Open eyes, open heart, under here's so much clearer
Now I'm not blind, blind
There's so much that I have been missin', missin'

When the waves start to pull me right under
And the tide only keeps getting stronger
And my heart starts to beat even harder
It's not gonna stop me, I'll swim even farther

When all of my fears try to me find me
I'll leave them so far back behind me
They can't hold me back any longer
I won't be afraid

Watch me breathe underwater

Oh, oh
Breathe underwater
Oh, oh
Watch me breathe underwater
Oh, oh
Breathe underwater
I'll breathe underwater

- "Breathe Underwater" by Victoria Anthony


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FFX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"… really reckless of you, anyway."

"They had Yuna, what was I supposed to do, ya? Tidus jumped in, too!"

"I expect something like that from Tidus of all people, but you're supposed to be more careful."

"Aw, com' on, Lu, you know exactly you woulda done the same in my place."

"… Perhaps. But that does not mean you can just go and-…"

Yuna sighed quietly while the back and forth of her two oldest friends continued on in front of her. Or at least, she thought she did it quietly – to her brief shock, Lulu's head immediately turned towards her at the whisper of a sound, eyebrow shooting up. "Yuna?"

Wakka stopped in the middle of an eyeroll, face going serious as he too turned. "Hey, you good?"

"W-What? Oh, yes of course!" Quickly, Yuna plastered on a gentle smile, trying to look a little clueless and surprised. "I didn't say anything."

"Mh-m," Lulu did not look convinced at all (oh aeons, she really knew her too well) but Wakka seemed put at ease at least. He shot Yuna a grin, reaching over to ruffle her hair despite her weak protests. "Sorry, sorry. We're all a little on edge after today."

"I understand."

And really, she did, she did understand, Yuna sighed (internally this time) to herself while her friends turned back to their argument seamlessly. If anyone could understand, it was her! It had been her, after all, who in a short time had been kidnapped and been put in a machine, been saved, met her estranged cousin for the very first time and had acquired yet another guardian; and with her, a new secret to keep.

And that had just been the afternoon.

Yuna kind of wished herself back to this morning, when her biggest problem had been having overslept, and being teased for it.

She swallowed the next audible sigh which threatened to leave her and shook her head firmly. Get a hold of yourself. It was not all bad, after all. She still had her guardians with her, and now even Rikku travelled with her – family and new friend all in one. It could be worse. It could be so much worse.

And still, she could not help but want to stop thinking. Just for a moment, not worry about Sin, her pilgrimage, the dangers ahead of them, or keeping her heritage a secret from Wakka. Get out of her head for a while.

As soon as that wish had manifested inside her, she felt herself slow her steps and purposely fall back. She left the shelter of Lulu's and Wakka's familiar backs and left them to their arguing over whether Wakka had acted rashly to save her or not. Her steps slowed down until even Kimahri had overtaken her; she pretended not to see his curious gaze as he faltered for a beat, but then cautiously passed her.

Slowing to a stop completely, Yuna waited at the side of the road for her goal.

It was not a long wait; soon she had heard the animated chatter filtering around the curve in the road, and a second later, Tidus and Rikku came into view, caught up in an excited conversation. The sight of their expressive faces and arching hand gestures immediately made Yuna feel a little lighter, a little less burdened. She simultaneously envied and admired them both for it; this carelessness they never quite seemed to lose, no matter how dire the situation.

Rikku spotted her first, in the middle of a particularly widespread gesture to illustrate something. A blink of surprise, before her face brightened possibly even further. "Yunie!"

The exclamation drew Tidus attention as well, away from whatever story he had jut been telling. Once he spotted Yuna, a smile immediately lit up his entire face. "Hey, Yuna!"

There was that smile again; it had been exactly what Yuna had been looking for. She felt the pressure on herself fall away, allowing her a deep, free breath for the first time in hours, and smiled back without even having to think about it. "Hello."

It was a very similar reaction to the moment Tidus had appeared before her to save her from that machine the Al Bhed men had put her in. Even though they had been careful not to hurt her, she had still been confused and close to panicking at having been taken and imprisoned like that. She had felt as if she could not breathe with it. And then Tidus had been there, expression somehow both determined and gentle once he spotted her, and everything had kind of fallen away from her. Even still trapped, she had felt free again, sure that nothing would happen to her now. It was the same way now, once he smiled at her, easily and readily.

