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SINS OF OUR FATHERS

Chapter Nine: Homecoming

“He’ll be here soon enough love.”

“The lift-train is twenty minutes late. What could be holding it up so much? You know what; I bet that he had something to do with it.”

“Oh Shuyin don’t be so paranoid, and please stop pacing. You’re making me dizzy.”

“He better not have gotten himself into any trouble, or so help me...” Shuyin said, shaking his fist in the air.

Lenne stood up from the bench she was waiting on and walked over to Shuyin. She put a hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down. “He’ll be fine; it wasn’t like he was gone for a very long time. He couldn’t possibly get into that much trouble.”

Shuyin raised an eyebrow as he faced his fiancé, “You do know who we are talking about right? Tidus, my brother. You know, Tidus the terror of Zanarkand.”

Lenne chuckled, “You know you’re the only one who calls him that right? Anyway, I have faith in him. Everyone eventually grows up and matures, and I think that Tidus is coming into his own.”

Shuyin just smiled at her, “You know what I love about you?” he asked, pulling her into an embrace.

“Do tell,” Lenne responded and rested her head against him.

“How blindly optimistic you are...” Just as his comment ended Shuyin felt a fist hitting his stomach, “Hey!” he laughed, “That hurt!”

Lenne had pulled back and was looking at him with a grin on her face, “I think it should be changed. You’re the real terror of Zanarkand.”

Shuyin laughed and pulled her into another embrace, “I’ll take it under consideration.”

Before Lenne could retort his statement they heard a voice coming from beside them say, “Oh, excuse me. Am I interrupting something here?”

They both turned their heads to see Tidus grinning, while over-dramatically averting his eyes. Shuyin and Lenne stepped apart and laughed.

“I didn’t even notice your train got back.”

Tidus smiled at his brother, “I don’t blame you. You two were off in la-la land.”

Lenne laughed at him, “Welcome ba... Oh Yevon,” she stopped noticing something on his face. “Tidus! You’re hurt! What happened?” She reached up and carefully touched around his black eye.

“Huh? Oh! Ow! Hey that hurts Lenne!”

Shuyin stepped closer to examine the eye before stepping back and sharing a glance with Lenne. He turned back to his brother, all traces of a previously good mood vanished. “What happened bro? Who hit you?” Shuyin asked, then said with more intensity, “and why?”

“Hey guys! Lenne, Shu, calm down! I was uhh... playing Blitzball and I just happened to try and catch the ball with my face.”

His brother didn’t look overly convinced but he didn’t press the matter any further, at least for now.

Tidus quickly took that advantage to change the subject, “So you two are my glorious welcome home party?”

“What? We’re not enough?” Lenne asked in a mockingly hurt tone.

Tidus smiled, “No, small is good.” His eyes started to focus on something not there and his smile became sadder. “I don’t really feel like being around a lot of people right now.”

“Is everything alright?” Lenne asked, as Shu gave him a quizzical look, it wasn’t like him to be solitary.

Tidus turned to Shuyin, “I think I just need some time to rest. In fact, I think that’s where I’ll head to right now, if you two don’t mind.”

Lenne shook her head, “No, go get some sleep. I’ll see what I can get for that eye of yours. We’ll see you later then.”

“Thanks Lenne.” Tidus said, and then turned to leave. Without turning around he said, “Shu...”

“Yeah Ti?”

“Is Dad at the palace?”

“Yeah I think so.”

“Alright, well hopefully I can get to my room without running into him.”

Tidus started walking away, and as soon as he was out of ear-shot Shuyin turned to his fiancé. “Is it just me or... does he seem a little...” he waved his hand around in a flip-flop gesture, “...odd.”

Lenne nodded, “Your right, he definitely does seem... different somehow.”

“I hope he’s just tired,” Shuyin said taking Lenne’s hand in his, and starting off in the direction of Zanarkand Palace.

