Story: Final Fantasy X: Keepsake
Author: Nocturne
Written: January 13, 2020
Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort
Rating: K
Disclaimer: We do not own Square-Enix of their amazing stories.

{One Shot}

Yuna lay on her back and listened to the sounds of the night. They seemed a lot louder than usual, but she couldn't be surprised at that, could she? After all, she was outside and could see a piece of sky above through the leaves of the trees. For someone who always slept indoors, had everything the wind and the rustling sound louder, over there in the bushes, and the cry of a bird that had slept the day.

It should have been pretty scary, she thought, but she wasn't afraid. If she turned her head a little, she could see the house where Cha'hen, the old priest, lived, and just a little further away were more huts and the rest of the village. It was almost a shame that she hadn't been let go any further away, but that couldn't be changed.

That they were allowed to sleep outside at all, she and Lulu, Wakka and Chappu, was a little miracle. The adults had looked rather skeptical when the proposal was made to them.

(Luckily, the boys expected it and said they'd be careful that nothing happened to the girls. Lulu had pulled Chappu's ear when he said so, but they finally got permission, so Chappu could do it for her forgive me.)

Sin didn't exist anymore, so the night was... well, maybe not exactly quiet, but at least peaceful and... somehow quiet.

In any case, Chappu was quiet and snoring, albeit quietly enough, that she could still hear the bird from just now. Wakka turned in his sleep, clinging to the lightning ball that had been his birthday present. And Lulu...

Lulu was still awake, Yuna thought she recognized. The older girl had her back to her, but she winced when the bird screamed again, and a little later she jerked her head up when something came out of the bushes. Just a little lizard, probably, even if you couldn't say that in the dark, of course, but the little creature disappeared as quickly as it came.

Yuna half straightened up and bit her lower lip. If Lulu... if Lulu was afraid ? She couldn't really imagine that.

Just a few days ago, Lulu had dared to say a poem about Lord Ohalland in front of the whole temple, although she didn't really like to be in the front. Someone as brave as Lulu couldn't be afraid of... what?

It was already dark, but there were a few dark corners in the temple, and Lulu wasn't afraid of them. Not even Gatta was afraid in the temple.

Lulu turned and Yuna quickly dropped back onto her blankets and closed her eyes. When Lulu made many mistakes in a text that she was supposed to copy for class, she had looked very angry when Yuna accidentally read the text. She really didn't want Lulu to be angry with her.

But Lulu didn't sound angry when she said Yuna's name in a low voice.

Yuna tentatively opened one eye and looked at the girl.

"Hmmm?"

"You are still there, right?" No, she wasn't angry, but somehow Yuna didn't feel as relieved as she should be. The way Lulu sounded at the moment, at most Wakka sounded when he had done something and really didn't want to face Cha'hen or the other adults.

"Sure," Yuna whispered back, "why should I go away?"

"Don't know," said Lulu after a while. "But our parents are gone too. Chappus and Wakkas, yours, and mine. Luzzu's sister too. Because of Sin."

"Sin is no longer there." Yuna said that automatically, because that's what they'd said to Cha'hen when he didn't want to let her sleep outside. 'Sin is no longer there, so nothing can happen to us,' that was Chappu's words.

Lulu was silent again before continuing.

"I'm... somehow afraid that you will go, because of Sin, you and Chap and Wakka. There are so many gone..." She took a deep breath. "Died," she said then.

The word made Yuna sad, and she didn't want to be sad, not where they'd all been looking forward to this day, or rather the night, but definitely allowed to sleep outside under the stars. They had laughed so much before the boys were asleep, and because she wanted to remember when she was sitting next time in the temple and teaching was boring, not because Lulu was sad.

"Away..." she said, shook her head and sat up again. "But you are not alone. We are all here and we are not leaving either."

Cha'hen had said that to her when Yuna had just come to Besaid and couldn't sleep either. She had almost forgotten that, but when Lulu looked at her she remembered it. Cha'hen had hugged her and Yuna was about to do the same to Lulu. But she didn't like that, did she?

Lulu smiled a little and said nothing more, and she was about to lie down again when Yuna thought of something. So she couldn't let Lulu fall asleep after all!

Lulu shouldn't feel alone, not now that they had had so much fun together. Never at all.

"Wait a minute," she whispered, pulling her plush toy out from under the pillow that she had placed under it to lie more comfortably. She held it out to Lulu.

"Take. Momo is not us, but if you have Momo we are there too, okay?"

Lulu took the soft toy and looked at it for a moment, then Yuna again, and smiled again. This time she actually seemed happy, so Yuna preferred to remember her during class.

"Thank you. I'll take care of it," she promised and put her down again.

"Sure," Yuna murmured, pretending she didn't notice Lulu holding the plush chocolate as she rolled over and closed her eyes.

"Sleep well."

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