ThisDreamland:

Corny Moment

By Emalyzah

One-shot

Hey, there! It's Emalyzah from This Dreamland.

Just wanted to say that I re-did Corny Moment. In this one, I included a reason why the OC loved Riku and maybe why Riku didn't love her back. Also why Roxas' likes her.

So, hope you like it.

Many thanks to Rikufanttic and everyone else who reviewed/read the original. Now prepare yourselves for more corny-ness!

"Will you go out with me?"

Just like that. With a snap of the fingers. Straight to the point. No hesitation.

Frozen with shock, Mar could not believe her rather big ears. Eyes widened with surprise and mouth slightly open, she blinked at the blond-haired boy staring straight at her in the eye.

It was Saturday and Sora, Riku, and Kairi had invited Namine and her to the beach for a day of just surfing and relaxing under the sun.

Almost nervously, a flushed Roxas had come up to Mab and asked if they could take a walk along the shore because he had to tell her something important. Cheerfully, she had accepted, thinking it was something to do with their training.

Mar had no idea Roxas would ask her out. Who in their right mind would—?

She blushed in embarrassment. I mean, nothing's wrong with Roxas or anything! It's just that...! Closing her mouth, Mar lowered her gaze to the sandy ground in shame of herself. It's just that... Who would want to go out with a plain, broken doll...?

...He's too good for me...

Critically, she pulled on her orange tank top with tears pricking her eyes. Mar eyed her aging sandals she bought for three euros. Her turtle bracelets she collected every time she went to the open-air market, her thin jean Capri's she got for her birthday two years ago, and her plain nails she never cared for...

She looked at everything...

Instinctively, Mar fingered the tattoo behind her neck where the Black Witch's needle had cut her flesh to make the symbol of the Heartless.

...I've never even had a pedicure or a manicure before!

She then remembered all those years, all those days she loved Riku and looked after him when he couldn't even fend for himself. He thanked her alright, but he never once realized her love for him. Sure, he empathized with her but never took her love seriously even after all those times she was there. Just for him...

She and Riku had met when Mar's home world was destroyed by the Heartless and, instead of landing in Traverse Town, she'd found herself in Hollow Bastion under the control of Maleficent. The travel through the dark portals had shifted and she had ended there near death.

Almost as if expected, Mar had fallen deeply in love with Riku who, out of habit, visited her room at night and they'd sneak out together and have their fun in deep space under the stars. That had been her first time in an actual gummi ship and the starry sights astounded her.

She was his haven from the rest of the world, he had said. And her love for him grew and grew...

But Riku wouldn't smile at her like he would to his memories of 'Kairi'. All he cared about was reviving that Kairi-girl who looked like a shitty doll sitting in the corner of the room staring off into space like some retard in a white room.

Time passed and Riku became distant. Then Sora came. He defeated Riku who was under the influence of Ansem. After that, when Riku was lost, Sora freed her from the Black Witch's control but her heart would always be tainted by the darkness.

Not to mention all the experiments they'd done to her. As to leave their mark on their 'piece of work,' Mar had the Heartless symbol tattooed behind her neck with #26 in the very middle.

God, I'm so... I-I'm so ugly!

Before she even knew it, Mar had broken down, sobbing her eyes out. Never had she expressed her pain and misery like this. In front of anyone for that matter. That would make Roxas the first...

Sniffing, Mar felt a pair of lean arms wrap around her shoulders and gently pull her into an embrace. Sobbing all over again, she accepted the hug and wrapped her own scrawny arms around Roxas' waist.

Roxas felt like an idiot. He frowned at the mere thought and pouted at the ocean scenery over Mar's shoulder.

Yeah, a downright moron, the ocean seemed to say as a wave crashed back down.

He perfectly knew Mab loved Riku and not him. Yet he gathered the guts to ask her out. And this was his oh-great result!

And there he was holding her, trying his absolute best to console her after being the friggin' cause to her woes. If either of Sora or Riku heard them, he'd be skinned and eaten in their plates full of spicy tamales.

His eyes scanned the sandy ground back and forth in deep thought in search of a remedy for her sadness. He sighed in defeat and pressed his cheek against her trembling mob of black hair.

Making a face of grim desperation at the ground, he now felt stupid and worthless and pathetic and all these other things just because he can't make the girl he has the hots for stop crying. He knew he had the strength and power to take on an army of Heartless and Nobodies but he couldn't even comfort a girl.

This was probably the biggest challenge for Roxas yet as he groaned inwardly.

"God, Mar, I'm really sorry...," Roxas started rather lamely. "I didn't think you'd actually cry..."

Realization punching him square in the face, he frowned at the sound of what he just said.

"I, um, no, I didn't mean—!" Roxas pushed her away and firmly planted his hands on her bony shoulders, worriedly looking at Mar's tear-streaked face.

Mar only stared blankly back at him, having no clue what he was rambling on about. She sniffed innocently as tears continued falling although she gave up sobbing loudly a while ago.

