Yuna x Seymour. Rated T. I don't own FFX or any part of it. AU. Spoilers!

I was angry-furious. I was so furious, that I was calm. So calm. Light, almost. I walked down the aisle again with a smile, waving, laughing, all the way to my eyes. I think I saw Auron give me a look like he was worried for my sanity, maybe. But he also wasn't sure if I had read his lips or not.

I had. I was furious. I was thinking of all the things I would say to him, the anger I would spit at him, while waving and smiling to the monks and civilians.

"Seymour, I need to talk to you alone, as soon as possible," I whispered into his ear as soon as the break in the crowd seemed right. He had a surprised look on his face. What did he think I meant?

He gently led me by the arm down an offshoot bridge along the network of bridges, glowing orange and blue and stone… it truly was beautiful. I grew up in Bevelle, but I felt that no amount of time spent here would dilute the awe of how spectacular it really is.

After a minute or two we came to a doorway, an inn…

"Seymour, it's not like that."

"But you need to speak with me in private, yes?" I nodded, we entered. The innkeeper didn't seem surprised, which made me a bit angry as well. What did he think was going to happen?

As soon as we entered the room, my face darkened and I threw my hands in the air,

"Prisoners? You took my guardians prisoner?! How could you-" He tried to speak, but I wouldn't let him, "Excuse me? Did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours? Stop! How could you! Is this a game to you? You play all nice and proper and Lady this and miss that, just to try to pull one over on me? They have laid down their lives for me! If you're playing a game you're pretty darn bad at it, playing with the most valuable pieces like this, at least the most valuable if I'm worth anything to you! Didn't you see me risk my life in front of your eyes for them? Of course I'm sure I'm not worth anything to you at al-"

"Stop! That is enough, you can't-"

"No you stop! I told you to stop!"

"No! Not when you talk about yourself like that."

"Like what? Like the truth, that I'm just a pawn and worth-"

"You are worth everything to me! That is exactly why this was done!"

I stopped.

We were both huffing and puffing by this point… me more than him.

"…Okay. Explain." I crossed my arms.

"When you were separated from them, and after they were in our care… They spoke of opposing us,"

"That's not good enough!-"

"Wait! Please!" He seemed annoyed almost, but remained polite, remained… affected by what I had said. "They spoke of kidnapping you back, of rushing you to Zanarkand, to skip this 'silly hold up…' They said terrible things… but I… I couldn't bear the thought of you rushing to Zanarkand and dying tomorrow. Or even the day after. I…" He looked at the ground. His face became unreadable… I took a step closer to him, to try to look at his eyes, to figure out what was going on. He straightened up and returned my gaze.

"I love you.

"I respect your pilgrimage. I admire it, I admire your choices, and I love you all the more for them.

"But… I am allowed to want to spend a little time with you, not have you kidnapped out from under me before, or even after, we even get to be married." His permanently affixed smile was gone. He wasn't frowning, but not smiling.

We stood for long moments. Only a few seconds but they felt like minutes. He was nervous, but sure of himself at the same time, I could tell.

"I may have… overreacted… by taking them prisoner…" He looked at the ground then.

"Seymour…" I didn't know what to say. I just knew I must say something, because he was sinking, and that… wasn't good. But I didn't know what to say. I was just taking it all in.

I leaned forward to hug him. Just a hug, just to break the tension, to… I don't know. He embraced me in return.

I thought a lot in that moment. It's hard, when someone says they love you, not to think about your feelings for them. Why, once when I was a little girl, a boy, Zane, confessed his love for me. We were preteens. It ate at me, day after day, until one day I just kissed him! I couldn't stand the awkwardness anymore! And then we laughed and any feelings dissolved into jokes and the ordeal was over with. But man, you can't ignore it when someone says that. Of course I didn't love him, not right then. But I had feelings of attraction for him, at times anyway.

But he still imprisoned my family! I was still angry. He admitted that it may have been a mistake, overreacting… but I also… I don't want to think it… (understood, a little.)

I put my hands on his shoulders and moved to look at him, grumpy face still in place, ready to speak, but-

"I am so honored to have you as my wife. Your strength, your resolve… You held all that in, you smiled and laughed like you hadn't a care in the world, and you still had the strength to yell at me afterwards. That is powerful, Lady Yuna," Oh no, I hadn't been using formalities… but… I was very angry…

I was kind of taken aback.

