XOXO

"I'm hungry!"

"Namine, newsflash you're always hungry!" Roxas muttered holding his best friend Namine's wrist as he dragged her around like a ragdoll. It had been a long day, because Roxas's mother had ordered him to go run some errands for her, and Roxas was hoping that he could just run the errands fast and then go home and play video games. Sadly, though fate had other plans for the young male, because he had accidently ran into his best friend; whom insisted that she'd go along. Since she was bored and had nothing to do, Roxas decided to be nice and let her go along.

And, boy what a mistake that was…

"Come on Roxas." Namine begged tugging at the boy's arm "All I want to get is some Sea Salt Ice cream, is that too much to ask?"

"Yes, because all I want to do is go home and enjoy the rest of my Saturday playing videogames, is that too much to ask?" Roxas asked mocking her using a high–pitched tone.

Namine frowned at him "You're such a lazy bum! Don't you want to hang out with your bestest friend in the whole wide world?"

"No." Roxas replied dully "I'd much rather be beating my top score on Mortal Combat."

"You play that violent game?" Namine asked wrinkling her nose.

"Yes, because it happens to be fun unlike you." Roxas grumbled as he continued to walk dragging Namine with him. It wasn't that Roxas and Namine really hated each other — it was just that they treated each other like siblings, and the one thing about siblings is you always fight with one another.

XOXO

As Roxas trudged along, Namine dragged her feet following him, her stomach growling painfully. All she wanted to do today was to finally be able to confess her feelings to her best friend — not argue with him over an empty stomach. She closed her eyes as another agonizing growl echoed inside of her tummy; she clutched her stomach with one of her hands, and then suddenly she heard Roxas sigh.

"Honestly…." Roxas garbled on more to himself than anyone else "I seriously wouldn't have taken you along if I knew you were going to be such a pain."

Namine jutted out her lower lip, pouting at the blonde boy as he yanked her to another direction. Meany! She thought to herself secretly hating the fact that her best friend was so oblivious to her feelings; that she almost wished he knew already how she felt for him — almost that is. She also hated the fact that he practically held her wrist in a death grip — honestly it wasn't like she was going to runaway or anything!

As they began to walk down an alley Namine decided to ask "Well if you're not going to let me get something to eat, then at least let go of my wrist!"

"Shut up."

"But it's starting to hurt…"

Roxas looked over his shoulder sharply at the girl startling her a bit, but then slowly his features softened and he began to loosen his hold on her wrist.

"Geez you're such a pain…" He remarked sounding aggravated, but at the same time it sounded like he didn't mean it.

XOXO

They soon civilly began to walk together in symmetry with each other's steps — not dragging the other around like they were before. Roxas happily got his mother's errands done, and with much time to spare to go home and play his beloved videogames. He looked at his mother's list that she had scribbled up for him before he had left to do her bidding.

"Anything else you need to get?" Namine asked appearing to be trying to peek between the paper bags she was carrying. It was a little humorous to Roxas, because she was so petite that the bags went over her head.

"I don't think—"He cut off when he heard a loud grumbling noise "What the heck was that?"

"My tummy, sorry…" Namine replied quietly from behind the bags.

Roxas was about to say something sarcastic, but instead he thought of ha better idea. He slipped the list that his mom gave him into his pocket, and adjusted the bags that in his arms, and turned over to Namine.

"Um, no I think we have one more errand left."

Namine sighed "Are you kidding me?"

XOXO

Roxas chuckled at the flaxen haired girl as they began to walk again, Namine sighed as she trotted behind him trying to keep up. Maybe today wasn't such a good idea to confess Namine thought feeling a bit discouraged. "At least he isn't in such a bad mood anymore." she said to herself in relief as they kept walking.

The two walked in silence the only things they could hear were the lively sounds of the people of Twilight Town, such as the kids playing in the parks, people going in and out of shops, walking up and down the sidewalks. In central Twilight Town, which was where Roxas and Namine were heading; there were little scrimmages between two opposing opponents. Sometimes Namine and Roxas went together to go watch the matches, and once in a while Roxas would be a part of it, and Namine cheered him on.

All in all Twilight Town was a fun place to visit and to live, and Namine loved it there very much, because that was where she had met Roxas. She smiled thinking back to when she had first moved here, and she was walking by an old clock tower, where she had bumped into Roxas. They became fast friends and they were inseparable, but as time went on Namine grew feelings for the boy; feelings that she was afraid he that he didn't feel in return. She let out a light sigh—not realizing that he had heard her until he said.

"Don't worry Nami we're almost there."

Her stomach gargled again, and Namine wheezed "We better be otherwise I might suffer from starvation if we don't get home quick."

"PIsh posh you're such a drama queen." He teased and Namine imagined he must have been rolling his eyes.

Namine stuck her tongue out, making faces at him from behind him where he couldn't see. She was having fun giggling the whole time, until Roxas looked over his shoulder catching her in the act.

He glared at her playfully "How immature."

"Not as immature as you when you got mad at me for beating you in a game of checkers." Namine sniggered.

"I was not immature." Roxas defended.

Namine laughed "You flipped the checkerboard over, and then you started accusing me of cheating."