Realizing she had simply been smiling happily at them both, she hurried to add, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Naaaah, never! Hey, hey, did you know?" Smile turning a little sly around the edges, Rikku flung one arm out to poke Tidus in the cheek, causing an offended splutter. "When I first met this guy here-…

"Oh no, Rikku, com' on-….!"

"…- he was just about to either starve, or get eaten by some fiends!"

There really was no way to stop the gasp tumbling from her lips once Yuna was sure that, yes, she had heard that right. "What?!"

"Yeah! We were just talking about how I had to save his butt back then, because-…"

"Aaand that's enough, thank you!" Without any more ceremony, Tidus firmly slapped one palm over Rikku's mouth and cut her off.

Even if Rikku was less than pleased about it, if the daggers she was glaring at Tidus were any indication, Yuna was quite glad for the break in Rikku's excited rambling. She was very busy fighting down a sudden wave of dread at the thought of Tidus getting injured – getting killed. It was quite a nonsensical feeling, given how those events had taken place before they had even met, and he was clearly fine. But still. She could not help the way her chest ached with the sudden thought of I nearly lost him, and I didn't even know.

Some of her inner tumult must have reflected on her face, since Tidus glanced over, voice firm. "Don't listen to a word she tells you, Yuna, I was really not about to-…augh!

Whatever reassurance he had meant to say was lost in a shriek from him, so high and sudden it nearly made Yuna jump a feet into the air. With a disgusted look on his face, Tidus ripped his hand away from Rikku's face, shaking it while he demanded, "Did you just lick me?!"

"That's what'cha get for silencing me!" Rikku bellowed back, sticking her tongue out at him. Before the boy could make another grab for her she bolted, taking off like a flash down the road and after the rest of their group, cackling merrily as she went.

"Yeah, get outta my sight, you!" Tidus called after her, before inspecting his hand with a grimace. "Oh, gross." "

Everything had happened a little too fast for Yuna to keep up; only once she watched Tidus furiously wiping his hand on his pants, muttering darkly under his breath, did the situation really set in for her. She could not help it, she really couldn't; one look at Tidus' disgusted face and a beat later she was laughing loudly, bending forward under the sheer force of it and resting her hands on her knees while she gasped for breath.

Stunned silence answered her, before Tidus chuckled somewhere above her. "Sure, just laugh at me."

"I… I'm sorry!" Yuna managed between gasped breath and more giggles. "That was just…"

"Don't be sorry, I kind of get it."

A few more hiccupped giggles left her until she could finally catch her breath again and look up. He really did not seem to mind her laughing, Yuna noted, since he was grinning back at her as cheery as ever while he waited for her to calm down.

Rising carefully, she cleared her throat, gesturing vaguely in the direction Rikku had taken off. "You seem to really get along."

"Who, me and Rikku?" Tidus seemed perplexed for a beat before he softened, smile tilting fondly while he followed the gesture with his gaze. They started walking once more, at a much slower pace than their thief, while he started to explain, "Kind of? I mean, Rikku was a big help after I somehow got here from Zanarkand. She was the first one I could actually talk to, you know. The other Al Bheds on the ship that picked me up did not speak my language at all!"

"Oh," Yuna breathed, feeling herself ache for him. How awful it must have been, to be not only transported into an entirely different world, but also being unable to communicate with the very first people you saw. He must have felt utterly lost, back then.

"Yeah," Tidus muttered, his brief frown confirming her thoughts. It cleared quickly enough, replaced by a smile. "So when Rikku just started talking to me and I could actually understand it - imagine how amazing that was!"

His smile took on a wry twist, and he rolled his eyes while muttering, "And she probably did save my butt back then, but don't tell her I said that."

Startled into a laugh, Yuna mimed zipping her mouth shut. "I won't tell a word."

"Thanks so much; she wouldn't let me hear the end of that. Or tell the others about it! …Oh, hey! That reminds me. Why are you so far back here, anyway?" Tidus made a show of shielding his eyes and squinting against the setting sun to try and make out the rest of their group. "And where's Kimahri? I could have sworn he would never let you out of his sight!"

"Oh, I…."

How to explain? Telling him I wanted to see you or It's easier being around you felt much too forward, even if it was the truth. She could not possible say it like that! How embarrassing that would be!

Casting around for something to talk about instead, Yuna's gaze fell on the lake next to them. The ripples of water made her think of something which had crossed her mind, very briefly, during her stay in the robot. Glad for a chance to keep up the conversation, she immediately latched onto the stray thought. "Tidus? I've been wondering…"

"Well, shoot. What is it?"