She appeared so frail and vulnerable right there in front of him as Roxas sent her an empathetic look.

Biting his lower lip, Roxas glanced at the sand underneath him and then looked at her desperately, attempting to see what was wrong.

After knowing Mar for a while, he had found out she tended to keep things in like resentment and rage, even her pain.

"I didn't mean it like that...," he whispered finally. "I..." He let his arms fall limply to his sides as he stared at the ground actually feeling self-conscience. "I've always thought of you as strong in all ways... I guess that's why I fell in love with you..." He blushed and looked away. "I mean, you could stand your ground but you were sweet at the same time even when everything was wrong."

Roxas' flashed her a forced smile. "I thought you'd explode on me and smack me stupid and go confess your love for Riku like some love-struck kid."

The corners of Mar's soft, red lips twitched at that. Noticing, Roxas received a ray of hope and chuckled along with her almost-invisible smile.

"...cute..."

Although barely audible, Roxas knew he heard something flow from her lips. He gave her a blank look with a raised eyebrow.

Forcing herself to look at him in the eye, Mar repeated what she had just said with a lopsided grin, "You're cute, Roxas." And, smiling shyly, she hurriedly brushed her dry tears away by using the back of her hand in attempt to hide her blush.

In response, Roxas said nothing but blushed furiously, actually feeling the blood rising to his cheeks. Wanting to appear as if he wasn't bothered by it, he drawled rather stupidly, "Sooo... Are you okay now?"

Glancing to the lower left, Mar's smile faltered a bit but was raised again and she nodded in his direction. Roxas frowned at her hesitation and she looked away grimly.

"Mar..." He dared himself to take a step closer and took her hand in his. "If you don't want to, you don't have to go out with me. I'm not making you." A line of red appeared on his cheeks but he frowned in hope it'd fade away quickly. "Yeah, I like you. But I'm okay if you don't like me back."

Shutting her eyes tight, Mar snatched her hand out of his grasp and shook her head vigorously in objection, waving her hands wildly in front of her. "No, no, no! It's not you! I cried because...!"

Roxas frowned at her quietly. "Why, then?"

Mar, teary-eyed, fingered her turtle bracelets and bit her lower lip nervously. "Because, who would want to go out with a girl like me?" She looked at him, expecting him to yell "Punk'd!" or something but was instead greeted by an expression of surprise.

It started out with a snigger, then a chuckle which, in turn, formed into a loud, booming laugh. All from Roxas mouth.

Mar eyed him as if he sprouted and extra head. He fell backwards on his butt and asked in-between laughs, "I-Is—" Snigger. "—that—"Chuckle. "—it?!" Laughter.

Agitatedly, she yelled, "I'm serious, Roxas!"

Roxas paused from his giggly hysterics on the sand and looked at her blankly.

Mar glared down at him in response. "Look at me!" Roxas looked at her up and down but found nothing wrong with her appearance. "Don't be stupid, Roxas!" He noticed she was getting teary again.

Pointing to her face, Mar began a flaw-list for him, "Look at my chubby cheeks, my huge eyes. I hardly have any curves and I've got big, narrow feet which I'm always tripping people with!" Dramatically, she pointed at her feet which really were long and narrow.

"And my fingers are long and thin and they look like those of a skeleton. And I just got a zit this morning inside my freakin' ear!"

Roxas forced himself not to laugh but only a snigger escaped through his nose which thankfully Mar didn't notice.

She was too busy with her rambling on why she wasn't perfect. Counting off the examples with her fingers, she continued, "In Destiny Islands' Teen Magazine, they prove that most guys like pale-skinned girls. Look at me, Roxas; I'm as dark as charcoal!"

Holding up a finger to silence her which she did with a pout, Roxas stated simply with a smile, "No, Mar. Your skin is as rich as a cup of hot mocha in the morning!"

Flushing even more, Mar took off one of her sandals and angrily threw at him which hit him right on the forehead. He had forgotten she disliked being flattered...

"Ow! Alright, I'm sorry!" he said, cowering while massaging his wounded forehead as he wept like a child. He sighed and let himself fall on his back like a rag-doll yet he couldn't tear himself away from Mar's voice.

The blue cloudless sky seemed to smile at Roxas and encourage him to shut her up somehow...

But, Mar haughtily continued anyway, "And, besides! Did you notice my ears? They are huuuge! I have no idea what my parents were thinking when they were making me. I look like a monkey. Have you noticed my skinny wrists and ankles? And did you see my thick thighs? And my mutated knees?! And—"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Mar!" Roxas yelled exasperatedly, cutting her off. Frowning determinedly, he sat up cross-legged and ran a hand through his cow-lick that was supposedly his hair. "Even if you do have a lot of mistakes, I like you just the way you are, 'kay?"

