A.N.: Why hello everybody!!! Merry Christmas!
I'm sorry I couldn't get this out sooner. I planned on getting this released yesterday, but I had an old friend come to visit; and it was fun. Then, I had to go "the company Christmas party" which was all right…I almost didn't get there at all, and almost had to go home. It was fun altogether.
So, along with its sister fic, Christmas Concoctions, I present to you this holiday story…so enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own Kingdom Hearts, no way no how. It's owned by Disney and Square Enix.
Bold: Heavily emphasized words.
Italics: Song lyrics and lightly emphasized words.
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"A Christmas Serenade"
By
Malcolm Yuy
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A warm sun glowered in rays of yellow and orange through murky clouds on a gray day outside in the cool, crisp air. Steam arose from the concrete masses as snow sat, situated in cold piles among the brickwork of Twilight Town. And as the sidewalks and roads stood slick, a dark figure could be seen trekking way into a nearby neighborhood. They wore a noir-colored cashmere jacket, covering up what else they were wearing underneath, except their dark-colored trousers and shoes that matched their wardrobe. Their hands were covered in black, leather gloves, and to protect themselves from the cold, they wore a dark hood which hid their face from the general public.
The only thing the populace could see were dirty blond bangs poking out of the hood, along with the figure's lips, which were curved into a little smile as they made their way into the subdivision. Minutes later, the person's lips transformed into a smirk as they found what they were looking for; a luxurious, white-brick house with a light-colored, wooden fence in the back. They waltzed towards the back door, and after playing with the locks, opened the fence door before making their way into the backyard of the residence. The figure then carefully shut the door behind them, before placing their hands in their coat pockets as they marched up to the back porch, looking through the sliding doors to the interior of the house.
On the inside, the house looked stunning. A brilliant chandelier glowed throughout the kitchen as the person saw the green-covered kitchen table, highlighted by two appropriately decorated white candles, with a red scented one in the center, situated in glass. However, as the person looked around, they noticed that there was no one to be found. Their lips curved into a frown at the observation, before their orbs, hidden by their sun-kissed bangs looked up towards another window situated above the kitchen, to the right. And they smiled for what they saw.
For what they saw through that viewing space was a young, beautiful blonde girl dressed in a white, turtleneck sweater and jeans. Her lavender-blue eyes seemed concentrated upon something as the figure observed her. Their gloves then trailed from their pockets to their hood, before removing it to reveal a boyish face behind the mysterious mask. The boy's dirty blond hair was spiked in wavy motions, and his eyes, a sapphire blue, sparkled as he admired the young female.
His name was Roxas Akari. He was sixteen years old, and currently, he was attending Twilight High School with the aforementioned belle in the window.
And her name? Her name was Naminé Hidou.
Roxas originally floundered from a nearby set of islands known as the Destiny Islands, in which he migrated to the town two years ago. He also had a brother, the same age as him known as Sora. He smirked as he only imagined how bored his sibling must be right now, since he left the spiky-headed brunet all by himself, especially with their mother. Unfortunately, their father was out of town, in a far away city known as Radiant Garden, but luckily for them he was returning home tonight from what the blond male knew. He shook his head as he re-focused his attention back upon the figure of his sights.
Naminé was a…special person in Roxas' life. He didn't know her for that long— only for a year since she moved from another city as well— but in the time that they got to know each other, they discovered that they had a good bit in common. They had made most of the same friends, and had a lot of similar tastes; they even discovered that they were born on the same day! And with each passing day that Roxas got to spend with the young lady, he couldn't help but become even more enchanted with her than the day he was before. She was always smiling when he was around it seemed, and around her he felt…more complete.
As Roxas noted the beautiful Christmas lights that were adorned nearby, he began to remember the reason why he came here in the first place; a reason that made his dimples twinge in pink as he pondered about it.
He wanted to confess to her; but not in a typical fashion, oh no. The boy had other plans in mind. Unfortunately for him, he would have fared better had he some kind of instrumentation to back his plan up, because as-of-late, the only instrument he knew how to play, his guitar…
Was broken. And oh, he did not want to recount exactly how that happened. All he could think of in relation to that event was a red-haired, emerald-eyed boy by the name of Axel…
Which made him grimace at the moment. He had visited his friends earlier, and even tried to enlist their help, only to be ridiculed and laughed at. Some friends they were.