"Can you perhaps breathe under water?"

A breathy little sound of surprise came from Tidus while he turned around to stare at her for a beat. Before she could feel self-conscious, however, his face transformed once more, smile spreading wide, and he burst out laughing. It was not a laughter at her expense, but one of pure, unaltered amusement from deep within. His head tipped back with it, eyes squeezing closed – it was contagious, and Yuna found herself laughing along after a second, fully aware of how that must have sounded.

"No!" Tidus spluttered out, interrupted by more chuckling, once he managed to get himself under control somewhat. Still grinning, he wiped a few stray tears out of his eyes and shook his head. "No, I really can't."

"That was a silly question, wasn't it?" Smiling widely herself, Yuna hurried to explain. "I just wondered – when you and Wakka came to get me, you stayed under water for so long, and, well. It made me wonder. It really looks a bit like you can breathe down there."

"Would be kind of cool, but nah, can't do that. Yet?" Miming thoughtful, the boy put a hand to his chin, grinning when it made her snort merrily. "Maybe in the future."

"Then, how do you do it?"

"It's just holding your breath for a really, really long time." For emphasis, he spread his arms a little wider with every really to indicate how long. "Every blitzballer has to learn it first before they can really think about playing the game. Have you never asked Wakka about it?"

"Mh-m." Yuna shook her head. "I did not think of it until now."

It was the truth; or, at least, a half-truth. She had sometimes wondered in passing how Wakka did it, but it had not seemed truly important to her, the thought there and gone again. But with Tidus, it was different. She liked hearing him talk, about anything at all, and particularly about things he was passionate about. It made her want to experience it herself, when he described something with gleaming eyes and wild gesturing; made her want - want more than the fate she had chosen for herself. A terrifying yet thrilling thing.

"Explain it to me?" She asked hopefully, perhaps a little eagerly.

Tidus blew out a breath that was half laughter, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sure thing, but tell me when I talk too much, alright? Tend to get carried away when it's about Blitzball."

As if she did not know that; she remembered the events at Luca and the Blitzball League with stark clarity still. If anything, it only made her more determined to not interrupt him for any reason. For his sake, she assured, "Of course I will."

"Alright. So, basically… It takes practice, practice, and more practice. In the beginning, you're not gonna be able to stay down there for longer than, say, half a minute, tops." Tidus seemed to get lost in the explanation while he talked, gaze growing sharper, hand gestures more pronounced "So you have to try again, and again. If you practice for a long time, you will be able to hold your breath a little longer each time, say, a minute. Then two. And so on. The real good players have all kind of breathing techniques to prepare themselves for it, or to practice wherever they go."

"But how do you get better at it?" Yuna prompted once he seemed to wind down. "Do you just, hold your breath and count along?"

"Well, that's one way to do it. You can do that on land, or under water. Thing is, if you're just getting started out, never train underwater without someone else there to help you!" At this point, Tidus raised a finger for emphasis. "That's super important. You could get dizzy when you overdo it and not make it back up. So for most beginner's, there is someone there with them to show them how it's done; help them out if they need it."

That did make sense, she supposed. It was much easier to learn with a teacher, after all. Curious, she asked the first thing which came to her mind, "Then, did Sir Jecht teach you how to do it?"

Instantly, she wanted to take the words back. It had been the wrong thing to say; she knew it the second it left her mouth. There was little that could wipe Tidus' emotions clean off his face, but mentioning his father was one of those things. There was not even bitterness, or anger there; his expression simply went entirely blank, gaze distant. It was such a far cry from the expressive boy they all knew, it was a shock each time.

She was about to apologize and change the subject, but Tidus was faster. Shrugging carelessly as if to play over his dropping mood, he moved his head in what could have been an aborted nod turned into a headshake. "Not really. I mean, he taught me the basics," his expression twisted while he looked to the side and scoffed. "If you want to call him giving me a quick rundown of the theory and then dunking me in the water the basics. And… after… um."

He trailed off briefly, mouth pressing into a line.

Yuna wanted to tell him he could stop now, she understood, but she could not find her voice at all. She knew what after he meant, but did not say. After all, both of their fathers had not returned from the very same journey.

"Anyway," Tidus continued, an audible strain to his voice when he finished rather lamely with a wave, "I had to learn the real thing myself. Took me years to get to the point where I could actually do it like a pro."

