The Truth Beyond the Dream (A Final Fantasy X/X-2 Fan Fiction)

Chapter 5: Façade of Reality

Morning arrived far sooner than Tidus would have preferred. The bright rays from the summer sun coupled with the melodic chirping of the birds bought him little joy, especially when today may mark the end of his marriage once he divulges the truth to Yuna. Seeing as the spot next to him on the mattress was now empty and no sounds were emitting from the bathroom, it was safe for him to assume his wife had been up for some time.

Rolling out of bed, he dragged himself into the shower and went about his daily hygienic routine before changing into a comfy pair of shorts and t-shirt. With him having slept in as late as he had, he was certain his children had already left for school, leaving him and Yuna alone to discuss the damning secret he had kept all these years.

When he entered the hallway, he was hit with the rich aroma of coffee. Even the delectable scent of his favorite morning beverage couldn't perk him up. It wasn't like him to be so depressed. This feeling of hopelessness was something he had never experienced before. He hated it. And worst of all, he had no one to blame but himself.

The journey down the stairs and into the living room where Yuna sat on the sofa sipping a mug of coffee seemed to play out in slow motion. He knew this moment would come. And as much as he wanted to delay it, he couldn't anymore, not in the wake of what he had learned the other day.

Yuna was engaged in reading the Luca Oracle—a local tabloid he despised for having more falsehoods than the teachings of Yevon. She must've sensed his eyes on her with how quickly she tossed it aside. "I was wondering when you were gonna get up." Yuna shot him a playful smirk. "There's coffee in the kitchen if you wanna—"

"We need to talk," he calmly, interjected.

The worried look in her eyes almost made him recant. "Tidus, we talked last night, remember?"

"No...we didn't." Tidus sat next to his wife on the couch and looked her in the eye, struggling to maintain the courage he had found only moments before to initiate the conversation. "I know you wanna believe what you assumed to be true last night, but we both know it's not accurate. I've been keeping something from you for a very long time. And I have to tell you now...before it's too late."

It amazed him really, how most people yearned to know the truth, yet when dosed with an undesirable reality—regardless of the facts—they would almost always rather believe in the lie. And his wife was no different, reacting exactly how he thought she would at his initial confession.

"This is ridiculous! The fayth wouldn't betray us!" Yuna stood and began pacing in front of the coffee table. "No. This vision you had must've been some kind of side effect from the fayth bringing you back. What proof do you have?"

"The marking on my arm. How I wasn't surprised to learn you were pregnant. That I am real and how we were able to conceive twins. Or how about our daughter's new unexplained powers?"

"It was just one spell!"

Clearly his wife was having a hard time facing facts. She had stopped pacing and was now hugging her arms as if a cold chill had swept through the room. "I know this is far worse than accepting all of Yevon being a lie. Think back to the morning after I returned. Remember asking me about the mark on my arm and the conversation that followed?"

"You said the mark may have had something to do with you being reconstructed by the fayth."

"Before that, Yuna. I asked if you'd go to Zanarkand with me if there was a way. Why would I ask that?"

"You were rambling because of the stupid dream you had!"

His stomach twisted in knots. She wasn't making this easy. He hated dragging her through this. Judging from the fear in her eyes and how flush her cheeks were, it was only going to get worse. "I lied. I lied to you about what really happened. I was gonna tell you the truth, but I lied instead. I didn't think you'd go along with my plan."

Yuna's icy stare sent chills up his spine. "What plan?"

The dreaded moment was upon him. He had come this far, he couldn't turn back now. With every word he spoke it was as if he were throwing daggers at the woman he loved more than his own life. Her face twisted into an agonizing scowl as tears fell down her cheeks. It was at that moment when he realized she had finally accepted his confession as truth. And it looked like it was tearing her soul in half. There was no way she'd forgive him. He was certain of it.

"No... No! This can't be happening! How could you?" she sobbed. "I fought for Spira! This is my home! What about all our friends? Are they expendable too?!"

"I bargained for their lives. I knew you definitely wouldn't go along with this if they weren't part of the deal."

"When did you lose your humanity," she hissed, "was it when you sold your soul?"

Yuna's words along with the disgusted look on her face cut deep into his heart. There had only been one other person he had seen her look at with such disdain and it was someone he had equally despised—Seymour. "I thought siding with Zanarkand's keepers was the right thing to do at the time. I know now, I was wrong."

"Why?" Yuna scoffed through tears. "Because of my reaction?"

"No, that's not why." He paused, hesitant to reveal what prompted the urgency of their conversation in the first place, afraid it would surely kill whatever love she still had for him. "They want our son. They're gonna take him next month unless we find another solution to all this."

And that was when Yuna reacted in a way he had never witnessed before. He scrambled to his feet when she grabbed the vase off the end table, ducking to the side just in time as the ceramic container whizzed by his head, and smashed against the wall behind.

"You bastard! They can't have him!"

In all the years he had known his wife, he had never seen her become so unglued. She had always managed to keep a calm and cool exterior in the midst of any conflict. But right now with her hands shaking, brows furrowed, and fierceness in her eyes the likes he had never seen in his life, she looked unhinged—and it shook him to the core.

"I won't let that happen. But I need your help. I don't know how to fix this on my own." He drew in a shaky breath and inched toward her, hoping she would at least listen to his plea. "I-I'm so sorry, for lying and for all of this. Please...we need to work together or we're all gonna die."

Somehow, he wasn't surprised by her response as she shied away. "I need time to think. I'm sorry, but I can't be around you right now." And with a slam of the door, she was gone.