“I’m sure that’s all it is,” Lenne agreed following him.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Although he was glad to be reunited with his brother, and Lenne, Tidus was secretly glad to be finally alone. He had managed to avoid any contact with his father, and so the night seemed like it was going to be alright.

He through his bag of clothes in the corner, he would deal with it later. He sat down on his bed and placed his head in his hands. There were so many things circling around in his mind, so many thoughts and emotions that would have been foreign to him the last time he had been in this room. The thoughts were complex and confusing but they all traced a line back to one thing: Yuna. Oh Yevon he missed her so much, and they had only parted last night. He wished she could have been there to see him off on the lift-train in the morning, but she had had to leave the night before, her father would get suspicious she said. He understood, and after a few hours together that night, she had left.

Tidus didn’t think he had ever met anyone who was as beautiful as she was. Sure he’d met beautiful girls, but their beauty faded eventually. Yuna, inside and out, was the most amazing person he had ever met.

“Oh no,” he said to himself, “I’m turning into a sap.” He then laughed remembering a time when he was fourteen and told Shuyin that if he ever became a lovey-dovey loser to punch him in the face. He decided it was probably good Shu didn’t know about him and Yuna (beside the obvious reasons), because his face had been through enough abuse lately.

Tidus turned and stretched out on his bed, tomorrow would be another day and he was sure that he was going to need rest for whatever lay ahead of him. He reached out and flipped off the light, sending his room into the dark, welcoming sleep to attend his restless mind.

----------------------------------------------------------

Yuna sat at her desk in her room. She had been sitting there for an hour and a half. A paper and pen were set neatly in front of her, and she was staring blankly at them. She was trying to think of something to write in her personal journal but nothing was coming to mind. She hadn’t written since before the ball, she could still see her last entry:

Dear Journal,

I can’t believe it, the party is tonight. What am I going to do? I was supposed to meet someone by now, but I have no one. I’m at my father’s mercy. If mom were still here... I wouldn’t be being forced into this. Sometimes I wish I could just run away.

I have to get ready soon... good luck, and may Yevon be with me.

Yuna

So much had happened since then; she didn’t know how to sum it up. She didn’t even know if it was safe or not to be writing anything down. Yuna smiled to herself, if she could tell her past self what would happen, she probably wouldn’t believe her. Yuna wasn’t even sure she believed it herself, maybe it wasn’t real, and maybe Tidus was just some wonderful dream she would have to wake up from. She hoped not, and her heart told her he was real. In one week she would see him again. At the thought her heart took a leap in her chest. No one was able to make it do acrobatics the way that he could. She could feel her cheeks redden as she thought of him. She really needed to get a grip on herself. It wasn’t smart to just fall head over heels for anybody. But therein lied the problem, he wasn’t just anybody. He was a sweet, gorgeous, kind, funny, amazing individual... and he didn’t care about who she was supposed to be.

She stood up walking away from the table with the pen and paper. Maybe some things were best kept in her heart, at least for now.

Yuna walked over to her open balcony, staring out at the city lights. Maybe one day she would go with him to see Zanarkand. She rested her head on the door frame, the cool breeze blowing through her hair. She had started to leave it down more often lately, she liked the feel of the wind, and it felt more relaxed.

The wind drifted thoughts of Tidus into her head, and she wondered if he was thinking about her.

-----------------------------------------------------

Tidus had gotten almost until two o’clock the next day, without seeing or running into his father. Unfortunately for him, this particular bliss couldn’t last indefinitely.
“Hey Kid! Where’ve you been?”

Tidus winced; he had been walking down the hallway on his way to see what Shu was up to. He turned around slowly to face his father. ”I just got back last night.” He said emotionlessly.

Jecht waved his hands in the air and then rested them on either side of his hips. “No hello for your old man.” He asked.

Tidus rolled his eyes, “Is there anything particularly that you want, or can I go now?”

Jecht narrowed his eyes, “What I wanted to do was say hello to my son.”