Silence settled over them, heavy with memories and unsaid things. Yuna weighed the option of comforting him, telling him that she understood, but she hesitated. Part of her felt like she did not really understand how he felt; not when she was unable to reconcile the memory of a roughened man with kind eyes who spoke of a son he longed to see again with the picture of a harsh father that Tidus' stories painted. Neither arguing with Tidus about it nor forgetting the Jecht she had gotten to know seemed quite right. Maybe the answer lay somewhere in the middle, but… this was not the time or the place to start looking for it.

So she did not even try. Instead, she reached for Tidus' hand, squeezing it gently to draw him from his dark thoughts toward her, so he would hear. "Well, you did it. You had me thinking you can breathe water, after all."

Having jolted at her touch, Tidus looked up at her a little startled at first, before he seemed to fully process her words. Once he did, a complicated mixture of feelings flashed across his face before he softened, smile returning to curl at the corner of his lips. His gaze dropped from Yuna's to their joined hands, something soft in his voice when he murmured, "I did, huh?"

The change of his attention hotly reminded Yuna that she had not let go of him yet and was, in fact, still holding hands with him. Flushing furiously about her own daring, she pulled her hand back, fighting to keep the movement slow and casual and not as nervous as she felt. Still, she could not help but clear her throat awkwardly before saying, "You did. I think it's an amazing skill."

"Yea?"

"Of course!"

"Huh. Sure I'm not boring you with all that explaining?"

There was something in the way he glanced at her rather than face her fully when he asked the question, which gave her pause. On anyone else, she would have thought the look would have counted as shy, but that did not seem to fit Tidus all that well. Right?

Then again… Perhaps even Tidus could not always be brave, Yuna thought, and needed some reassurance every now and then.

"No," she said, determined and honest and as firmly as she could. "I wouldn't have asked you to explain, if you did. It's the opposite."

"The opposite?"

"I wish I could join you, sometime," Yuna confessed after a second; now it was her turn to glance to the side, feeling quite daring to even suggest such a thing. "See what you see down there in the water."

He did not answer right away beyond a thoughtful hum. The fact that he did not laugh at her in the slightest – not that she had really believed that would happen, but still – made Yuna feel secure enough to look back at him to gauge his reaction.

While she watched, a glitter entered Tidus' eyes; a glitter which, Yuna realized with a wave of fondness, she already associated with fun, and adventure, and a little bit of trouble. So she was already smiling when Tidus asked, "Hey, Yuna? Do you want to learn-…?"

"Yes," she interrupted before he could quite finish. After a beat of startled blinking, they both started laughing at her eagerness.

"That was quick!"

"I'm sorry!" She gasped through her giggles, hand slapped over her mouth doing nothing to stop them. "I did not mean to interrupt you!"

"Don't be, I like the attitude," Tidus assured, prompting another laughed gasp from her. And she believed him, too; his grin had gone brilliant once she had agreed. "So you really want to learn? Cuz I'm serious, I would teach you!"

"Of course I want to learn! I mean, if you think I can do it-…."

"Sure you can. You got whistling down in no time flat; this will be child's play for you!"

Yuna was very aware that those two things were very much not the same, but his obvious trust in her abilities was flattering and amusing both. And his excitement was contagious; any hesitation she might have had usually went up in smoke as she entertained the thought some more. Being able to share something like this with Tidus, to join him in even more adventures… the thought thrilled her; she wanted. Her excitement showed when she clapped her hands, asking everything which crossed her mind at rapid speed, "What do I learn first? Do I have to prepare? When do we start?"

"Holding your breath; no you don't, and we can start whenever," Tidus ticked off one of her question after the other, grinning wider with each one. He seemed both pleased and excited over her eagerness. "It's really not that difficult in theory? We can start right now, if you want, teach you the basics while we walk. And if you want to try diving, too, well-…"

A widespread gesture that encompassed the riverbank and the many smaller streams all around them. "Plenty of practice ground here!"

Yuna laughed, just out of sheer excitement. She felt like skipping a bit at the thought spending even more time with Tidus, learning something from him; seeing a little bit of his world. "Let's start right now! I really-…"

The rest of her words were lost as they turned the next corner and their friends came into view in front of them – no longer walking, but standing or sitting along the road in little groups, clearly waiting.

Waiting for them, it soon became clear when Wakka noticed them both approaching and turned to call over his shoulder to Auron and Kimahri. "Yo, they are here!"

"Finally, you guys!" Rikku waved both of her arms around like windmills once she saw them. "You took forever!"

