A/N: Hey guys. Long time no see, hm?
I just updated my profile to leave you all a note... but if you're not gonna look at it anytime soon, I'll be on indefinite hiatus. School, you know? Definitely important. Anyway, you can read more there. Feel free to PM me if you need anything.
As a parting gift, I wrote this today just for you. I do hope you enjoy it -- I'm pretty pleased with it. A bit bittersweet, I'll warn you.
Thanks for taking the time to read, and hope to be writing again soon.
Disclaimer: KH & characters do not belong to me.
On days like this, he remembers her.
Especially today.
He remembered sitting on the beach with the two of them – her and Axel – silently watching the reds and oranges and yellows of the sunset melt into each other and disappear beneath the horizon. The light was blindingly bright, the breeze tossing her short, dark hair just enough so that he could smell the shampoo she used in the morning – something sweet – mixed with the fresh smell of the ocean…
The three of us. Best of friends. Forever.
Today, though, he wasn't here with her.
Today was different. Today, there was only the two of them, and they sat in the sand, fingers loosely intertwined. Her hair was long and blonde and soft. She filled the air with her voice, talking about things she wanted to see one day – the Emperor's palace in the Land of the Dragons, the Dalmatian puppies in Traverse Town, the underwater symphony Demyx kept babbling about. He nodded, staring at the waves that crashed against the shore, mumbling about maybe taking a trip someday… maybe her birthday? Did nobodies even have birthdays?
"…and maybe the Cave of Wonders, I'd like to draw that one day… are you listening? Roxas?"
He blinks and looks up at her. She smiles that ever-so-patient smile. He shouldn't be thinking about this. It's their special day together. This only happens once in a while, when he can sneak her out of the castle and bring her somewhere far away from that dreadfully silent place.
"Sorry," he says, forcing a small smile. He pulls her closer to him, an arm wrapped around her shoulder. "Just thinking about something, that's all. Go on?"
She doesn't. She bites her lip and stares out at the water. The sun is slowly starting to sink below the horizon. In the back of her mind, she wishes she had her pastels so that she could draw it.
He fidgets a little in the sudden silence, despite his attempts to remain composed. She's starting to figure it out – what he's been thinking about for the past twenty minutes while she spilled her dreams of travelling to him. She's starting to realize that –
"Today's the day she… died… isn't it?"
He pauses, then nods slowly. Yes.
A year ago today is the day she fought him. The day she faded away, right there in his arms…
"Roxas…?"
He is snaps back to reality, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning sadly.
"Sorry, sorry… I can't help but remember it," he apologizes, avoiding her eyes.
Both of them had – have – those eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes, just the right shade that matches the deepest part of the ocean.
But he never makes the mistake of seeing them as the same person.
One he loved.
One he is in love with.
He gets up, pulling her with him, and starts to walk out to the pier.
"Let's finish watching our sunset, hm?" he says over his shoulder, a smile on his face. This time, she can see it's a more genuine happy than before. She nods and continues to hold onto his hand as they cross the rickety old boards of the walkway, gripping it tighter when she steps on a particularly loose one.
When they reach the end, he sits down and lets his legs dangle over the water, the waves touching the bottoms of his shoes. She lowers herself beside him, placing her sandals behind her and leaning on his shoulder.
"She's still with you, you know," she murmurs, eyes closing. "She's here, in your heart." Her hand comes up to cover his chest.
Her hair brushes against his neck.
She smells like ocean and something sweet and clean… almost like…
It is here that he realizes he lost a best friend exactly a year ago.
Here, he realizes that he met the girl of his dreams a year ago.
Here, he's sitting with that girl a year later, hands intertwined, the sun disappearing below the water. Time is theirs.
"You're here too, you know," he says, chuckling. He closes his free hand over hers, both of them feeling his heartbeat.
The sun sets in five… four… three… two…
"Forever," he murmurs to her.
To them.
…one.
Thanks again.
'Til next time,
jiv3y
05.12.10