Tidus narrowed his in return, “Well I haven’t seen Shuyin around so why don’t you go look for him.” He then turned and started to walk away.

Jecht raised his voice, “Whether you like it or not you’re still my son, and I am your father. That position deserves some respect!”

Tidus didn’t turn around but he stopped for a moment, “Your right, a father does deserve respect... I’ll log that one away for whenever you start acting like one.” After that he was gone, leaving Jecht alone scowling in the hallway.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Is he coming?”

“Shhh... yes, I think I can see him now...”

“Yeah he’s coming around the corner.”

“Shhh... everyone get into your places!”

“One...”

“Two...”

“Three...”

----------------------------------------------------------

Tidus was highly irritated now, he had wanted to avoid Jecht, but he couldn’t. Why couldn’t the old man leave him alone? It was all nice and good to try and get buddy-buddy with him but, he could have started a hell of a lot earlier... you know, when he was a little kid trying desperately to get his father’s attention. He sighed; there wasn’t anything he could change about it now.
He turned the corner, keeping an eye out for his brother. He hadn’t seen him all morning, and that was strange. Lenne had healed his eye for him when he got up but he hadn’t seen her since either. Something was off; usually Shuyin and Lenne were schmoozing about the palace. He looked to his right and the light in the dining room was on. Maybe they were eating in there.

Tidus walked towards it and turned the knob. Opening it he nearly had a heart attack.

“SURPRISE!” shouted an entire room full of people. Shuyin and Lenne were standing at the front with wide grins on their faces.

“Holy Yevon!” Tidus laughed grabbing his chest, “You guys almost killed me!”

“Welcome to your ‘Welcome Back’ party bro!” said Shu smiling.

Lenne walked up and gave him a hug, “We needed some way to cheer you up!”

Tidus hugged her back, “Thanks guys!”

A tall man with glasses approached the three of them. He had a little bit of a limp, and a half-clothed blonde girl hanging off of his arm. “It’s nice to see you back Tidus.” He said with a smile and extended a hand to shake.

Tidus accepted the hand, “Thanks Nooj, It’s nice to be back.” Tidus turned to the blonde with Nooj, “How’s it going Leblanc?”

“Oh it’s going wonderful love! Isn’t that right Noojie-Woojie!” the blonde said with a smile, petting Nooj’s arm seductively.

Nooj just smiled pleasingly at the girl and nodded. Tidus had to smirk. Nooj was Shuyin’s best friend. They had all known each other since childhood. Leblanc was Nooj’s latest arm decoration. Tidus didn’t mind her in small doses but Lenne was absolutely livid anytime that Leblanc was around. Lenne claimed that she was a disgrace to all women and that Nooj could do better. Almost as soon as Leblanc came up, Lenne had gone off to get some punch.

After talking to Nooj and Shuyin for awhile Tidus started to make his rounds around the party. He talked for a little while with Gatta and Luzzu. The two best friends had got new dates just for the occasion. They were pretty, and had more substance then Leblanc. The red head was with Luzzu, her name was Lucil, and the darker haired girl with Gatta was named Elma. He chatted it up with them until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“How rude! You don’t even come and say hello to me. I’m not sure whether to ignore you, or simply kick your ass from here to Mt. Gagazet.”

Tidus grinned and turned around to face, silver hair, and piercing red eyes. “Paine!” he exclaimed and then trapped the girl in a bear hug! Paine and Tidus had been friends since they were young as well, and they had gotten into trouble together more times then he could count. She always had good advice, along with a tough personality.

“Tidus! Let go of me!” she laughed pushing him off of her. “How was your trip?” she asked once she had collected herself again.

Tidus gave her the slightly edited version of his trip, but he left Yuna in... well partially. He always talked to Paine about things, and he wanted to hear what she thought of Yuna.

Paine was giving him a worried look, “I don’t know Tidus,” she said, “You tend to fall pretty blindly in and out of love... how do you know it’s not the same this time?”