"….oh," Yuna muttered, the sound small and weak. Right. All of the bubbling excitement left her in a whoosh of air when reality caught up with her once more. For a minute, she had forgotten there who she was, and what she was here for. One look at her guardians, all waiting impatiently for her arrival, brought it all back.

She did not have time for such trivial things.

The reminder was unwelcome and harsh, and she physically deflate under it. "Um. Tidus? Maybe, we… we have to do this later."

Or not at all, she thought miserably.

"Huh?" Next to her, Tidus came nearly to a complete stop before hurrying to catch up with her again. "Wait, why? You were really excited about it just now-…"

"I was, I am-… I just don't think it would be alright to stop early today. We already got delayed so much when we crossed the river, and we were supposed to-…"

"Wait, that's all?" Tidus expression, which had sobered the second she had tried to reason with him and herself, brightened again in a flash. He stopped walking, putting a hand on her shoulder to slow her and get her to look at him. "This is your pilgrimage, Yuna. If you want to stop for today, we stop."

"I can't…," oh she wanted, but still. She had her duties, right? She could not just… ignore them for a while. Even if it was tempting. "We're supposed to…"

"Who says that?" Letting go of her, Tidus threw his arms out wide, all exasperation and offense. "So what, we reach Guda-what-it's-called tomorrow instead of today. Who cares? It's not like we had a meeting with someone there, right? Nobody will even notice!"

He made some incredibly good points when he put his mind to it, Yuna had to hand it to him. Or maybe it was just that she was so very ready to be convinced. Even to her own ears, her protest sounded feeble at best. "But… surely, Sir Auron will want us to-…"

"Pfff," Tidus' eyes lit up, mischief setting them alight, and she knew then and there she had lost. "Let the old man be my problem, okay? I've gotten pretty good at convincing him."

More like annoying him, a little voice in the back of her head told her, making her smile.

To her horror, Tidus seemed to interpret said smile as agreement. He beamed at her as if she had just done something wonderful and exclaimed, "Yeah? Alright! I'm gonna convince him, don't you worry!"

"What? No, Tidus, I did not mean-… Tidus!"

Too late; he had already taken off like a shot, sprinting down the road too fast for her to possibly keep up, and aimed straight for Auron, ignoring the perplexed looks from the rest of their friends while he shouted from far away already, "Hey, Auron, listen, can we-…."

Even all the way back, Yuna could hear the calm, short rumble of "No."

"Wha-… Let me ask first, will you!"

"The answer is still no."

"Could you just listen for a second-…"

And it went, back and forth, while the rest of their group watched it like a particularly fast and engaging blitzball game. Rikku was laughing in seconds while Wakka scratched his head, muttering something about "typical" under his breath.

Lulu turned to and caught Yuna's gaze, shaking her head in an exasperated manner, softened only by the smile lurking in the corner of her mouth.

Yuna could only shrug in answer, torn between amused fondness and secondhand embarrassment, barely daring to hope that maybe Tidus could do the impossible and convince Sir Auron despite the odds.

But then, she thought, amusement winning out, if anyone could do the impossible, it was him.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FFX ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


They settled in for the night a little apart from the many streams that crisscrossed the land between Moonflow and Guadosalam. While Auron set up most of the camp alone, Lulu and Wakka offered to take care of the food, if in turn Kimahri went to get firewood for them. The quiet Ronso was tailed by an excited Rikku on his task, the contrast of stoic warrior next to babbling thief making everyone crack a smile at the sight.

How Tidus had convinced Sir Auron in the end, Yuna was not too sure - was not even sure if she truly wanted to know, since it was half her fault that they would not cover the intended distance today. She should feel guilty about that, probably.

But feeling guilty, or worried, or anything else that was not light and carefree was difficult when Tidus was around, she had discovered. Especially in situations like this, now, when he was tugging her with him, hurrying ahead while she could only laugh and follow willingly. Had he even noticed the way he would always grasp for her hand or wrist, as if to make sure she was still there? Somehow she doubted it; she also did not feel like telling him, since she did not want to lose it and the fluttering feeling in her belly which came with it.

"This spot is good!" Tidus dropped to his knees out of full spring, nearly sending them both tumbling to the ground; it only made Yuna laugh all the harder while she came to a skidding halt next to him. After arranging her skirt accordingly, she lowered herself to sit next to him at a more sedate pace.

"Why do you think that?" To her, the spot looked much the same as many others around them – a little stream flowing down towards Moonflow.