But standing on the snow-covered plains now, he was glad they didn't come, for he would've been probably been afraid to embarrass himself in front of both them…and her. Although Roxas loved to sing, the matter of the fact was…he didn't have too much professional experience with the act. Other than singing along with his favorite songs and music albums, the only time that he actually sung in a similar manner was when he was in elementary school back in the Destiny Islands, in a brief stint he had with a children's choir.
Oh, how he wished he stayed more involved with singing now. But it didn't matter now. All he had was what he had, and he would try his best. He cupped his hands over his mouth, taking in a breath of frigid, cool air, before steam emitted from his lips as he yelled out the girl's name.
"Naminé! Naminé!" He watched with curiosity as the girl seemed to hear his voice, but couldn't exactly pinpoint where the source had come from. The boy softly chuckled to himself before calling her name again. "Naminé, look out your window!" shouted the young man. The girl's eyes looked up, blinking for a second as she finally noticed her male counterpart standing outside, observing her. She gave him a peculiar expression as she opened her window to speak with him.
"Roxas..? What are you doing in my backyard? And how did you get there?" she questioned as her dainty hands gripped the sides of the windowsill. The boy grinned mischievously as he looked upon her.
"Let's just say…I know my way around locks. But, that's not important…though the reason I came here is. So please, just listen…that's all you need to do." He looked to the girl for affirmation, who just sternly watched him, her irises fully trained upon him. He then nodded as he closed his eyes. "Okay…here goes nothing…" he sucked in another breath of air, before he slowly exhaled, bringing himself to calm down, before the male blond began humming a melody. He imagined violins substituting his voice, before he got to the lyrics.
"Christmas bells are jingling; can you hear the sound?
Nothing but happiness feels the air around;
Children playing and laughing,
The whole world seems anew;
Nothing would complete this more
Than me being here with you…
(With you)
I was walking through the city, admiring all the lights
Window shoppers, Noel candies
Gleaming in their delights
As I saw my reflection, there was one thing I knew.
The only thing I wanted at this time of year…
Was you
---I came here to tell you how I really feel
Something that presents and Christmas cards can't really reveal
I wanted to create something vibrant, so true
So I'm singing this Christmas serenade
I'm singing this serenade…for you---"
Roxas observed Naminé as his voice quieted to a hum, as he continued imagining the melody being inducted by an orchestra, himself being formally dressed, performing the lyrics, imagining her sitting nearby in a snowy, white dress as his hand was outstretched to her, lost in the moment as he was caught up in the music of his words, of his melodical instrumentation. His voice then halted for a moment as he inhaled more air, before singing again.
"This time of year always brings me such joy
Seeing the surprise and anticipation
Of each girl and boy
Seeing the snow flurry
The lights of cars by-and-by,
Nothing would delight me more
Than having you by my side
You always seem to know
How to lighten my heart
I appreciate everything you do
From every little part
I hope you enjoy these holidays as much as I do
And I hope that all your Christmases
Are wondrous and true
(And true)
---I came here to tell you how I really feel
Something that presents and Christmas cards can't really reveal
I wanted to create something vibrant, so true
So I'm singing this Christmas serenade
I'm singing this serenade…for you---"
"For you…" Roxas trailed off as he stretched the second you during this progression in the song, and smiled to Naminé as he began humming again. She smiled back to him as she observed the young lad, and it only fueled courage for the boy at this point as he kept on going. The belle blonde then looked up in astonishment as white flakes began descending from the sky. Roxas closed his eyes as he got to the bridge of his composition.
"Let the snow fall,
Let the snow fall,
Let the snow fall,
down
And let my love glow,
Let my love glow,
Let my love for you,
Glow all around
---I came here to tell you how I really feel
Something that presents and Christmas cards can't really reveal
I wanted to create something vibrant, so true
I'm singing this Christmas serenade
I'm singing this serenade…for you---
---I came here to tell you how I really feel
Something that presents and Christmas cards can't really reveal
I wanted to create something vibrant, so true
So I'm singing this Christmas serenade…
"I am singing this serenade…for you…For you…For you…For you." The dirty blond slowly unraveled his last lines of his chorus, imagining the orchestra and his performance fading as his melody died, ending. His blue orbs opened as he looked ahead for a moment, before they settled back into the present. He looked up towards Naminé's window, and frowned.