A line of bright crimson glowed on Mar's tan cheeks. She looked at him, surprised by his outburst. Almost pained, she silently knelt down in front of him and swept a few locks of hair from his face and stared into his deep blue depths.

"If there's nothing wrong with me, Roxas," Mar began in a low whisper, "then there's something definitely wrong with you..."

Roxas narrowed his eyes at her and she could see a vein throbbing in his temple. "Okay, that's an insult right there!" He stood up as Mar stepped away to give him room.

Her dark metallic brown orbs were full of worry and fear while his were mixed of a fierce motivation and maybe a hidden speck of a soft side.

Looking down at the sand with a soft smile, Mar murmured as Roxas struggled to hear, "I'm sorry. It's just that I feel as if I'm worthless and that I don't deserve that special somebody just for me."

Roxas' eyes widened at this. "What makes you think that?"

Mar sadly shrugged a shoulder in answer. "I 'dunno. It seemed like the only thing I was good at was hand-to-hand combat and nobody ever said anything appreciative. Besides that, do you even know what I am, Roxas?"

Roxas cocked an eyebrow in question. "What are you then?" he retorted.

"I'm a broken doll, Roxas," Mar whispered, staring at the sand underneath her sandals, "The Black Witch experimented on me so many times I've lost count. That's all I was, a guinea pig. And then Riku came. He..." Mar sobbed quietly and looked up at the cloudy sky desperately. "He made me happy! Riku was everything I wanted and nothing I didn't want. He helped me resist the pain, Roxas. What more could I ask for? Then..."

She sniffed and looked at the understanding face of Roxas. "He started becoming distant because of that stupid Ansem," she spat out Xehanort's Heartless as if it was the filthiest thing in the world. Roxas approached her and wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders.

Mar accepted the embrace and continued, "He disappeared and I looked and looked for him. But I..." Roxas felt her sob into his shoulder but he just kissed the top of her head and held her closer. "I was so scared. Then, Riku found me and he looked so different, so... different. But I followed him and supported him and fought with him and cared for him... He kissed my forehead when I was sad and wrapped a blanket around me when I was cold..."

She sadly pushed Roxas away who opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but she held up a hand to silence him. After a moment of snuffing, she returned to counting her tale, "Then before I knew it, Xemnas was defeated and he took me to his home here." Mar looked at him with her red, puffy eyes. "I told him I loved him but..."

Looking away, Roxas held up a hand and murmured, "You don't have to keep going. I think I know what happens..."

Mar glanced gratefully at him then whispered into the tense air, "Overtime, I just gave up trying to impress Riku..."

"But... I don't care about any of that, Mar!" Roxas suddenly exclaimed. Flushed with a determined frown, he intertwined his fingers with hers and squeezed it reassuringly. He looked at her straight in the eye. "I don't care if I'm a Nobody or if you're a broken doll. Will you go out with me?" Roxas persisted immediately.

He wasn't about to give up his girl to Riku. Roxas was jealous of the silver-haired heartthrob enough already since he had already gotten Mar's admiration before.

Chuckling, Mar smirked playfully and after rubbing her dry tear away, she answered teasingly, "We'll see how long you'll last, Roxas-pooh."

Laughing hard, Roxas taunted back, "What kind of name was that, pumpkin pie?"

The two teens laughed in unison while their hands were still linked together. Their laughter died out after a while as they stood there in a comfortable silence.

A moment passed when Roxas asked out of nowhere, "So is that a yes?"

"Yup."

...Silence. Roxas glanced at her and saw her pretty brown eyes gazing off into the distance with a small and sweet smile on her face. He blushed brightly and, gathering his guts, he began to lean in.

Mar noticed and started to panic. Soon, she could feel his hot breath mingling with hers and it tickled her skin. In seconds, his soft lips were pressed against hers.

His eyes were closed as he enjoyed tasting Mar's candy-sweet lips. Roxas felt her hands slip from his fingers as they touched his neck and run through his hair. Almost instinctively, his own hands went to her waist and pulled her closer with the result of their bodies even more heated.

After minutes of just pure bliss, they separated for air. Roxas was beet-red and faced the wall with an excited and flustered expression plastered on his face. Mar had a slight blush on her cheeks and felt her sweetly purple lips. It was a new experience for both of them.

"Roxas?"

"Hm?" He craned his neck in her direction and eyed her patiently.

"Thanks." With that, Mar walked up to him and planted a quick kiss near Roxas' lips. And she looked up at the sky to watch the clouds and seagulls with a smug expression.

Roxas colored pretty quickly but sighed dreamily and leaned against the wall with Mar near him. He promised himself he would never let her go, ever again.

This means it's now 14 to 29 with Riku still on the lead. He cursed to himself.

"Do you think Riku will get real jealous if I kiss you in public in school but like in front of him and we'll do an awesome French kiss and—?!"

"ROXAS!!!"

"Okay, how about we do the sexy grope-y thingy with our hands and legs and—?!"

"ROXAS!!!"

THE END

You like?