"Well, the water is clear here," playfully splashing a little bit of said clear water in her general direction, making her squeak in mock-offense, Tidus gestured further up the stream with a grin. "And it's slow going, which makes it easier for your first try."

"I see."

"So, ready? Then, do it like this." He took a deep breath, and kept going, and going - kept breathing in until Yuna felt her mouth fall open in astonishment. Reading her surprised gaze right, Tidus' eyebrow jumped in an approximation of laughter – his mouth closed tightly – and he flashed her a wink before leaning over and dunking his entire head under the water in one fell swoop.

Yuna couldn't quite help her surprised little gasp before she had to laugh at the sight of him; kneeling at the edge of the stream, his blond mop of hair only a shadow beneath the stream's surface. Steeling herself, she followed his example, breathing in – nowhere as deeply as he had, though – and, before she could think twice or lose her nerve, dove in head first.

The water was a shock. Not because it was too cold, or too hot, but because it was everywhere and all-compassing. A whoosh when she broke the surface, rushing in her ears, and then there was only – water, and silence. The sounds of her friends setting up camp, rustle of the leaves above them – it all fell away as if it had been turned off. For a moment which felt like a small eternity, Yuna was completely alone in the dark - not having managed to keep her eyes open when she came into contact with the water – and it was… peaceful. Even her mind, which had been racing all day long, seemed to quiet down.

Even blind and deaf, Yuna had to smile at the utter calm which came over her.

She could not have said how long she managed to stay like that, but finally, there was a burn in her chest, her throat clenching as the reflex to draw breath became too strong. Still blind, she pushed her palms hard into the ground of the stream's edge and heaved herself backwards and out of the water with a great gasp of drawing in the much needed air.

Next to her, Tidus reared back up as well, having noticed her retreat. He did not seem out of breath in the slightest when he shock out his hair, sending drops flying in all directions, and grinned at her. "So? How was it?"

Still drawing deep breaths, Yuna surprised herself by how breathy yet excited her voice sounded when she tried to find the words to describe the experience. "It's… quiet. Is it always like that?"

"Kinda? The water filters everything out, I think." A sheepish grin flicked over Tidus' face. "Can't give you a super good explanation for it, heh. But! You like it?"

She could not even begin to say how much. "Can we go again?"

It had been the right thing to say; the boy seemed to glow he was smiling so wide while he nodded, and they shared a giddy smile.

"Try to keep your eyes open this time," Tidus instructed once they had shifted back into a more comfortable position. "It's gonna be weird at first, but it will be worth it."

"Worth it?"

"You will see. Trust me."

He did not have to ask that of her at all, Yuna wanted to say, she did – had he not noticed yet, just how much? But he did not seem to pay any mind, having said the words absently while already drawing breath for another round of diving. So she followed his example as best as she could; drew in breath as long and as deeply as possible, and held it. Once she feel like her chest might burst she steeled herself, and plummeted her entire head into the water once more. Seconds before she hit the water, she could see Tidus do the same from the corner of her eyes.

The shock of the cool wetness was not as big this time. The sense of dullness was even kind of welcome now. A second passed, two, until Yuna had grown used to the pressure and stillness once more, before she tried to open her eyes.

Tidus had been right, it was weird at first. Her first instinct was to close her eyes again since they burned, tickled by the water, but she fought it down, determinedly counting to ten in her head. I can do this. He had asked her to trust him, and she did; just like he seemed to trust her that she could do it. So she fought, and won. And once her sight had stopped to blur with the reflex to blink, she looked further ahead – and nearly lost all her precious air in a gasp of surprise once she saw that Tidus had wanted to show her.

Pyreflies.

They were drifting through the water like particularly colorful fishes, painting everything in hues of softly pulsing colors. Two twirled around each other right in front of her eyes before separating again; another shot past like a shooting star before vanishing in the murkier waters towards the bottom of the stream. There were not as many as above the lake of Moonflow, but it did not matter to a completely stunned Yuna. It was just as beautiful and mesmerizing; maybe even more so, because of the privacy they had down here. This show was entirely for the two of them, and no one else.

So busy was Yuna in drinking it all in, she nearly forgot about the need for air. Only once her lunges started to burn did she scramble to come back up. It was much less elegant than last time – she was gasping and coughing a little – but she was grinning through it all, buzzing with excitement. She was already looking around for Tidus before he was fully back upright himself, too excited to share with him to wait.

"Did you see-…?"

"That was wonderful!" She barely registered herself interrupting him. "That… I've never seen something like this!"