The girl was missing. Did she miss the last of his melody? The boy couldn't tell as his eyes diverted towards the black, colored depression of his footwear.
"Maybe…maybe she doesn't feel the same way about me as I do about her after all…I'm such an idiot," Roxas remarked as he kicked a truffle of the white substance, his blue orbs showing the sadness and frustration he felt at the moment. He had put so much time…so much effort into perfecting that song, and all for naught..?
But that was the cold, bitter sting of reality sometimes. You can't always have what you desire, and more than often than not, you fall upon your feet first before you can get back up. Such was the way of life.
The blond male's shoulders slumped as he sighed in melancholy, placing his gloved hands in his pockets as he began trudging his way towards his exit. The snow trickled behind him, swaying in the wind as the cold began getting to him. He was about to place his hood back over his face, masking his identity again, when his ears picked up on a voice.
"Roxas, wait!" Roxas' hands hitched in place as the boy looked over his shoulder, to his left. His left eye widened as he saw the girl of his dreams race down towards him, her boots crumpling the snow under her feet and leaving tracks in their wake. Right before she was able to reach him though, her left foot stumbled as she fell. Roxas' eyes bulged as he suddenly performed a one-eighty and caught the girl in his arms. The two blushed, and Naminé's violet-sapphire orbs slowly darted upwards to meet Roxas' gaze. He looked at her in concern.
"Are you okay Naminé..?" The girl hastily nodded her head in response as the boy held her by the arms. "Good. I'm relieved." He began to let go of her, but before he could fully retract his hands, the young woman managed to slip her hands into his. He arched an eyebrow at her in question as he viewed her act. Naminé simply smiled back at him, tinge painting her delicate cheeks before she opened her lips to speak.
"I…I thought your serenade…I thought your serenade was romantic Roxas," the female blonde stated, struggling to keep her composure around him. Roxas' mouth brightened up as it curved into an upside-down frown, revealing his pearly whites to her.
"Really..? I'm glad. I would've brought my guitar, but…" he looked away from her for a moment, observing the snow fall in the distance before concentrating his attention upon her again, "-it was broken. I'm just glad you liked it," the spiky-blond hesitantly finished. The girl squeezed his hands as she gave him a smile.
"I liked it. I liked it very much," Naminé said, looking him over. She diverted her stare for only a moment, before she fostered up the courage to look back up at him and ask, "Would you like to come inside and have some hot chocolate with me? We could discuss our feelings where it's warm. My parents are out Christmas shopping at the moment, so…it'll just be the two of us," she blushed. Roxas slightly chuckled as he squeezed her hands gently, before happily grinning at her.
"Sure. I'd like that. I'd like that a lot," the boy smiled. Naminé returned his smile.
"Well, let's go then. As beautiful as it is out here, I don't want either of us to catch a cold, you know?" she said as he inclined her head towards her home, the snow still falling around. Roxas nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, I get what you're saying. Let's go." The two then began making their toward Naminé's residence, hand-in-hand, together. And as the snow fell from above, Roxas took a moment to reflect at the moment he was sharing with a person that he held very dear to his heart. He looked at their linked hands, before he stopped walking. "Hey Naminé..?" The flaxen-haired blonde stopped moving so she could fully observe his irises with her own.
"Yes Roxas..?" she asked. All the spiky-blond did was smile at her.
"Merry Christmas."
And before the couple advanced into the house, knowing that they would further enjoy each other's company in the near afternoon, Naminé smiled at the young man who stirred the strings within her heart.
"Merry Christmas to you too."
-Fin-
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I loved how this turned out…even more than its sibling fic, Christmas Concoctions. I was surprised how good and how fast I wrote these lyrics in such a short period of time. Songwriting is generally hard for me…I can understand why it takes so long for music artists to develop a good song…there's so much work involved.
Well, for those of you who are avid readers of me, I'm taking a very brief break from writing for the rest of this week as today is Christmas Eve, and tomorrow is Christmas Day. I apologize again for not getting this out sooner, but I hoped you enjoyed every minute of reading it. I'll get back to writing again next week.
So, until next time I see you all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Peace!!!- Malcolm Yuy