Disclaimer! I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of the research in this story. In fact, any "research", unless mentioned otherwise, is just made up.
There are two types of people in this world; those who keep secrets and those who don't.
We paint this contorted picture that those who don't keep secrets are untrustworthy bastards and deserve whatever comes there way. But did you know that research shows that those who don't keep secrets have lower stress levels and have an easier time asking for help when they need it? You see, these people rely on others as their support system, and therefore tell in hopes of getting some sort of help with the load the secret is causing them.
But those who don't tell secrets… The trustworthy few that we tell everything to… They also have to deal with the load of the universe on their shoulders…
It starts to take a toll on the person.
Sometimes, it's too much for them.
They decide to take matters into their own hands to stop from suffocating underneath all the pressure.
And you end up in this God-forsaken place.
"Dr. Zimmerman… Your first patient is ready to see you."
I stood up from my chair outside the room and straightened out my lab coat, nodding to the nurse that I'd be in there soon. She nodded back and returned to the room to keep an eye on the patient. The starched and pressed material of the lab coat felt coarse and heavy, as if dragging me down. I slowly made my way over to the door took a deep breath before making my way into the room.
"Miss De Luca?" I asked, walking into the room and closing the door behind me, the heaviness of the coat increasing what felt like tenfold. My eyes watered at the light reflected off the pure white room, the smell of sterilizer stinging my nose. There was no answer from the patient as she continued to sit in a little white chair overlooking the green scenery outside of her window.
"Miss De Luca?" I offered again. "I'm Dr. Zimmerman, I'd like to ask you some questions?" She remained unresponsive, continuing to simply watch the happenings on the other side of the glass. For the longest time, the only sound was the dripping of the IV connected to her arm that was situated next to her chair, one of the only pieces of furniture in the room besides her bed and a side table, despite being one of the larger rooms in the hospital. I gave a pleading glance to the nurse, who'd been standing by the door the entire time. She was a young woman, but the stress of the work here had visibly taken a toll on her. Her tired, but determined eyes left mine and focused on the patient. Taking legato strides, she made her way to the side of the chair opposite the IV.
"It is imperative that you talk to Dr. Zimmerman, Miss De Luca," she said, putting a hand on the patient's shoulder. "Can you do that for me, ma'am?" The patient remained unresponsive, continuing to stare out the window. The nurse sighed, giving me a defeated look as she walked back over to me.
"You take a break," I said to her in a low voice.
"Are you sure?" She whispered back. "What if something happens?"
"Then I'll page you. You need a break. Go get some coffee or something," I said with a small smile to reassure her. The nurse smiled back half-heartedly and nodded, taking extra precaution to close the door quietly. I walked over to the patient and stood next to her, looking out the window just as she did.
"I don't know about your previous doctors," I said, still looking out the window, "but I like to get to know my patients. It makes me seem like less of a bad guy and more like a friend, which ultimately I hope to be." I turned to her and smiled. She continued to say nothing, still staring out the window. Despite being next to her, I wasn't able to see her face due to the curtain of blonde hair that fell to her shoulders; the color of gold that had lost all its prior luster.
"Could you tell me your name? Perhaps your favorite food? Or maybe even just how are you?" I asked, hoping for something, anything. The dripping of her IV continued to be my only answer. I needed her to talk. I needed her to see that I was only here to help her. To try and save her.
"Would you mind if I told you about myself, then?" I asked. Still no answer from the lifeless girl.
"I'll take that as an 'okay'… Well, here it goes," I said, trying to come up with something I could talk with her about that would possibly pique her interest or at least make me seem less alien. "My name is Roxas Zimmerman. I'm twenty-nine years old. I have a younger sister named Rikku. She'll be a high school junior this year." I was met with the deafening silence again.
"You don't have to talk if you don't want to," I said, trying to keep the conversation—or monologue, rather—going. "I know what it's like to want to keep everything to yourself. You can't betray your own secrets to others, but the minute you let something slip to someone else, it just goes to hell. You start to wonder who you can trust and who you can't… And there's really only one person you can truly trust not to tell your secrets, and that's yourself." I turned and looked at her. "But there are people in this world that want to help you deal with your secrets. You don't have to tell them anything, all you have to do is let them in."
I wasn't sure if she was listening to anything I had said that day. But all I know is that the next day, there was another chair situated next to hers when I came in.
"I see you're slowly redecorating," I mused with a smile. "Is this seat taken?" She still didn't say anything, her eyes set on their usual focal point. I took that as a silent okay and sat down next to her, looking at her as I did.
"So, how are you, Miss De Luca?" I asked with a smile. "I'm quite alright myself. It's a beautiful day today, wouldn't you think? It is my sincere hope that one day, you'll be able to go out there and experience it instead of just watching." She continued her taciturn ways, not making an effort to speak or even look at me.
But the chair was a start.
The next day, I sat down without hesitation.
"Hello, Miss De Luca! I hope you don't mind that I've kept going on and on about absolutely nothing for the past couple days," I said, straightening my lab coat. "I'd just like to try and get to know you, but I'm not going to force you to talk, and I can't really ask questions… As that would require answers… I completely forgot what I was talking about," I said, rubbing the back of my neck with a nervous laugh.
"You're very unprofessional," came her small voice. It wasn't mocking, nor was it joking; it was simply there, as if she was stating a fact of some sort.
"Does it make me seem more human and less like a robot that works here?" I said with a laugh. I got no answer.
She'd talked, though. That was all that mattered.
I'd broken the first barrier.
A/N: Hello there, lovelies! This is the newest thing I'm working on, so let's give it a shot, yeah? I'm not going to lie, it's going to be on topics that are difficult for some people, myself included. But I wanted to get something out there, and these plot!bunnies wouldn't leave me alone until I started a chappie of this. Here's to hoping that I get something a little more light-hearted out there soon!
Your best friend with benefits,
- Roxie ;]
P.S. Could you guys who've actually made it this far comment about which pairing you'd rather see? I'm stuck between Naminé x Roxas and Naminé x Sora. The first pairing would make the angst level of this story sky rocket beyond proportion, but then give us a happy ending while the second one would make for just a happy ending (albeit, clichéd as well xP). Anyway, reviews make me smile and write faster, so if you like what you see... Go read stuff from Axel'sWaterBaby. Because she is awesome like that. (Shameless plus FTW!)
Good day, my lovely harem~~