"Right?" Tidus was grinning from ear to ear himself, looking almost as thrilled as she was. "Again?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, hey, don't overdo it now!" Tidus laughed somewhere beside her, above her, but by then she was already moving to dive under again, and nearly missed it.

It was easier, this time. Yuna managed to open her eyes without much of a fight, and was immediately greeted by the pale sheen of the pyreflies once more.

And what was more, once she turned her head to the side, she noticed Tidus for the first time right next to her, face inches from hers. He was already gazing back at her when she looked over, eyes bright; his hair swayed around him in the water's flow like a halo.

Once their gazes met, Tidus smiled, signaling her with one hand watch me. Then his lips pursed, cheeks bloating and –

He whistled, Yuna realized a split second before he actually did it. Soundless, under water, but with quite an effect nonetheless; bubbles exploded in front of his mouth, quickly obscuring his entire face to her in a whirlwind of white and rainbows. The sight startled a loud, perplexed laugh out of her.

A mistake, she instantly realized, since she breathed in to do it, and immediately got a mouth- and noseful of water. Panic replaced laughter immediately, sharp and sudden. Already dizzy with panic, flailing and spluttering did Yuna rear back and up. She barely felt herself lose her balance and fall backwards onto her bottom, too busy coughing and gasping for air with tears in her eyes as she was.

Distantly, Yuna heard a splash, and someone shouted behind her from the direction of the camp. Voices talked over each other, hectic – or maybe it was her who was hectic, since she could not breathe, no matter how much she tried, and it hurt-…

"Yuna!" Something pressed to her temples, hands urging her head up from her curled up position and swiping her wet, clinging hair away from her nose and mouth. "Yuna, breathe, don't panic - I got you-…"

"Tidus! Ya idiot, are you tryin' to drown her?!"

"I'm sorry!" The shout was right next to Yuna's ear, too loud, making her flinch in the middle of another coughing fit. Immediately the words came again, quieter, more private. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's okay, I promise-…"

Blindly, Yuna flailed one hand around until she felt the warm solidness of a body under her palm – shoulder or upper arm – and squeezed, hoping that it would be comforting. Her voice still cracked around the words and barely suppressed coughs. "I-I'm fine…!"

"Yea, you're gonna be," Tidus sounded a little as if he was trying to convince them both of it while he pulled her closer, awkwardly rubbing one hand over her back. "Sheesh, I'm so sorry Yuna – that was the worst time to go and make you laugh-…"

She tried to shake her head, but she was not sure if the motion really appeared the way she wanted it to, through her shaking and shivering. Don't apologize for making me laugh.

Gradually, her breathing calmed once more, and the pain lessened. There was still a scratchy feeling in the back of her throat and her chest, but at least she could draw breathe again without falling into another coughing fit. Feeling tired and relieved both, Yuna managed a shaky sigh and let her head rest more heavily against… Tidus' shoulder?

With a start, Yuna tried to sit up completely once she realized that she had been all but curling into the boy's clumsy embrace, her head coming to rest on his shoulder as she did. "Oh I'm… I'm sorry-…!"

"Huh? Hey!" Firm hands settled on her shoulders first to stop her, then came up to frame her face once. Tidus' face came into view in front of her, crooked smile somehow radiating both remorse and relief. "I'm the one who's sorry, yeah? You feeling okay again?"

Yuna could only gape at him, breathless once more now for an entirely different reason. In her panic before, she had not even noticed how close Tidus had gotten, his hands framing her face and his nose inches from hers. Up this close, she could clearly see the droplets still clinging to his lashes, and how very blue his eyes truly were. Until now, she had always thought they were the greenish blue of the sea; now she saw they were nothing like that, but instead the bright, clear color of the sky on a summer's day.

So pretty.

Blinking rapidly, she shook her head, both to clear her head of the sudden static buzzing which filled it and to hide the flush that she could feel climb up her neck somewhat. "I'm fine! Really!"

"Yeah?" Tidus' smile widened. With a gargantuan sigh, he let himself fall backwards – thankfully putting a little distance between them – and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm glad! Man, your first diving lesson, and I almost manage to drown you!"

"It really was not that bad!" Yuna hurried to assure him, half-serious, half-laughing. "It was… It was really fun."

His eyebrow jumped up in a funny little show of surprise. "Uh, except the almost-drowning, right?"

"I did not almost drown!"

"It sure sounded like it!"

