"like a faded dream"

Disclaimer: belongs to Squeenix

Rating: T for two character deaths (kind of)

A/N: The title doesn't technically belong to me either…It's from Kingdom Hearts II (shame).

A far off dream like a scattered memory

A far off memory like a scattered dream

I wanna line the pieces up

Yours… And mine

or something like that…srry

also, it doesn't have anything to do with the plot. I was just watching the cutscene when it made me think "Tidus and Yuna fic!"

"Like a Scattered Dream"

We had spoken before. The last night before we all went down into Zanarkand.

"Yuna," he'd said, "I have to be the one to kill him. It….it's what he'd want. My old man, I mean."

Then, we hadn't known what that would entail. We didn't know about the Final Aeon, or Lady Yunalesca, or Sin.

So when she told us to choose the one amongst my guardians who would kill Sin and become it, in turn, I knew. It had to be him. Tidus.

I remember Wakka stepping out. Lulu seeming to say with her eyes, "choose me, Yuna. You have to."

I knew, knew, that any of them would do it. But…my eyes found his face, then his eyes. We knew.

"Yuna," he could see my pain, the heart-rending, gut-wrenching agony at the idea, but…"It's okay…."

He held out his hand. My fingers itched to grasp it, to pull him close. To my horror, I saw my arm floating up. Our hands clasped.

The others gasped, hissed through their teeth. Rikku's eyes were wide. Lulu looked like she was going to protest.

"Your choice is wise, Summoner. I can sense…a deep bond between you. It will ease the transformation." I couldn't quite tell, but I could've sworn that the look in her eyes was soft, quiet amusement, and a note of pity. But, I knew, I would die. He would defeat Sin, and then he would fade. We could be together, in the farplane….

"Yuna, what…?" Lulu was obviously shocked. It was rare that she let any emotion leak into her expression, and now her face was twisted with surprise. I heard Wakka muttering something about, "Thought I told him not to get any ideas…."

As completely inappropriate as it was, considering the circumstances, I wanted to burst out laughing. What we had and had done went far beyond "ideas". Which was another reason, of course, that he was the perfect candidate to be the fayth…

The unsent Lady cleared her throat quietly. "Yuna…It is time…."

The two of us turned back to her. Now her expression was sad. Mourning.

"Yuna," she began, "I am your namesake. Our name is strong. You will succeed." I bowed my head. That was good to know. I would win. My life was a small price to pay for that.

"Tidus," she continued, "Ten years ago I transformed your father into the final aeon for her father. His blood runs thick in your veins. Use that strength to fight him. Bring the calm." She bowed to me, then stared at him. I didn't realize at first why. Then I saw. He was fading, changing. He grew more transparent the longer I watched, till he was the same kind of see-through as the fayth. As the rest of the fayth, I realized. I knew what was going to happen. I closed my eyes and walked forward. He would give himself to me, all the way. I felt the familiar heat as he (a fayth) merged with me.

I opened my eyes to see him fade away. But I could feel him in every inch my body, coursing through my veins. It was the feeling of a new aeon (a new being) but different (a thousand times stronger).

"Go, now, Yuna, Tidus, make your fathers proud…they will be waiting for you on the other side…on the farplane." She spoke to both of us, thought both our spirits resided in one body. I could see the world as he saw it. Full of bright, flashy colors, that I thought were mundane. Everything seemed to excite him. Learning, meeting new people. But I looked back through his memories, feeling him doing the same with my own. The things that stood out with utmost clarity were of me (he was always so sweet), and blitzball. I let myself get lost in his feelings during a game. He was right when he'd said you couldn't let anything distract you. The head rush he got from playing was extraordinary. Almost the same as when I danced….

And I knew, just as every other summoner before me, what I had to do. And I knew I had to do it by myself (except for him)…

So I turned, I told them, "go, Sin'll be here soon…" and I turned to face it (him).

