showered and looked so perfect.

"Your phone's been going off like crazy," Tidus said, nodding to it.

"It's just Baralai," I said, waving at it dismissively. "I took care of it."

"I was half tempted to answer it myself," Tidus said, taking a seat on the bed, his back to me. "I figured that would upset you, though."

"Who knows," I replied. "It would have been a bit funny."

"Is that all this is to you?" he asked me, looking at me over his shoulder. "Some sort of joke?"

Him asking me that hurt.

"No, not at all," I said, sitting so that I was facing him. "I'm sorry if I gave you any reason to think that."

"Then you'll divorce him and marry me?"

I felt my bottom lip tuck under my teeth. I thought back to the conversation I had overheard between him and Rikku.

"I don't know," I said, and it broke my heart to hear myself say that.

I noticed a twinge of annoyance in his eyes, but overall he hid his emotions well.

Finally, I scooted myself so that I was sitting next to him and I took his hand in mine.

"But I want to," I said. "I really do. But don't you think we have to wait for the right time?"

"And when would that be?" Again, I noticed a bit of annoyance, but overall he was remaining calm.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "We should wait for something else to happen—something major, you know. And then our little escapades and affairs and my divorce can all just fly under the radar."

"Why do you care so Yevon-damned much?" Tidus asked, the annoyance finally breaking through. He took his hand from mine and stood up, his hands in is pockets. He walked over to the window and leaned against the wall, his eyes looking out across the bay. I suddenly hated that we were right across from Baralai.

"If it was only my reputation we were toying with, then it wouldn't be a problem," I said. "But it's also my father's. I can't do that to him again, Tidus."

"He's dead, Yuna."

That silenced me. It even made me feel a bit angry. Tidus was part of the reason I'd managed to ever stop grieving over my father's death. He didn't need to remind me of the facts.

"That doesn't mean his legacy doesn't live," I said, pointing to myself.

"Well, look at me," Tidus said, spinning around to face me. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit that made his eyes shine just so. "And look at all of this," he continued. "Everyone will understand, Yuna. All of Spira will understand why you divorced Baralai. You don't have to be ashamed of me, anymore."

"Tidus, I was never ashamed of you," I said, and it was my turn to try and hide my annoyance. "You know that."

"No, I didn't know that," Tidus said. He crossed his arms and looked back out across the bay. I wanted to yell at him to stop doing that. "One day you were mine, the next you were moved back to Bevelle, and the rumor was that you were starting to see a fine young fellow named Baralai. What the hell was I supposed to think, Yuna?"

"That I was trying to fix my reputation."

"And you couldn't do that with some washed-up, injured blitzball player." Tidus rolled his eyes and looked out the window again, but this time I knew he was only doing it so that he wasn't looking at me.

"Do you want me to tell you that that's exactly what I was thinking?" I asked, my voice a bit soft. "That yes, I needed to fix my father's reputation and my reputation and I knew Baralai was the ticket to doing that and not you? Is that what you want me to say, Tidus? Because I will. I'll say it."

I was growing angrier and angrier with every word I spoke.

"You're so careless, Yuna," Tidus said. "I'll call a car for you."

"Okay. You'll ship me back off across the bay. Why don't I just swim across? Maybe then I can drown and you and Baralai can both just move on with your lives."

Tidus didn't respond. He simply walked up to the one of the phones that was in the room and picked it up.

"Tromell? Call for a car for my guest, please."

"You're an ass," I said, even though I hardly ever spoke to anybody that harshly.

Tidus just laughed to himself, hanging up the phone carefully.

"I'm trying to do the right thing, here, Yuna. Can't you see that? If it gets out that you spent the night last night, your reputation is going up in flames. If you just casually divorce Baralai—"

"There's no such thing as a casual divorce, Tidus. Not here. Not in the circles I'm in."

"There's also no such thing as a casual love affair, Yuna," Tidus was quick to point out. "Trust me, honey, we can do this every night. I'm more than fine with that. But it will get out. And that's not going to be good."

"Or I can walk away and never come back."

"Sure," Tidus was almost too quick to agree with me. "If that's what you want, Yuna."

It wasn't what I wanted. He could see through me just as he could see through the glass bottle of water I was drinking.

"You frustrate me," I said, a bit immaturely.

"And you frustrate me, too, darling."

Somehow, while we were bickering, he had managed to creep closer and closer to me. He did it so easily and quickly that I didn't even notice until he was suddenly kissing me. And just like that, I forgot that we had been bickering at all. I welcomed him back into the bed and the only thing that could possibly interrupt us was Tromell knocking to inform us that the car had arrived.