A/N: It seems that I am on another Kingdom Hearts kick.
…Forgive me and all of my random drabbles. :'D
"Naminé?" she calls out, not expecting an answer. The blonde can't always answer her, but the ruby-haired girl tries talking to her anyway. It calms her to know that even though Naminé isn't always able to respond, at least she can listen. "I hope you're not asleep. I want to tell you something."
Miraculously, the mousy little artist appears. She is faint, more like a transparent mirage than a being of any sort, but she is here and that is all the redhead cares about.
She smiles at her Nobody with a gentle, toothless grin and draws her knees up to her chest. "You're here," she says happily, her voice soft. "You're almost never here anymore."
"I'm sorry, Kairi," Naminé apologizes, but she doesn't need to. Kairi understands. "What did you want to tell me?"
She takes a seat beside Kairi on the small twin bed, and blinks her big indigo eyes at her Other. Kairi glances away. She licks her palely pink lips and attempts to gather her words, since she hadn't expected Naminé to actually show up. Now she isn't so sure of herself. "Well," she says, a good enough beginning as any, "I actually want to ask you something first."
"Sure," Naminé says sweetly. She nods once, her hair bangs brushing across her lashes and falling even more neatly over her shoulder. Kairi pretends not to have noticed the fluid, beautiful action. "Ask me anything you like. I'll try to help you in any way I can."
Kairi twists her fingers in and out of nearly painful positions. She feels embarrassed, although she knows that she shouldn't; Naminé is an understanding soul, and will accept just about anything one of the Princesses of Heart has to say. But this doesn't aid Kairi in this moment.
"Naminé," she begins again as she returns her gaze to her Nobody, "You seem to know a lot more about hearts and stuff than I do. So, um, I was wondering: what sort of relationship is a Somebody supposed to have with their Nobody?"
For a brief moment, Naminé's lips flatten and her brows meet. But soon the frown is wiped away and she is putting a thoughtful finger to her bottom lip. "Technically," she says in her musical voice, "There isn't supposed to be a relationship at all. Nobodies aren't meant to exist, and if they do happen to come into being, they should never be able to meet their Somebodies, nor remember them very much. It's a little complicated, with Roxas and I; we're somehow different, much like the members of the Organization. Like Xemnas; he could remember being Xehanort, Ansem's apprentice. I don't know what makes our cases special, but that's how it is." She shrugs minutely, as if she isn't satisfied with her won answer but feels the need to share it anyhow.
Kairi takes in this information and processes it for a moment. Then, quietly, she wonders, "Then… there is no norm for a relationship between the two?"
Naminé nods. "I suppose there isn't." She offers a half-smile. "Why? What's on your mind, Kairi?"
But Kairi is silent. Her eyes are darting back and forth, her pupils not focusing on one singular thing for very long. She closes her eyes for a moment, and then speaks with an emotion Naminé has never heard in Kairi's tone prior.
"I used to know so much about myself, Naminé. I thought I knew everything there was to know about who I am and where I belong. But lately I haven't been sure."
There is a short pause, and the artist patiently waits for her Other to continue.
"I feel like I belong here on Destiny Islands, but I was originally from Radiant Garden and I can also use the Keyblade, so it makes me wonder if I shouldn't be out there in the other worlds battling Heartless. I used to think I was fine just the way I was, but then you came along and suddenly I feel like I need you in order to be complete. I used to think that I loved Sora, and it's still true, but now I realize it's more in the brotherly, closest friend sense than anything else. The same goes for Riku." She shakes her head a tad mournfully. Her tone grows weary, as if she is tired of arguing with and confusing herself. "So now I'm left wondering how I feel and where – or what – I'm supposed to be. The boundaries are thinning, Naminé. And I'm not sure if they should be crossed or not."
Finished with her little ramble, Kairi places her chin in her hand and watches for Naminé's reaction.
