Disclaimer: I don't want to own FFX. I'm content with my Tidus action figure.
Warning: Shonen ai, possible yaoi later on.
Pairing(s): AuronxTidus, others.

Well hello there, I never thought there would be a chapter three of this particular fanfic, but my love for Auron has drawn me back to the fandom, at least for a while. I fear this is out of character, but I really tried. Hah.

Ah, enjoy? And possibly review?

Tidal Wave
Inching and Falling

Tidus glowered darkly at the ground; not meeting his guardian's concerned faces. Getting his first aeon had not been a walk in the park, and it had only been an hour since. He could feel the immense power of the winged aeon Valefor coursing through his body, right down to his fingertips. It wasn't unpleasant, just kind of overwhelming.

Here he was, in some strange world, and he had to take on the responsibility of acquiring special beasts from the fayth in order to? To what exactly, he wasn't too sure. No one had explained much to him thus far, expecting him to already know this knowledge.

He sighed quietly, noting the awkward silence hanging in the air. He wasn't quite sure what to do now. "I've gotten the aeon," he said lamely, hands behind his head. Damn these long sleeves.

A large hand slapped him on the back and he swiveled his head to the side to glare at Wakka. "Ah, that's good ya! Next stop: Kilika."

There was a clear consensus among the group, and though Tidus wasn't sure what or where Kilika was, he nodded absently anyway. Whatever. He would ask Auron whenever he could find the man alone.

It almost hurt to look at him. Auron so close, such a comforting and conflicting presence at the same time, just like in his preteen days. He snuck a glance at the red clad warrior, standing by his father. They were talking to each other, and for some reason, Tidus got the impression it was completely natural. He didn't like it.

An image hit Tidus then, as he stared at Auron passively, racing through his mind and shutting out everything else.

His mother had just passed, and all he could do was shake and cry. Auron offered comfort in his presence, letting the small, sobbing boy clutch at his robe for support. His wails echoed in the empty house boat, but neither seemed to care. Auron was all he had, now.

"Everything will be fine," the man whispered soothingly, and although the words held emptiness, Tidus took them to heart and locked them away. He wanted his mother, he wanted love. But he trusted Auron, so he would believe. He had to.

There was a stinging in Tidus's eyes, but he willed it away.

You're just a crybaby. Cry some more, go on. I know you will.

No.

I hate you.

He pulled himself together, before being immediately being thrown into a headlock by Wakka. Tidus narrowly survived being choked to death by the larger man, a grin brought to his face to Wakka's delight.

"Oh man, is he smiling!? I can't believe it!"

They laughed together, the moment only broken when the girl named Yuna walked up to them, a kind smile curving her thin lips. "The ship is ready, Sir Tidus. Are you prepared?"

He gazed into her eyes, somewhat surprised to see such devotion for him. Well, he supposed, he was some important Summoner. And these colorful people were his guardians. So then, them caring for him shouldn't be so out of the ordinary. He just wished the one person he cared about still felt the same in this new world.

That didn't seem to be, with Auron not even sparing him another glance after their previous incident.

He shook his head, realizing Yuna was still waiting for his reply. "Ah-yeah, sorry about that. Just spacing out again."

She smiled at him comfortingly. "I will inform the others."

Tidus watched her retreating form, contemplating what she was to him. Could she have been his lover? She seemed almost too familiar to him, though he didn't know her. She was kind of meek for his taste.

Wakka punched his shoulder to get his attention and he rewarded the man with a disheartened glare. What was with this guy and physically causing Tidus pain to get his attention? No one back in Zanarkand touched him much. Then again, he did live with Auron, who was a like a silent threat, though he'd never admit it.

Tidus smiled.

"Hey, ah, remember back when you were about twelve, a little munchkin, and you wanted to be a chocobo handler? Hah, you would run around the village, trying to groom and poke any kind of animal to show everybody you meant serious business." Wakka chuckled to himself, ruffling Tidus's bleached hair gently. "And now you're a Summoner. It's unbelieveable, ya know?"

"No," Tidus answered honestly, and at Wakka's frown he said, "Sin's toxin," in what he hopped was a convincing manner. It probably wasn't, he was never a good liar.

When he was twelve years old in Zanarkand, he was trying to figure out what Auron truly meant to him. He distinctly remembered notwanting to be a choco-what? handler, because Blitzball had always been on his mind, day and night and forever.

Gods, he just couldn't stop thinking about Auron, could he?

A whistling caught both their attention, and they saw Yuna standing at the village entrance, waving to them to come. The rest of the group surrounded her, including Tidus's old man.

Tidus groaned. He did not want to do this. Wakka grabbed his hand and hauled him along to catch up. Everyone began to mold around Tidus as they made the trek to the beach. Yuna had a blue sword clutched in one hand, like it was no weight on her fragile looking body at all. Tidus was impressed. All he had was a lame staff like thing. And from what he could tell, it didn't do much. He supposed he could use it to summon his aeon, but he didn't want to ask. Wakka on his other side kept throwing up a blitzball –ah! He wanted it. Wanted to feel it, throw it, have the crowd cheer his name as he made another game winning goal. Wakka used it for a damn weapon. What the hell?

Casually he glanced behind him, accidently catching the eye of his father and promptly turned back around. Crap.

