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

Chapter 8: Profound Scars

Locating Maechen proved to be a daunting task, since almost everyone thought he had died sometime in the past two decades. Yuna, however, had been able to generate a favorable response from yet another shady character Tidus had grown to despise—Rin, Spira's richest entrepreneur who regularly engaged in black-market dealings.

The shifty Al Bhed claimed in a commsphere conversation to know the latest whereabouts of the elderly scholar and had agreed to meet with them first thing in the morning at his office downtown. Which is where Tidus was now, impatiently standing beside his wife in a bright, spacious lobby as he waited for the receptionist to return to her over-sized white desk.

Stealing a glance at his wife, he thought about the previous night and his disappointment in their inability to resolve the tension between them, making way for an uncomfortable dinner session with their kids. The only thing him and Yuna had been able to agree on was for their children to continue with their studies until they learned more information—and that hadn't resonated well with their son and daughter.

When Yuna had chosen to sleep in their bed for the night, he'd been genuinely surprised by her decision. He'd expected for her to retire to the guest room, but after giving it some thought, she'd probably been keeping up appearances for their children's sake in an effort to provide a false sense of unity. And again, he'd been correct with his assumption as she lay with her back toward him, refusing to engage in any conversation he'd tried to initiate.

The lack of communication between them had made the ride over to Rin's office almost unbearable with tension so thick it could've been chopped with a sword. Yuna had attempted to break-the-ice at one point to share in her reservations about the impending meeting, leaving Tidus feeling like they were a pair of strangers forced to work together on an investigation, rather than a couple, struggling to protect the world from certain doom—which had really irked him.

"Sorry about that," the blond receptionist apologized, dumping a stack of folders on her desk. "Rin's a little tied up at the moment. You can wait for him inside his office in the meantime. It's right this way."

The young Al Bhed woman guided them into a large, dimly-lit room, lined with racy portraits of women in lingerie. Tidus scoffed in surprise by Rin's unprofessional choice of décor. "Wow, I feel like we're here auditioning for a porno, not to get information."

"Tidus!" Yuna snapped.

"Have a seat," the receptionist insisted, motioning over to the two leather armchairs situated in front of a mahogany desk. "Rin will be with you shortly."

When the young woman took her leave, Tidus eased himself onto one of the leather seats and glanced over at his wife, who was intertwining her hands repeatedly on her lap while staring blankly at the desk. The tension between them was suffocating. He couldn't take it anymore. "We can't function like this, Yuna. We need to be able to communicate with one another."

His wife let out an exasperated sigh. "Can we not do this here?"

"Then where? Because you've refused to talk to me otherwise."

"We need to focus on finding Maechen, right now. Nothing else matters."

Her words sounded so cold. Deep down he was a sensitive man. He may have succeeded in concealing his emotions from his children and most of the world, but not his wife. Yuna knew all-too-well how to exploit his feelings. And right now, he felt like a teenage boy, pining away at a girl he so desperately wanted to reciprocate his love, but was afraid of rejection. Dammit. He hated how she had this kind of power over him. Nevertheless, he needed to know how she felt and if he should start burying his love for her in a grave he may have dug upon his return to Spira.