Hi, yes, this is my first fic published online in a long time so please be gentle and keep criticism constructive. I'm a shy crybaby who just wants to spread gentle lesbian content that nobody else seems to be providing right now. (Also if you can recommend good content for this ship please hit me up I am so dying for anything at all.)
The mansion was always so quiet.
For better or worse, she really isn't sure. Compared to the bustle and noise of the castle it left much more room to mull in her thoughts uninterrupted, but was that really such a good thing these days? It felt like all it did was make her miserable half of the time thanks to all these lingering doubts about everything.
A crack of lightning snaps her back to reality, Xion recoiling from the window almost on impulse. As soon as it comes, it's gone, and the loud pattering of the rain outside goes uninterrupted once more. The same can't be said for Namine, however, who's attention drifts from the sketchbook at her table to Xion herself.
"Are you alright?"
Xion blinks, unsure of how to respond to something like that. An answer like that was obvious, wasn't it? How anyone could be pieced together in her situation was beyond her and to even ask must mean it's obvious to anyone who bothered to pay attention. Granted, most didn't care much about what she was up to or even what happened to her, but obvious nonetheless.
"Er... yeah." She lies, offering a sheepish smile. "Guess I just spaced out there for a little bit."
Namine considers this for a moment, her eyes returning to the paper in front of her as she continues slow and measured strokes with her pencil. Her expressions were always so hard to read, Xion can't help but feel. Quiet, doe-eyed and distant... something about Namine had this ethereal and delicate quality, a sort of atmosphere that rivaled the strange feeling of the mansion itself. That other-worldly demeanor often leaves Xion wondering just what Namine is really thinking about her.
The silence continues on for a moment or two and Xion is almost sure Namine's lost interest in conversation, at least until her voice cuts through the drone of rain once more.
"Are you scared?"
Xion frowns, this time turning around enough to face the other girl more directly. She almost wants to take it as some sort of reassurance, a vague interest in her wellbeing if nothing else, but it's still an odd thought to consider. Certainly not one she's used to from anyone other than Roxas or Axel.
"Nah. Well... maybe a little, I guess." She admits, a hand rubbing at the back of her neck. "I feel like it should be hitting me a little harder if anything. It's like... everything feels so calm. Empty even. I keep waiting for the panic to hit me, but it just... doesn't."
The closest she's ever been to feeling like a proper Nobody, that first week aside. Xion bites that part back however.
Namine purses her lips, gaze flicking from the sketchbook to her company once more with that same curious look of reserved interest. Xion almost wants to ask what she's drawing but Namine's tendency to keep to herself was made apparent fairly early on; it'd feel more rude than anything to pry too much into the hobbies of someone she very well barely knew, she supposed.
"I can't imagine what it's like being in your situation." Namine finally replies. "Truth be told, I can barely understand how you can find it in yourself to trust us."
There's a pause as she seems to reconsider her statement before she quickly corrects herself with an, "O-Or... Riku, anyways."
Xion can't help but crack a small smile at that much, though she isn't entirely sure why.
"No, I trust you too." She assures Namine with a brief nod. "I guess I just never got the impression either of you really wanted to do me wrong. I mean... I guess that might be a little ironic to say, since I might still be back at the Organization without you two but..."
Xion shakes her head, dismissing the the thought with a brief sigh. As much as she wanted to believe it would, she knew that going home wouldn't fix anything. The roots of decay lay too deep- with everything falling apart around her, it's all too obvious her life was crumbling from the very beginning. Being naive about the fact doesn't change anything.
And really, it never was much of a home to begin with.
"But this is what needs to happen. I know that. For once I really feel like I'm doing the right thing here."
Namine blinks before offering a small, sweet smile of her own.
"You're very brave." She says. "It reminds me of him a little. Sora, I mean. Riku told me he's always been that way though, putting others before himself and always cherishing the smiles of his friends more than anything. Trusting anyone he feels has the right intentions, maybe even a little too much sometimes. But... I think, maybe, that that's just the sort of person you are as well."
Xion seems almost surprised by the response but the rush of color in her cheeks quickly betrays her embarrassment.
"I-I, uh... I dunno about that. But thank you." She scratches at the back of her head, glancing off to the side in hopes of evading Namine's intent blue eyes. "For everything, really. I'm not sure how well I'd be taking any of this without you and Riku around to make me feel a little less like... like I'm losing my mind, I guess."
She sighs, adding, "Or at least helping me lose my mind a little calmer anyways."
Namine laughs a bit, a sound that makes something in Xion's chest flutter with a feeling so light and euphoric. Has she ever done that around her before now? Surely Xion would've noticed with how dizzy and lightheaded she suddenly feels, how something so simple as a giggle leaves her entirely all out of sorts for reasons she can't dream of explaining.
"I don't think you're crazy." She says with that same gentle and reassuring smile. "Just someone who wants to be heard for a change."