The call came from behind her, drifting over from the camp. The others – oh she had nearly forgotten! Hurrying to turn around on hands and knees, Yuna waved in the direction of their friends and called, "I'm fine! Please don't worry about me!"

"Be more careful with her, Tidus!"

"She's okay!" Tidus bellowed back to whoever had just said that – and immediately turned back towards Yuna, looking a little sheepish while he whispered, "You are, right?"

His obvious worry was endearing enough that it made Yuna smile back helplessly, though she just had to tease a little, "I'm telling you, yes."

"Just making sure!" He raised both hands in defense before sobering a little. "But... 'm glad you had fun."

There was that fleeting, nearly shy look about him again which she had already seen once from him today. It made something flutter in her chest, causing her to duck her head and say much quieter. "I… I really did. Thank you so much."

The confirmation seemed to infuse Tidus once more with his usual confidence. Brightening he shifted around so he could sit cross-legged in front of her, eyes glittering. "We could keep practicing! I bet you could get really good with some training."

"You really think so?"

"Sure! You did pretty amazing today, for a beginner!"

"Really?" Yuna could not help the way her voice rose in suspicion, because, well. She gestured meaning fully at herself and the mess she must look, after nearly coughing a lunge out.

Tidus laughed out loud at the gesture. "Really!" He paused once more, hesitating briefly, before carefully reaching out and tucking one of the wet strands of her hair which still clung to her cheek back behind her ear. The touch was so infinitely tender, so unexpected, Yuna lost her breath for what felt the hundredth time that day.

"I… I could teach you, you know," Tidus murmured, much quieter than before. Strangely enough, he sounded as breathless as she felt. "You know, if… if you want to. To learn, I mean."

"I would…," she had to clear her throat. There was no way there was still water to choke her, but it felt a little like there was, all of a sudden. "I would like that."

"… Well. Great! Just wait, once this pilgrimage is over, I'm gonna show you how to dive for real, in the sea!"

And just like that, whatever kind of moment they had shattered into a million pieces. Reality came back to Yuna with all the force of a bucket of ice water, and when she dragged in breath this time, it was so as not lose control over her features.

Oh.

How was it that he always made her forget what lay ahead of her?

How was it that it was both wonderful and terrible at the same time?

Yes please, she wanted to tell him, laughing, and I can't, I can't Tidus, also, crying. I want to so badly, but I can't. It took all her self-control, honed over years of coming to terms with what she wanted to do, had to do, to keep herself from indulging in either of those things. He didn't know. It was her own fault that he did not. Maybe. Maybe she should tell him. Would it make things easier if she did not have the option to pretend anymore?

Her mouth moved silently a few times before Yuna managed, weak and soft, "Tidus…"

"Yea?"

She couldn't, Yuna realized the moment she looked up and met his gaze; open and bright and so absolutely free of any worries. And… no. She couldn't – wouldn't – change that by weighing him down with the knowledge of what her future held.

That she did, in fact, not have a future.

When she did not continue, Tidus' head cocked further, smile tinting with confusion and worry. "Yuna? You okay?"

"It…" smile, she told herself, smile when you are sad. And she did so, as brilliantly as she could. "It might take a while, before I can do that."

His confusion evaporated as soon as it had come, and he laughed, nose wrinkling. "Oh, that's it? Eh! Doesn't matter. I'm up for it if you are."

I want to be. Her smile wobbled around her emotions, but she forced herself to hold it up. He really needed to stop being so – so wonderful to her. If he didn't, she would do something incredible stupid like… well, she was not sure to be honest. Tell him the truth, perhaps, or ask him to stay with her, until the end, or beyond, or, or… something incredibly stupid, she was sure of it. She had to change the subject, right now.

"Let's go another round!" Yuna declared abruptly, hoping her voice did not sound as weak as she felt. She did not stop to check and see how he reacted to it, instead turning towards the stream once more, ready for the dive.

"Hey, hey!" Tidus' hand wrapped around her wrist, warm and shocking – had he noticed her drop in mood?

But when she glanced up at him, heart in her throat, he was only smiling back at her, easy and bright. "Wait up for me. On three?"

Somehow, she managed a smile, even though her heart still felt heavy, and nodded gladly. "On three."

"Alright. One… two… three!"

They leaned over and dove in at the same time, his hand still on her wrist, a welcome weight to ground her.

This time, Yuna kept her eyes closed, and greeted the stillness and numbness of the water with open arms.

(If only it could have numbed the pain in her chest, as well.)