“I can’t explain it Paine... and in a way, that’s what makes it different! Someday you’ll meet her.”

“I better!” Paine said with a smirk, “At the very least to prove she isn’t the product of some crazy drug Chappu made you take!”

Tidus laughed, “No she’s real!” There was a silence as they both glanced around the party. After a moment Tidus spoke up again, “So... how’s things with...”

Before he could finish his sentence Paine interrupted him, “How do you think things are” she snapped. There was another moment of silence before Paine sighed and apologized, “Sorry Tidus, it just kills me... to see him there with that airhead!”

“I’m sure it’s just a phase...” he offered.

“I wish it was,” she said sadly, “But even if it wasn’t it’s not like he’d notice me, or think of me like that.”

Tidus gave her a sympathetic look, “You’ve felt this way for a long time... don’t you think it’s time that you moved on?”

Paine smiled sadly, staring at the subject of their conversation, “I’ve tried. It pisses me off to see him with other girls like that but, it’s not like I’ve known him any other way. You remember, he was always the little ladies man.” Paine glanced down at the floor.

“Have you ever considered telling him how you felt?”

“It sounds a lot easier than it is. I’m not like you; I can’t just walk up to someone and declare my everlasting love for them.”

“Hey that hurts! I’m not like that anymore...” Tidus smiled, his thoughts drifting to a certain far away city.

Paine looked over at him and laughed, “I think I do need to meet this girl. I’ll ask her where she buried the real Tidus.”

“Maybe Noojie-Wooji--“

“Finish that sentence and I will kick your ass to the other side of Mt. Gagazet!”

-----------------------------------------------------

After the party Tidus returned to his room, it had been fun; it was good to see everyone again. He knew that Yuna would like them all. A small sadness washed over him, if she ever really got to meet them. He decided that someday he’d bring her to Zanarkand, and then she could love it the way he did. He knew she would.

He laid his head back against his pillow. “Five more days...” he whispered to himself before drifting off into sleep.

Description
SINS OF OUR FATHERS

Chapter Nine: Homecoming

“He’ll be here soon enough love.”

“The lift-train is twenty minutes late. What could be holding it up so much? You know what; I bet that he had something to do with it.”

“Oh Shuyin don’t be so paranoid, and please stop pacing. You’re making me dizzy.”

“He better not have gotten himself into any trouble, or so help me...” Shuyin said, shaking his fist in the air.

Lenne stood up from the bench she was waiting on and walked over to Shuyin. She put a hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down. “He’ll be fine; it wasn’t like he was gone for a very long time. He couldn’t possibly get into that much trouble.”

Shuyin raised an eyebrow as he faced his fiancé, “You do know who we are talking about right? Tidus, my brother. You know, Tidus the terror of Zanarkand.”

Lenne chuckled, “You know you’re the only one who calls him that right? Anyway, I have faith in him. Everyone eventually grows up and matures, and I think that Tidus is coming into his own.”

Shuyin just smiled at her, “You know what I love about you?” he asked, pulling her into an embrace.

“Do tell,” Lenne responded and rested her head against him.

“How blindly optimistic you are...” Just as his comment ended Shuyin felt a fist hitting his stomach, “Hey!” he laughed, “That hurt!”

Lenne had pulled back and was looking at him with a grin on her face, “I think it should be changed. You’re the real terror of Zanarkand.”

Shuyin laughed and pulled her into another embrace, “I’ll take it under consideration.”

Before Lenne could retort his statement they heard a voice coming from beside them say, “Oh, excuse me. Am I interrupting something here?”

They both turned their heads to see Tidus grinning, while over-dramatically averting his eyes. Shuyin and Lenne stepped apart and laughed.

“I didn’t even notice your train got back.”

Tidus smiled at his brother, “I don’t blame you. You two were off in la-la land.”

Lenne laughed at him, “Welcome ba... Oh Yevon,” she stopped noticing something on his face. “Tidus! You’re hurt! What happened?” She reached up and carefully touched around his black eye.