The blond doesn't disappoint her. She smiles at Kairi, her eyes sparkling. "It's all right, Kairi," she tells her, "I understand. And you shouldn't worry so much; things happen for a reason. Lines blur because they were going to anyhow, so don't even stop to think twice about stepping past them."
Her hand reaches out for Kairi's hand, and when they touch, Naminé's skin reminds Kairi of something cool and tangible without being entirely solid, as if the blond is composed of condensed air or structured water vapor.
Without hesitation, Kairi draws Naminé to her and wraps her arms around the Nobody's thin, airy form. She shuts her eyes and exhales deeply; a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Naminé," she mutters, because she needed the reassurance. She needed to know that the artist felt the same.
The blond giggles under her breath the way she does and returns the gesture with measured tenderness. "You're meant to be here, Kairi. And I'm meant to be here for you. So please don't be confused any longer."
"I'm not," Kairi replies with a smile, her lids still shut. They peek open for a second to study the white of Naminé's dress on her slim back. She lets her fingers wander along Naminé's spine. "Except it isn't fair. I wish you where here more. More often. More solid. How come you where before, and now you aren't?"
"I'm not sure why," Naminé responds with a hint of regret in her tone, as if she could have stopped the whole transition from ever occurring. "But I promise you that I will find a way to fix it, Kairi. I was able to semi-exist without you before, and I know I can again, if only for you. I'm different, and I know it's for a reason."
"I don't care about the reason," Kairi retorts in a mumble as she grips her Nobody tighter. "I just want you with me more, Naminé. I need you around. You're the only person –"
"Non-person," Naminé corrects sadly. Kairi gives her a squeeze in response before letting go to look her in the face.
"No," Kairi says with conviction, "Don't say that. You're a person to me, and I don't want to hear otherwise. Nobodies like you have half a heart, I'm sure of it. So don't say things like that."
Naminé nods silently, her eyes wide. "Okay, Kairi."
"That's better," Kairi grins amusedly. She taps Naminé on the tip of her nose. "Now, let me finish: you're the only person who I feel like fully understands everything about me, since you're part of me. I think that, really, the only person who can love you unconditionally is yourself. And who better to fulfill that than your other-self?" She says this as if it is the simplest thing in the world.
"That sounds a little…" Naminé whispers, unsure whether or not to finish her statement.
"I know, I know," Kairi sighs, "It sounds totally abnormal and self-centered and outlandish. But I don't care! Who needs to know? Who does it affect? No one except you and me. So there's no problem, right? You said yourself that the blurring lines are allowed to me moved past, which is exactly what I intend to do. And you promised me…"
"I was only worried that you were afraid of what others would think, Kairi. That's all," Naminé replies shyly. She glances down at her hands and twists her intertwined fingers together. Kairi reaches over and pries her pale fingers apart.
"…To be honest, Nami, I was only saying that to support my decision. I do care a little bit about what others might say if they knew. I'm sorry that I directed that outburst at you." She sighs shamefully. "I feel guilty sometimes for loving you. I feel like it's wrong."
"It's not wrong," Naminé is quick to tell the ruby-haired girl. "For people like us, it's natural. Please don't worry all the time. You worry too much."
"I know! And I hate it!" Kairi scowls. "I worried when Sora and Riku left. I worried when Riku got shut behind the Door. I was worrying the entire time Sora was gone, and waiting for him to return with Riku in tow. I worried and worried and worried, and I still worry, and it bothers me. But half of the time, when I can talk to you or when I feel you near, I don't worry as much. And that's one of the reasons why I need you around more, and one of the reasons why I love you: you calm me down. You bring peace and light with you, Naminé; a Nobody or not, you're full of light."
"That's because you're full of light, Kairi," Naminé smiles amiably. And soon she is leaning in, and the next thing Kairi knows there is a fluttering rising in her stomach and a cool, light pressure on her cheek as she closes her eyes. "And remember: even if we have an abnormal relationship, it's all our own."