Tidus listens, the slow waves of the ocean somewhere else for once, the land and the birds the same, out of his frame. He watches Inigo as he speaks, more and more turning into him, his knees bending as he comes to sit better to regard him. Watching, and seeing through every dry laugh, every pull of his mouth--the same sad look in his eyes carried throughout. Staying with him until the end.
And when he does come to that finish, Tidus is silent, unable to know what to say with his heart tight in his chest. Could he imagine going through that? Fighting for all his life, the one person he longed to be proud of him. His father, meeting him, and he couldn't have known all that Inigo went through, and yet--
Maybe he's learning from Inigo. Maybe he's learning, in this time he doesn't know how to start to speak, that it isn't so bad to start another way. Tidus places his hands on Inigo's shoulders, tentatively in his decision, but speaking lightly, "Inigo," in an attempt to make him lift his head. But regardless, his hands slip to the back of his shoulder-blades, nudging Inigo towards him, and Tidus in turn coming to take a hold of him into an embrace.
He lets their body-heat speak for him first, that comfort of being close to someone; he knows about it too, even if he's never known to freely indulge in this. He leans his head beside Inigo's, seeing the white sand grains below, his arms hiding Inigo's back.
"I always wanted him to be proud of me too," he says. Knowing, understanding that want. Because he did, he always did; even once his old man was gone. Even though he hated him; because hating him was the only way he knew how to keep him around in his heart.
And his relationship with his father changed, but now isn't the time for him. It's for Inigo, and while he isn't his father...
"You did good. You were more than anyone should've been. You suffered a lot. You did everything for everyone, and you still do."
He tips his head in a little more, speaks a little louder. Clearer.
"You should be proud of you, Inigo. You're strong. Believe it."
content warning that length
And when he does come to that finish, Tidus is silent, unable to know what to say with his heart tight in his chest. Could he imagine going through that? Fighting for all his life, the one person he longed to be proud of him. His father, meeting him, and he couldn't have known all that Inigo went through, and yet--
Maybe he's learning from Inigo. Maybe he's learning, in this time he doesn't know how to start to speak, that it isn't so bad to start another way. Tidus places his hands on Inigo's shoulders, tentatively in his decision, but speaking lightly, "Inigo," in an attempt to make him lift his head. But regardless, his hands slip to the back of his shoulder-blades, nudging Inigo towards him, and Tidus in turn coming to take a hold of him into an embrace.
He lets their body-heat speak for him first, that comfort of being close to someone; he knows about it too, even if he's never known to freely indulge in this. He leans his head beside Inigo's, seeing the white sand grains below, his arms hiding Inigo's back.
"I always wanted him to be proud of me too," he says. Knowing, understanding that want. Because he did, he always did; even once his old man was gone. Even though he hated him; because hating him was the only way he knew how to keep him around in his heart.
And his relationship with his father changed, but now isn't the time for him. It's for Inigo, and while he isn't his father...
"You did good. You were more than anyone should've been. You suffered a lot. You did everything for everyone, and you still do."
He tips his head in a little more, speaks a little louder. Clearer.
"You should be proud of you, Inigo. You're strong. Believe it."