"But you did cheat, I SAW you!" Roxas retorted before looking in both directions and crossing the street.

"Just because I took advantage of you strategy doesn't mean I cheated." Namine chortled as she followed him.

"Whatever…I still say you cheated, because there is no way a player is allowed to take that many pieces in one move." Roxas grumbled.

Namine laughed some more; she always thought it was funny how defensive Roxas got when it came to trivial matters, like checkers. Soon though her laughter faded, and yet another loud, unforgiving gargle emitted from her stomach.

"Are we there yet?" Namine asked trying to adjust the bags in her arms.

"Almost." Roxas replied after they made it to another sidewalk.

Namine sighed stopping in her tracks "What does your mom need now anyway? We got her planting supplies she needed, and the paopu fruit she wanted, what else does she need?"

"Well….it's not on the list but…" Roxas pointed ahead of them, and Namine looked over and saw an ice cream parlor "But I figure it might as well be."

Namine's eyes glowed "I've never been so happy to see an Ice cream shop in my entire life!"

"You should be, because it's on me." Roxas grinned as he adjusted the bags in his arms and opened the door for her. She looked up at trying to make sense of the reason why he was doing this after she had been such a burden to him all day. She walked into the shop nonetheless, and he followed her inside the parlor was a welcoming but chilly little shop. There were booths and tables where people could sit at to enjoy their ice cream, and there was a friendly looking red haired girl standing behind a long marble counter to greet them.

The duo set their bags at a table, and then walked up to the counter.

"Hello welcome to Atlantica Ice, may I take your order?" She asked politely with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Uh, yes" Roxas replied "I'll take two Sea Salt ice cream treats please."

"Coming right up!" She replied turning around, and opening a white freezer, and pulling out two delectable looking baby blue ice cream treats out.

When she turned back she handed the two delicacies to Roxas "That'll be 2 munny please."

Roxas nodded and handed Namine the two ice cream treats before he started to dig into his coat pocket. Namine watched him pull out his wallet, and hand the sweet cashier the money who took it from him graciously.

"Thank you, and enjoy your ice cream!" She smiled.

"Thanks." Roxas answered and then stuffed his wallet into his pocket, turning to Namine whom handed him his ice cream. The two walked to a table and sat down eating their ice cream treats in silence. As she bit the tip of her ice cream, Namine wondered if now was the right time to tell the boy her feelings.

She looked at Roxas who was still munching on his ice cream while gazing out the window. Namine was quite sure that he was probably thinking about the videogames he could be playing, which in a way made her feel a little depressed. She lowered her eyes to her lap, chewing on the Popsicle stick now.

"What's wrong?" Roxas suddenly asked startling her.

Her eyes traveled upwards, and her eyes immediately locked onto a pair of dark azure eyes. He looked at her seriously, his spiky blonde hair swept to the side with his bangs partially covering his eyes, enhancing his boyish features. Namine mentally cursed herself when she felt heat rise to her cheeks.

"It's nothing…" She replied absent mindedly hoping that he didn't notice her embarrassment, even though it was pretty obvious.

"Doesn't seem like it." Roxas frowned.

Maybe now is the right time She thought gazing longingly into the boy's all–knowing piercing pools. Namine opened her mouth as if trying to something, but no words came out. But what if he doesn't like me back? She asked herself not wanting to get rejected by her best friend. And what if this ruins our friendship? She bit her lip thinking of the possible consequences. She opened her mouth again, and this time she actually said something, but it wasn't what she was going to say.

"I'm perfectly fine." She lied.

"Whatever…." He said dismissingly as he stood up from the booth "We should probably get going my mom will kill me if I'm not home soon."

Namine nodded in agreement and stood up as well, and Roxas picked up the two grocery bags she was holding before and she did the same. They walked out of the shop together; Roxas held the door for her again, and then they started to head back home. Namine inwardly wanted to beat her head against the wall as they walked in silence — she was so close! She knew this was something she was going to regret for the rest of her life.

As they walked Namine wondered if they were always this quiet when they were together. They began to walk by the clock tower, and Namine stopped to look at the time — it was almost four o'clock and they left at two. Namine frowned figuring that'd give Roxas enough time to play his precious videogames when he got home.

"Hey, do you remember when we used to climb up there?" Roxas asked suddenly catching Namine's attention.

She looked up at the tower replying "Yeah, when we were kids it was also the place where we first met."

"Yeah, you were scared when we first climbed up there." Roxas chuckled more to himself than at her.

Namine blushed "Huh?"

"Don't you remember? I had to practically drag you up there." Roxas grinned at her "You even threatened to tell on me."

"Oh yeah…" Namine murmured recalling the memory "But you didn't care anyway."

Roxas's grin widened "Nope, you were going up there whether you wanted to or not."

Namine puffed her cheeks "I wasn't afraid when we finally got up there though."

"Yeah…." Roxas said as if he were thinking about something, and then he turned back to Namine whom was standing curiously beside him "Well we better get going."

"Okay."

XOXO

Once the duo finally made it to Roxas's house his mom chewed the blonde boy out for not being home earlier. The boy explained to his mother the situation though about how they were hungry, and that they needed a bit of a pit stop. His mom however seemed to be partially satisfied with the answer.