“Huh? Oh! Ow! Hey that hurts Lenne!”

Shuyin stepped closer to examine the eye before stepping back and sharing a glance with Lenne. He turned back to his brother, all traces of a previously good mood vanished. “What happened bro? Who hit you?” Shuyin asked, then said with more intensity, “and why?”

“Hey guys! Lenne, Shu, calm down! I was uhh... playing Blitzball and I just happened to try and catch the ball with my face.”

His brother didn’t look overly convinced but he didn’t press the matter any further, at least for now.

Tidus quickly took that advantage to change the subject, “So you two are my glorious welcome home party?”

“What? We’re not enough?” Lenne asked in a mockingly hurt tone.

Tidus smiled, “No, small is good.” His eyes started to focus on something not there and his smile became sadder. “I don’t really feel like being around a lot of people right now.”

“Is everything alright?” Lenne asked, as Shu gave him a quizzical look, it wasn’t like him to be solitary.

Tidus turned to Shuyin, “I think I just need some time to rest. In fact, I think that’s where I’ll head to right now, if you two don’t mind.”

Lenne shook her head, “No, go get some sleep. I’ll see what I can get for that eye of yours. We’ll see you later then.”

“Thanks Lenne.” Tidus said, and then turned to leave. Without turning around he said, “Shu...”

“Yeah Ti?”

“Is Dad at the palace?”

“Yeah I think so.”

“Alright, well hopefully I can get to my room without running into him.”

Tidus started walking away, and as soon as he was out of ear-shot Shuyin turned to his fiancé. “Is it just me or... does he seem a little...” he waved his hand around in a flip-flop gesture, “...odd.”

Lenne nodded, “Your right, he definitely does seem... different somehow.”

“I hope he’s just tired,” Shuyin said taking Lenne’s hand in his, and starting off in the direction of Zanarkand Palace.

“I’m sure that’s all it is,” Lenne agreed following him.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Although he was glad to be reunited with his brother, and Lenne, Tidus was secretly glad to be finally alone. He had managed to avoid any contact with his father, and so the night seemed like it was going to be alright.

He through his bag of clothes in the corner, he would deal with it later. He sat down on his bed and placed his head in his hands. There were so many things circling around in his mind, so many thoughts and emotions that would have been foreign to him the last time he had been in this room. The thoughts were complex and confusing but they all traced a line back to one thing: Yuna. Oh Yevon he missed her so much, and they had only parted last night. He wished she could have been there to see him off on the lift-train in the morning, but she had had to leave the night before, her father would get suspicious she said. He understood, and after a few hours together that night, she had left.

Tidus didn’t think he had ever met anyone who was as beautiful as she was. Sure he’d met beautiful girls, but their beauty faded eventually. Yuna, inside and out, was the most amazing person he had ever met.

“Oh no,” he said to himself, “I’m turning into a sap.” He then laughed remembering a time when he was fourteen and told Shuyin that if he ever became a lovey-dovey loser to punch him in the face. He decided it was probably good Shu didn’t know about him and Yuna (beside the obvious reasons), because his face had been through enough abuse lately.

Tidus turned and stretched out on his bed, tomorrow would be another day and he was sure that he was going to need rest for whatever lay ahead of him. He reached out and flipped off the light, sending his room into the dark, welcoming sleep to attend his restless mind.

----------------------------------------------------------

Yuna sat at her desk in her room. She had been sitting there for an hour and a half. A paper and pen were set neatly in front of her, and she was staring blankly at them. She was trying to think of something to write in her personal journal but nothing was coming to mind. She hadn’t written since before the ball, she could still see her last entry:

Dear Journal,

I can’t believe it, the party is tonight. What am I going to do? I was supposed to meet someone by now, but I have no one. I’m at my father’s mercy. If mom were still here... I wouldn’t be being forced into this. Sometimes I wish I could just run away.

