moved 5/8/17. originally written 12/29/14.

first part of a snapshot series, takes place after the underwater date scene (tidus and yuna make out in the water).

written before i beat the game, so this is probably messy.

The night is quieter than Tidus remembers it being. But so long as it's silent enough for him to hear the breathing of the girl next to him, he doesn't really mind, despite the fact that he dislikes the total silence and the dim light illuminating near them.

Growing up in a big, bright city that never sleeps can do that to you.

He should be uncomfortable, perhaps a little scared. He's so unused to the serenity of a night like this, as are the others, he's sure. They must be in constant worry, and they must not get a lot of sleep, judging by how everyone is sleeping like a rock.

Growing up with a huge, horrendous creature can do that to you, too.

But he doesn't mind at all. Yuna's breathing is calm, for once, and she looks content. There are no worry or frown lines on her face, and Tidus likes it much better this way. When she smiles, she relents on all the worry that holds her captive and for a moment, she looks like a normal girl.

Yuna deserves that constant feeling of contentment, of knowing that you're safe, and she deserves it more than anyone in all of Spira - in the whole world. She's so beautiful, so wonderful.

Naive. Stubborn. Strong. Auron has used those words to describe her, but Tidus knows that Yuna's so much more than just a few adjectives or sentences Auron throws together.

Tidus moves a strand of hair away from her face, and realizes for probably the tenth time that night just how in love with her he truly is. Her lips are soft, and her eyes shine brighter than any star could ever hope to. Her words are sincere, and she is just dazzling. By his constant, prattling thoughts of her, he realizes he's probably been in love with her for far longer than he knows of. He can't really pinpoint the exact moment where he fell in love with her, but he knows it's before Bevelle, before the stupid wedding and that stupid, ugly kiss between her and stupid, ugly Seymour.

The one good thing about that wedding though, is how beautiful Yuna looked in that dress. It made him happy to see her in one, though he wished it was for love and not for a negotiation. She shouldn't ever be forced to marry someone. Because she deserves a happy ending. More than anyone he's ever known.

He wants to give it to her. He wants to bring her back to Zanarkand, because there, she could be happy, she could be free of this burden of saving an entire country by sacrificing herself. She could come to his games, and she could be his favorite cheerleader. She could be a normal girl. She could be Yuna.

And she wouldn't have to die.

With or without him, though, she'll get that happy ending. She deserves to walk down the aisle in a pretty, white dress, and she deserves to be walking to someone she wants to be with, and for one reason alone: love. If it's not him then Tidus is perfectly fine with that.

All he wants is for Yuna to have her fairy tale ending.

(Maybe he wants it to be with him, maybe he wants them to end up together, to just be kids in love and not be so weighted down to saving a world from his crazy father who turned into some weird creature.)

When he kisses her on the forehead, multi-colored eyes snap open and her body tenses. On reflex, probably, and that saddens him more than she could ever fathom. But when they make contact with his pretty blue ones, she breathes out slowly and smiles at him, all tension from her body gone. She trusts him so much, and he's just staring into her eyes like an idiot.

Tidus is so in love with her that it's starting to physically worry him. What he would do to make sure this girl got what she deserved.

Yuna reaches for his hand and squeezes gently, and she smiles.

(She could crush him with one of those gentle hand squeezes, he thinks, and then he wonders if she knows that. If she knows how many feelings he has for her.)

He smiles back, and he swears to himself that he will do whatever it takes to give her a happy ending. Because she deserves it more than anybody and he loves her too much to let her die for people would dare try to hurt her or proclaim her a "traitor."