But not all the way.

"I'm still mad. Mistake-" he looked a little pretentious when I said the word, "Or not.
"Why should I believe you anyway? Your father is sounding more and more credible."

"I can only hope you have faith."

"You release them, immediately."

"I will release them as soon as possible."

"…What does that mean…"

"There is… a 48 hour waiting period before-"

"What!" I pushed off of him. "You made such an irrational, ill-planned decision like that knowing there was a waiting period? Two days?!"

We went back and forth for a while…

I suppose it's Bevelle's customs to hold prisoners, specifically those of conspiracy, for 48 hours to complete an investigation. It removes the chance of human error, due to multiple interviewers and time to look over evidence thoroughly.

Even when evidence is standing right in front of you.

"You will overrule it and release them immediately!"

"Even I can't do that!"

"Ooooo…" I balled my fists at my sides. "Then I am going to Zanarkand, right now!"

"You won't make it! You wouldn't be strong enough as you are to obtain the final aeon anyway!"

"You aren't strong enough to get what you want without killing and imprisoning people!"

… We went back and forth for a while…

I never fought with someone like that. I never spit my hatred at anyone, truly, like that before. Of course I fantasized about it, but in the moment, I rolled over… I don't know if it was my death march, or the fact that he was my husband, or simply uncontrollable rage that allowed me to let loose.

"You will move them from the Via Purifico to the most comfortable quarters you have until the two days is up!"

"Agreed, if you calm down and rest here for a couple hours," I could almost sense a "sheesh" with how exhausted he was in that statement.

"No! I'm going to be with them every hour until they are released!"

"Then freeze in the Via!"

We glared at each other with hard faces.

His softened before mine, just like it had at every other point in the fight.

It wasn't unreasonable. I could see in his face that he truly didn't want me to freeze, and he truly wanted me to rest for my own health.

"…Fine. I will stay here for two hours, and then I shall visit them, in their comfortable quarters…" He tilted his head up, not quite smiling, but satisfied. I sat on the bed, arms crossed. We stayed for a minute, and then he turned to exit the room.

Take me as your pillar of strength…

Before he took the step through the opened door, I called… "Seymour…"

His eyes darted up to look at me, but it seemed like his whole body perked up.

"Come here."

He obeyed, knowing. Somehow, I felt the need to cry, after all the emotions and shouting, I felt my eyes welling up and… and I wanted his arms around me again. He knew, somehow, his body knew, or something, because he did it all in flowing motions and movements, with long spindly hands and fingers winding around me.

It lasted only a few minutes. I make it a point to cry alone, to hide my pain from the world so that they can be happy, look to me as a source of happiness… It results in long, hard, heaving crying sessions. He had seen me cry once, in Macalania. I supposed it wasn't so long ago, that he could be there again.

It's hard not to think of your feelings for someone when they tell you they love you.

It's also hard to deal with being married to a man who imprisons your family from overreacting.

When is the next day that I won't be torn between powerful emotions?

My life is as two toned as my eyes…

And I let him hold me while I broke down. It's normal, right? To let your husband comfort you? If he's willing, after a nasty fight like we had. After a few minutes, I broke us apart, looked at him and thanked him. I think he laughed a little.

"Don't thank me, my lovely wife." After all the ugly things I said to him, I had to smile for the fact that he still saw me that way. He took it upon himself to exit then, and I was glad for it.

I lay myself down on the bed then, trying to relax, thinking.

I think I fell asleep.

I dreamed. I dreamed of the wedding, of laughing and smiling, of dancing, dancing so much, in circles, so fast… I dreamed of dancing with Seymour, twirling and laughing, spinning so fast, and then I was dancing with Auron (interesting,) and then Kimahri, and then Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri, Rikku… and then Tidus… and then it slowed down. We danced but his face was hard as stone the whole time. I didn't like it, I wanted it to change, to be happy, or sad, or anything but… disappointed. I wanted to run from it, so I didn't have to see it and feel bad… so I spun, I spun spun spun away onto a balcony, and looked at the moon and stars. Seymour's arms came around me like a straightjacket…