Title: In Water

Author: Moi Fah

Genre: General/ Romance/Angst

Topic: Final Fantasy X

Pairings/ Characters: Yuna/Tidus

Word Count: 1123

Feedback: If you feel so moved...

Rating: K

In my restless dreams...I saw your Zanarkand...

You always said you'd take me there one day...but you never did...

Yuna stared out at the calm waves that crashed against the lonely shore of Besaid Island. Today would be two years...two years since he...well...

In her hand she held a glass bottle, the contents inside of it a single piece of parchment. She'd decided to write him a letter, or rather, just something that she had wanted to write to make up for what she hadn't been able to say that fateful day of Sin's defeat. Thank you...she'd repeated the phrase over and over in her head. She had said thank you to show that this was not the end, that this was not where they would ultimately part ways and say goodbye. They were destined to meet again, she was sure of it.

Two years though...two years and she hadn't heard or seen a single sign of his existence.

Well...I'm alone here now...back at Besaid...

Waiting for you...always waiting for you to come back...

But you haven't come back yet. Will you ever come back?

I know I wasn't able to save you or protect you and everyday I wish with all my might that I could change that...but I can't...

She'd come to see the ocean today, the exact spot where they had first begun their journey together. He had laughed and asked questions about their world, pretending his ignorance came from the toxins produced by Sin. The glass bottle she held still needed to be corked, her hands absentmindedly accomplishing the chore as she stared straight-forward all the while. Yuna had come to see the ocean, but she also had another task in mind as well...throwing her letter into the briny depths. Maybe, somehow, the waves would carry her letter to him.

If she hoped for it hard enough then maybe her wishes would reach him wherever he was.

I stayed by the ocean and listened for your whistle...and for you to respond to my whistle.

I just know that if you were here somehow...everything would be better.

For the longest time, I was sad but that sadness turned to anger. I even lashed out at people who were just trying to cheer me up. Out of everyone, I may have wronged Rikku the most...we haven't spoken in over 6 months.

I just want everything back to normal.

When I first learned that I was going to die after defeating Sin, I was terrified. I was able to accept this fate until I met you.

You placed the seed of doubt in my mind...it's something I'm eternally grateful for.

That's why I hope you can understand how much you mean to me...but please, I desperately want you to know something...

Yuna took a deep breath and chucked the bottle as far as she could, watching as the tide continually swept her concealed letter further and further away until it was no longer visible. She had waited two full years for a sign, please, let this be the one that would lead him back home. Let this be the sign he may have desperately been searching for to find his way back.

'Bring him home...' she whispered softly, the words being carried away by the ocean breeze.

"Yuna," It was Lulu. The ex-summoner quickly dried her eyes and tried to make herself look presentable in front of her ex-guardian lest the woman question her, "it's time to head back." The woman informed her. Who knew why the black mage was out at the beach at this time of day; Yuna suspected it was in search of her as she'd slipped off without so much as a word.

The brown-haired girl gave a nod, folding her hands together in front of her blue skirt as she prepared herself for the walk back to Besaid Village.

"Yunie! Yunie!"

"R-Rikku?" Yuna gasped as the blond Al Bhed girl practically charged out from nowhere, maneuvering around the black mage as she did so.

"You gotta see this!" Rikku panted as she held up a gloved hand, an orange-colored sphere shimmered back at her. "Kimahri said he found this sphere on Mt. Gagazet! The guy that's in it...well, he looks like...you-know-who!" Rikku whispered as if she were afraid of disturbing the dead.

Yuna came closer to see the sphere, glad that Rikku seemed to harbor no ill will after their spat from 6 months ago. Maybe this was another one of Rikku's ideas for cheering her up...as the sphere played, she glimpsed the blond-haired, familiar sounding and looking man. It made her heart flutter and ache all at the same time...she only hoped that this wasn't some cruel joke. It would have just been too much. 'Is it...really you?' she questioned mentally as the recorded video on the sphere came to an end with a fizzle. So then...maybe he was still alive. It gave her hope.

"So Yunie, what do you think? Huh?" Rikku questioned excitedly, searching the girl's face for any indication of an answer, Lulu mimicking the hyperactive girl's look with a passive silence.

"I think...we should go and find him."

"Oh yeah! That's what I like to hear! Aaaand I thought you might say that so I brought you a present!" Rikku cheered, holding up a strange grid and another sphere in her hand. "It's the latest accessory," she explained whimsically, "it's called a Garment Grid. You should try your new duds on later!"

Yuna nodded, her sadness being replaced with determination. If he was alive, she would find him. Even though she had seen with her own eyes as he disappeared along with the other dreams of the Fayth...no, she couldn't think like that. This time, she would find him and save him and protect him like she had wanted to do all along. Of course she'd have to become stronger to do so.

She quietly followed behind Rikku and Lulu after they'd all agreed to talk things back over in Besaid Village. Still...she turned to look over her shoulder back the sea...

Know this, that even though our time together was short, I treasured it dearly. I'm only saddened by the idea that it was so short.

My letter has gone on too long I suppose, so I guess I'll have to say goodbye but just for now...not forever. As you read this, know that I haven't given up on you and never will.

I only ask that you don't forget me. I know you've done so much for me and I've barely done anything in return but I hope my request isn't too selfish.

You...you made me happy.

Thank you.

Inspired by Mary's famous letter from Silent Hill 2 after I noticed the similarity between Tidus's promise to take Yuna to see his Zanarkand and the comment Mary makes in her letter about James promising to take her back to Silent Hill one day. It didn't turn out as well as I had hoped so please go easy with the reviews.