Ject was carrying some weird looking sword, curved at the end and glinting in the sunlight. Probably stole it. Tch. He didn't catch a look at Auron, but really he didn't need to. The man still wore the same clothes, so he could only assume he had the same sword.

He hadn't really had much time to look around at the lush greenery that was Besaid Island. It was beautiful with the softly swaying palm trees, the birds singing some sweet tune while the wind kissed his skin, the sun lighting up everything to make it seem like the perfect paradise. Tidus was at peace for the first time since he arrived.

They reached the ship with only a few disturbances, much to Tidus's relief. Yuna and Ject mostly took care of the fiends since they were weak. It was interesting watching Yuna gracefully swinging her sword and landing it in a monster's ribcage. She was accurate and agile, her lithe body practically dancing as she fought. Ject was just the opposite, clumsily and not going for any particular style. Hack and slash.

Tidus shrugged. He wished he held a sword in his own hands.

A large group of people were there to wish them a safe trip when they finally reached the shore. It was strange for him, considering he had no idea who any of them were, but still, he was as courteous to them as he could be.

A little girl came up to him before he boarded the S.S Liki, smiling up at him brightly and tugging on his robe. "Summoner Tidus, will you defeat Sin?"

He patted her head and smiled back, nodding. "I sure will! Don't you worry. What's your name?"

The girl giggled, hopping onto one foot anxiously. "My name is Leena! When you beat Sin, you've gotta come back and see me, okay!"

"Yes, I will. Just for you, Leena." He swallowed the dread of leaving Besaid and quickly followed Yuna up the ramp. He gave the spectators one more big smile before ship took off.

A rough hand grabbed his, and oh god, he so wanted it to be-not Ject. His old man was frowning at him, tugging at his arm.

"I think we need to talk, kid."

"About what?" Tidus muttered snidely. He didn't want to talk to this man, let alone be anywhere near him. He yanked his arm back, glaring at him.

Ject scratched at his head, looking very much confused. "Is, eh, is there something I've done lately to royally piss you off? I mean, I know you got close to Sin and all, but I don't see how it was my fault."

"Nothing is ever your fault, is it dad?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, boy?!"

Tidus shrugged, starting to walk away. "Nothing, just leave me alone." He hated this man, hated him so much he thought his head would explode. Ject looked pissed and maybe a little hurt before he stalked off, going to his cabin.

His mother died because of him. His failures, they were rooted from the constant berating from him. His pain at losing both his parents, at not being good enough, at losing everything-

He would act the part, but he refused to be around this fucking drunkard, this… trash. He just wanted an opportunity to slit his throat.

Tidus stood on the deck, laziliy looking out at the clear as crystal ocean stretching out before him. It was beautiful. He was glad everyone decided to leave him alone for a while.

"Tidus?"

His eyes widened a little at the voice he knew almost better than his mother's.

Auron.

The man he least expected.

"May I speak to you?" Auron asked softly but it sounded like a case closed kind of thing, and Tidus nodded quickly, going as far as to smile.

Auron was a piece of home, whether he knew Tidus or not.

"Shoot," Tidus grinned, leaning back against the rail.

"I remember you, now."

Tidus gasped, looking up at the man hopefully. "You remember Zanarkand?"

"…yes. In a way." Auron did something strange and smiled, just a simple upturn of his lips. But it was enough. Tidus immediately latched onto him, not even caring that Auron didn't respond. He usually never did.

Tidus snuggled closer. "What made you remember me?" he whispered into the red coat he used to clutch as a child, lonely and crying and missing his mother.

A hand rests against his hip for comfort. "Ject. He speaks to me about you and does not understand your coldness. He believes this is his home and you have always lived here. I assume Sin's toxin truly did erase his memory, Tidus. He is not your Ject anymore."

Tidus frowned, stepping back. "So you're saying I should just forget about the past? Is that it? Auron, you know better than anyone… you know how he treated me. He's why mom died, he-"

"Tidus, he isn't the same man you knew as a child."

Tidus snorted. He hated disagreeing with Auron, but seriously was he expecting Tidus to forget everything and move on? That was probably never going to happen, even if Ject wasn't the asshole from his childhood.

He sighed heavily, shifting so he now sat on the rail, to Auron's disapproval. "I don't know what you expect from me."

Auron smirked. "Decency. The others do not understand your attitude."

Grinning, Tidus waved his hand dismissively before a thought crossed his mind. "Yeah well, whatever. I don't understand theirs."

There was comfortable silence before Tidus felt like an idiot. Here he was, not even bothering to ask Auron what the hell they were doing in this world! Why they were here and what happened.

"Auron, just why the hell are we here anyway? You haven't told me ANYTHING! I'm sort of confused that I'm here in some whacky place, trying to be something I'm not so these people don't think I'm crazy and kill me or whatever they do, and here you are, acting like it's the most normal thing in the world. What the hell man?"

Auron just shook his head. "This is your story now, you find the answers."

Tidus would have protested, a lotat the blasé response, but a loud crashing noise sounded before the ship vibrated violently, and he would have easily fallen off the railing if Auron had not grabbed his hand and pulled him tightly against his chest. He frowned down at Tidus.

"Sin."

-

…tbc….

How about some answers eh? Haha. Next time.