And they went. I had been hoping, against all hope that they would stay. But that wasn't tradition. You did as your summoner said, up till the very end. You couldn't save them (me) and you didn't try. Those were the rules. They (we) knew what we singing up for, and you didn't go against that. Even though, sometimes, they (we) wish you would…

But then I saw Sin, coming for the next of its victims. Me and Tidus

And I danced. I summoned him, and my mind drained into his body, and He was so strong, a lion, in body and heart, totally different than the forms of my other aeons. I could feel his mind, speaking to me.

Come on, Yuna! Let's get him! Then…We'll all be in the farplane! I can really meet your mom and dad, and you can meet mine, and we'll tell Chappu that Wakka misses him, and…you can just be Yuna…

And I can just be a normal girl, right?

Yeah…and maybe we can go see Zanarkand. The real one, with the stadium all lit up at night…!

Mm-hm! Let's do it!

And so the battle began. I could feel both our hearts breaking, though my body lay dead at Our feet, we kept fighting.

And as I watched Sin fall, I began to lose my comfortable seat in his thoughts. He slipped though my grasp like water, I felt myself being dragged away, that little child's voice, "It's okay Yuna! You can see again soon! But for now this is safer…"

It was all fading. Was it real? The lion made of sun (Tidus…?) and Sin and the fayth? And was it all okay, like he'd said, and, and, and…

xXx

Dark.

This place was warm and dark.

Black, even.

Opening my eyes was like pushing off leaden water. And closing them suddenly when bright light sent shooting pain through my optical nerves and straight to my brain, was unbelievably easy.

Not a dark place then. Bright, and colorful. Still warm (like lying on the sand on the beach at Besaid…) and quiet.

"Wake up, Yuna…" Thin hands shaking me. I brought a hand (so heavy) to my eyes to shield them before cracking my lids. A blurry shape. Light hair. Not light, blonde. Green eyes…

"Rikku?"

The shape shook its head. Slowly, familiar.

"M-mama…?"

This time the face (it was a face, a female one too) smiled warmly. "Good morning, Yuna…"

Another voice, deeper, rougher.

"You two got yours awake yet?"

Male. Sounded like Tidus' old man.

"Yes, but only just." My father's voice. I opened my eyes, and rubbed them, before removing the hand obscuring my view. My mother, yes, and my father, High Summoner Braska. And the man behind him….? Oh, right, Jecht.

"Mornin', little lady." Yup, Sir Jecht. I recognized his pet name with slight exasperation.

"S-Sir Jecht." My voice rasped a little. I felt like I'd run a marathon. But that's okay, you just fought Sin…

Sin? I had? No, not me, but him

Tidus. Jecht's son. He'd…oh, Shiva! He'd died, fighting Sin, for me!

I sat bolt straight up as I realized. "Tidus!"

Jecht eyed me contemplatively. "He's okay, little lady. You two took quite a spill…"

"Jecht! Honey, he's waking up!"

A woman's voice this time. Probably his mother, by the way things were going. He started to walk to the voice, then turned back to me with a look that said "you coming or not?".

I picked myself up and unsteadily walked forward. now I wasn't so close the ground (almost all my small height was made up by my legs, so I very short when sitting), I could see him, a blonde, insanely tan boy in a blitzball uniform. sitting up next to a crouching woman That I recognized as his mother, from that time in the farplane.

"Tidus!" I hurled myself at him, tripping as I ran. He saw me coming and his eyes widened. He brought his arms up just in time to catch me as I launched myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and hugged him, feeling his heartbeat against my chest. He was real. I buried my face in his shoulder, at the base of his neck, muffling the words I was already whispering to begin with.

"Shiva, Tidus. I was so scared! I thought you were gone! I love you so much!"

He was still shocked, I guess, but he pulled me tighter to his chest. "I love you, too, Yuna."

And right then I didn't even hear Jecht saying, "Yuna's gotten a lot more forward, hasn't she?" and our parents laughing at us. Because I was with him.

A/N: wow, this turned out different than I expected. :D …I was aiming for it to be a bit less…happy. :'( ….it turned out so darn chipper! Ah well.

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