I have to get ready soon... good luck, and may Yevon be with me.

Yuna

So much had happened since then; she didn’t know how to sum it up. She didn’t even know if it was safe or not to be writing anything down. Yuna smiled to herself, if she could tell her past self what would happen, she probably wouldn’t believe her. Yuna wasn’t even sure she believed it herself, maybe it wasn’t real, and maybe Tidus was just some wonderful dream she would have to wake up from. She hoped not, and her heart told her he was real. In one week she would see him again. At the thought her heart took a leap in her chest. No one was able to make it do acrobatics the way that he could. She could feel her cheeks redden as she thought of him. She really needed to get a grip on herself. It wasn’t smart to just fall head over heels for anybody. But therein lied the problem, he wasn’t just anybody. He was a sweet, gorgeous, kind, funny, amazing individual... and he didn’t care about who she was supposed to be.

She stood up walking away from the table with the pen and paper. Maybe some things were best kept in her heart, at least for now.

Yuna walked over to her open balcony, staring out at the city lights. Maybe one day she would go with him to see Zanarkand. She rested her head on the door frame, the cool breeze blowing through her hair. She had started to leave it down more often lately, she liked the feel of the wind, and it felt more relaxed.

The wind drifted thoughts of Tidus into her head, and she wondered if he was thinking about her.

-----------------------------------------------------

Tidus had gotten almost until two o’clock the next day, without seeing or running into his father. Unfortunately for him, this particular bliss couldn’t last indefinitely.
“Hey Kid! Where’ve you been?”

Tidus winced; he had been walking down the hallway on his way to see what Shu was up to. He turned around slowly to face his father. ”I just got back last night.” He said emotionlessly.

Jecht waved his hands in the air and then rested them on either side of his hips. “No hello for your old man.” He asked.

Tidus rolled his eyes, “Is there anything particularly that you want, or can I go now?”

Jecht narrowed his eyes, “What I wanted to do was say hello to my son.”

Tidus narrowed his in return, “Well I haven’t seen Shuyin around so why don’t you go look for him.” He then turned and started to walk away.

Jecht raised his voice, “Whether you like it or not you’re still my son, and I am your father. That position deserves some respect!”

Tidus didn’t turn around but he stopped for a moment, “Your right, a father does deserve respect... I’ll log that one away for whenever you start acting like one.” After that he was gone, leaving Jecht alone scowling in the hallway.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

“Is he coming?”

“Shhh... yes, I think I can see him now...”

“Yeah he’s coming around the corner.”

“Shhh... everyone get into your places!”

“One...”

“Two...”

“Three...”

----------------------------------------------------------

Tidus was highly irritated now, he had wanted to avoid Jecht, but he couldn’t. Why couldn’t the old man leave him alone? It was all nice and good to try and get buddy-buddy with him but, he could have started a hell of a lot earlier... you know, when he was a little kid trying desperately to get his father’s attention. He sighed; there wasn’t anything he could change about it now.
He turned the corner, keeping an eye out for his brother. He hadn’t seen him all morning, and that was strange. Lenne had healed his eye for him when he got up but he hadn’t seen her since either. Something was off; usually Shuyin and Lenne were schmoozing about the palace. He looked to his right and the light in the dining room was on. Maybe they were eating in there.

Tidus walked towards it and turned the knob. Opening it he nearly had a heart attack.

“SURPRISE!” shouted an entire room full of people. Shuyin and Lenne were standing at the front with wide grins on their faces.

“Holy Yevon!” Tidus laughed grabbing his chest, “You guys almost killed me!”

“Welcome to your ‘Welcome Back’ party bro!” said Shu smiling.

Lenne walked up and gave him a hug, “We needed some way to cheer you up!”

Tidus hugged her back, “Thanks guys!”

A tall man with glasses approached the three of them. He had a little bit of a limp, and a half-clothed blonde girl hanging off of his arm. “It’s nice to see you back Tidus.” He said with a smile and extended a hand to shake.