"I guess I'll let it go this time." She sighed as a smile crossed her face "Only because you were with your girlfriend."

The two blonde's cheeks flared

"G–g–girlfriend? N–no mom Namine is just a friend she has always been nothing but a friend to me!" Roxas exclaimed.

"That's a pity…" His mother commented "The way you ramble on and on about her I thought—"

"Mom!" Roxas whaled.

She covered her mouth "Oops, sorry honey you know how bad I am at keeping secrets."

Roxas's shoulders drooped though he'd never admit it to Namine he really did like her more than a friend. Even though he got into fights with her daily, he loved her to death, and he really wanted to confess to her. The only thing that was stopping him though was his fear of a negative response.

He grimaced at the very thought, but then got jerked out of his thoughts when he felt someone tugging at his sleeve. He looked down and saw Namine look up at him smiling — however it wasn't the happy smile that he was used to seeing. It seemed more fabricated than anything else.

Roxas knew that she only put on a smile like that when she was sad, but why was she said he wondered. While trying to make sense of the reason — he came to the conclusion that it was, because of what he said before, which means that she licked him as well. His eyes widened at the realization; wanting to break into a happy dance, but before he could he was break off from his happy mood.

"I'm going to head home, see ya Roxas and bye Mrs. Hikari." Namine waved and Roxas watched her leave, standing there, contemplating whether or not if it was a good idea to go after her. His presumption might have been wrong, and going after her could result in making a fool of his self if he confessed. He wasn't sure what to do.

"If I were you dear..." His mom started and Roxas turned around to look at her she was standing behind an island cutting up some paopu fruit onto a plate "I'd go after her."

Roxas smiled at her "You're right mom, like always."

He started for the door until his mother called out to him "Wait Roxas!"

"What?" He asked while slipping on his shoes.

His mom walked over to him handing him a piece of the paopu fruit that she had been cutting. He looked up at his mother quirking a brow; asking her why she had given him the fruit.

She smiled at him "Legend has it that if two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what."

"You really believe that?" Roxas asked looking at the fruit.

She grinned "It's worth a shot!"

Roxas grinned back at his mom, and thanked her before stuffing the fruit into the pocket of his coat, and running out the door, and chasing after the girl that was already a distance ahead of him. He sprinted down the sidewalk, and spotted her at the corner where the clock tower was. It was almost like the day they had first met — the only difference was that he wasn't the one staring up at the clock tower this time.

He ran up to her panting heavily with his hands on his knees, hunched forward trying to catch his breath. She stared at him oddly Roxas could only imagine the questions that were running through her head. However he chose not to think about them, fearing that he might lose his confidence.

"Guys say stupid things…" He panted "Idiotic things….things that they regret very easily…"

"What…?" Namine murmured she turned her body to his direction to look at him more clearly.

"You remember when I said that I never thought of you as anything more than a friend, right?" Roxas asked looking up at Namine whose attention was locked on her shoes.

There was a short pause but then she answered "Yes, I remember."

"Well that there was an example." Roxas told her his eyes glued onto the pavement.

"What do you mean?" She asked and Roxas looked up at her straightening his posture.

"What I mean is — that that was one of those stupid things." Roxas clarified "Namine you are way more than just a friend to me, and you've always been very important to me."

Namine looked up at Roxas "Really?"

Roxas smiled at her "Yeah."

Before he could bat an eyelash Roxas felt a pair of arms wrap around his middle. He looked down and saw Namine's face buried in his black blazer, and he couldn't help but encircle his arm around her also. He rested his cheek on the top of her blonde head, and smiled when he heard the light sounds of happy tears.

"More important than beating your top score in Mortal Combat?" She asked.

Roxas laughed hugging her tighter "Way, way more important than that."

When they pulled away Namine tried to wipe the remainder of her tears with the sleeve of her coat. Roxas smiled at her when he could hear the soft laugher emitting from her when she looked up at him. Her glossy blue eyes glittered beautifully in the daylight, and Roxas took the chance to try what his mom suggested. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the chunk of fruit that his mother had given him. The peal was still wrapped around a portion of it, and it looked to be in good shape.

Namine raised an eyebrow "What's the paopu fruit for?"

"Haven't you heard the legend?" Roxas asked while unraveling the peal, and she shook her head, and Roxas handed her a piece of the fruit as he explained.

"It is said that if two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what."

"And you believe that?" Namine asked through a fit of giggles.

He smiled at her warmly "It's worth a shot."

The two held up their pieces of fruit up to each other, and then they began to eat it. The fruit had a sweet taste to it that soon sizzled down into a tangy fizz before he swallowed it. It didn't make him feel different though, considering it was only a legend, but it did make him feel more connected to Namine now. Since they had went through the romantic legend together.

Roxas laughed "Well now you're stuck with me no matter what."

Namine smiled up at him "I'm not complaining."

Roxas smiled at her and took her hand, which she held in return and said "Come on let me take you home."

XOXO

The End

Haha, this was a really fun story to write, and I hoped you all liked it!

Thanks for reading!

Love Rina