Hi everyone! Sorry for those of you who are looking forward to the end of my A New World story, but I needed a small quick piece to help get back into writing again. School drained me of every desire to write anything, and it's taken almost a month for me to even get back into it. Anyway, I hope you all like this one! Let me know by leaving reviews! :)
Kingdom Hearts and related characters belong to Square Enix Holdings, Co., Ltd. and the Walt Disney Co.
"Sora! Are you ready? We've got to go meet the girls!" Roxas calls out to his Somebody in the other room.
"Hold on! I told you five minutes!"
"It's been ten!" Roxas laughs.
"Ugh...be right out!" Sora steps out of his room while straightening his shirt. "Okay, I'm ready. Happy?" Roxas smiles at him and then heads for the door.
Namine steps to answer the door with her feet barely making a sound in the quiet and cool knows that it's Roxas there, and even she's having trouble holding in her excitement over this date. Even after two years, that first date stays clear in her mind. The way he smiled, the way he laughed, the way he acted. She loves every moment she gets with him. She pulls open the door letting the lingering summer's warmth into the chilled hall.
"Hello Roxas." She smiles, "And hello Sora." She doesn't mind that Roxas' Somebody is here, but he always seems to be there. Granted he and Kairi were the ones that set up her and Roxas' first date, but sometimes...well sometimes she wishes that it could just be the two of them.
"Hi Namine! Is Kairi over yet?" Sora looks over the top of her, which isn't too difficult.
"She's down the hall in the bathroom." She opens the door wider so Sora can walk past her, which he does. She moves in closer to Roxas and lets him kiss her.
"Hey Nami!" Happy Anniversary!" She watches as Roxas comes in and shuts the door. He holds out a small, white, wrapped, blue-ribboned package. None of the corners actually match up, and the paper is a little wrinkled, but that doesn't matter too much. As long as he tried. She takes a hold of a ribbon loop and tugs. She looks up at Roxas before peeling away the tape. As it opens, she feel a twinge in her stomach. She can already tell what it is, a sketchbook, another sketchbook. She always gets sketchbooks, and this one isn't even very nice...or even new. The pages look ruffled. The cover's bent a little...
"Oh...Roxas, it's...I love it! Thank you Roxas!" She wraps her arms around him. It's the thought that counts. He opens his mouth as if he's about to say something.
"Okay guys, are you ready to go to dinner?!" Sora runs up to them with Kairi just behind. Roxas closes his mouth and smiles.
"Sure are!" Roxas offers his hand to her. She lays her fingers into his. This dinner will be a better gift anyway. They look to each other, he with a grin and her with soft smile. They look to their matching pair before walking out toward the restaurant.
The sun has just started to dip below the buildings of Twilight Falls in the distance when they get to the restaurant. It's the one they went to that first time more than two years ago now. It's on the balcony of one of the smaller towers on the outskirts of the Town, so they can see down to the big buildings of the Falls and to the water near the beach. The wind flows past them every so often, but its softness is something Namine enjoys. She looks across the round table to Roxas. He's looking down for the most part. He'll look at her, give a half smile and then back down. He's not as talkative. He only answers her questions with a single word. When Sora says something, he laughs and jokes, but when Namine looks to his eyes, he just smiles and looks away. He doesn't really say anything either.
Roxas twirls his forks around the ravioli on his plate. After what happened, he doesn't feel very hungry. He was really hoping she'd like it. He thought he'd picked the perfect gift for her. He knows she didn't like. He could tell from her reaction. He still smiles at her. He can hear Sora's jokes, but none of them feel as funny as he knows they should be. Maybe later will be better. After all, they're going to get to be alone for a while. Sora and Kairi agreed to stay in the living room. And he didn't think that Tobi and Van were going to be back tonight. That meant he'd get some time to try and explain to her. He lifts his head and sees her smile before he takes the first bite of his meal.
Sora opens the door to the empty, nearly-noiseless apartment. The gentle brush of the shifting air waves Namine's hair while making the tips of Roxas' wiggle. She lets the vague smell of dirty clothes and fresh lavender weave through her nose. She never would understand who four people that were so different could live so close together. But that didn't matter. Now she would really get time to enjoy that little bite of time alone with Roxas. Still, he hasn't really even looked at her since dinner.
"Goodnight guys." Kairi waves at them as they slip into the bedroom. Namine lets her fingers gently brush across the top of the sketchbook he gave her tonight as she enters the room with Roxas just behind. He closes the door while she stands to look out the window. She sets the book out in front of the window's dimming light. The sun is now almost completely set. Roxas plops down on the bed with a sound somewhere between a grunt, a sigh and a yawn. Namine turns from the window and takes her customary spot on Roxas' knee. Roxas looks to her and then to the floor.
"Roxas? What's wrong?" She places her hand on his face to try and get him to look at her. Eventually, his resistance caves and he looks right at her.
"Nothing. It's fine. It's our anniversary! How could it not be fine?" He smiles, but she can see the wobble in the sides. She can see the struggle in his eyes.
"Because you're upset. You were so happy earlier. We were so happy earlier. What's wrong?"
"It's just..." His mouth stays open as if he expects the words to fall out on their own.
"What? Roxas, it's okay. What's wrong?" She leans her head into his chest.
"You didn't like my gift. I thought it was something you'd love." He lets his head rest slightly on hers.
"I loved it Roxas because it came from you. But - but I do get sketchbooks a lot. I - I guess I was hoping for something...different from you." She looks to his eyes. They suddenly have a little glimmer that they hadn't before.
"You never opened it did you?" He snickers at her. She raises an eyebrow to him before turning to the weathered sketchbook sitting in the last drop of sunlight. She stands and picks it up from the sill.
"No...I didn't...I didn't know I was..." she opens the book and realizes what he meant. "Supposed to..." She flips through the first few pages. Each one is filled. Each one has drawings of him and her from their special moments. The time they were on the clock tower. The time he fell from the tree trying to impress her. The time they watched the sun set on the Islands. Each moment in a perfectly captured detail. He words stop at her mouth as she continues flipping through the pages. There was the time that he and Sora had the race to the papou tree. A few tears began to collect in her eyes. The drawings were so beautiful. Their dark black lines carrying her memories back to her. Each one caressing something, someone, that was so dear to her. "Roxas...it's...it's perfect. I...uh...thank you so much Roxas...it's so perfect. I'm so sorry that I made you upset earlier. I love it. I really love it." She wraps her arms around him and kisses him. "Thank you Roxas!"
"Check the last pages." His smile has never seemed more real to her, so vibrant, so Roxas before. She does what he asked and the last pages are blank...well almost...the left side one has something written on it. She turns the book on its side so she can read it. Here's for the memories that we're going to make. Love you Nami. She stares at the little note for just a moment before feeling the tears come back and the knot finally leaving her stomach. "I love you Namine." She looks at the book and at him. She can only manage a nod before she hugs him tighter than ever before.
"You're the best, Roxas. Never change." With her head hidden she lets the tears fall and shares the best few moments with him that the past few years have had to offer.
Hope you liked it! :)