Tidus accepted the hand, “Thanks Nooj, It’s nice to be back.” Tidus turned to the blonde with Nooj, “How’s it going Leblanc?”

“Oh it’s going wonderful love! Isn’t that right Noojie-Woojie!” the blonde said with a smile, petting Nooj’s arm seductively.

Nooj just smiled pleasingly at the girl and nodded. Tidus had to smirk. Nooj was Shuyin’s best friend. They had all known each other since childhood. Leblanc was Nooj’s latest arm decoration. Tidus didn’t mind her in small doses but Lenne was absolutely livid anytime that Leblanc was around. Lenne claimed that she was a disgrace to all women and that Nooj could do better. Almost as soon as Leblanc came up, Lenne had gone off to get some punch.

After talking to Nooj and Shuyin for awhile Tidus started to make his rounds around the party. He talked for a little while with Gatta and Luzzu. The two best friends had got new dates just for the occasion. They were pretty, and had more substance then Leblanc. The red head was with Luzzu, her name was Lucil, and the darker haired girl with Gatta was named Elma. He chatted it up with them until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“How rude! You don’t even come and say hello to me. I’m not sure whether to ignore you, or simply kick your ass from here to Mt. Gagazet.”

Tidus grinned and turned around to face, silver hair, and piercing red eyes. “Paine!” he exclaimed and then trapped the girl in a bear hug! Paine and Tidus had been friends since they were young as well, and they had gotten into trouble together more times then he could count. She always had good advice, along with a tough personality.

“Tidus! Let go of me!” she laughed pushing him off of her. “How was your trip?” she asked once she had collected herself again.

Tidus gave her the slightly edited version of his trip, but he left Yuna in... well partially. He always talked to Paine about things, and he wanted to hear what she thought of Yuna.

Paine was giving him a worried look, “I don’t know Tidus,” she said, “You tend to fall pretty blindly in and out of love... how do you know it’s not the same this time?”

“I can’t explain it Paine... and in a way, that’s what makes it different! Someday you’ll meet her.”

“I better!” Paine said with a smirk, “At the very least to prove she isn’t the product of some crazy drug Chappu made you take!”

Tidus laughed, “No she’s real!” There was a silence as they both glanced around the party. After a moment Tidus spoke up again, “So... how’s things with...”

Before he could finish his sentence Paine interrupted him, “How do you think things are” she snapped. There was another moment of silence before Paine sighed and apologized, “Sorry Tidus, it just kills me... to see him there with that airhead!”

“I’m sure it’s just a phase...” he offered.

“I wish it was,” she said sadly, “But even if it wasn’t it’s not like he’d notice me, or think of me like that.”

Tidus gave her a sympathetic look, “You’ve felt this way for a long time... don’t you think it’s time that you moved on?”

Paine smiled sadly, staring at the subject of their conversation, “I’ve tried. It pisses me off to see him with other girls like that but, it’s not like I’ve known him any other way. You remember, he was always the little ladies man.” Paine glanced down at the floor.

“Have you ever considered telling him how you felt?”

“It sounds a lot easier than it is. I’m not like you; I can’t just walk up to someone and declare my everlasting love for them.”

“Hey that hurts! I’m not like that anymore...” Tidus smiled, his thoughts drifting to a certain far away city.

Paine looked over at him and laughed, “I think I do need to meet this girl. I’ll ask her where she buried the real Tidus.”

“Maybe Noojie-Wooji--“

“Finish that sentence and I will kick your ass to the other side of Mt. Gagazet!”

-----------------------------------------------------

After the party Tidus returned to his room, it had been fun; it was good to see everyone again. He knew that Yuna would like them all. A small sadness washed over him, if she ever really got to meet them. He decided that someday he’d bring her to Zanarkand, and then she could love it the way he did. He knew she would.

He laid his head back against his pillow. “Five more days...” he whispered to himself before drifting off into sleep.