My Best Friend's Cousin
By Rosaline Whedenbrook
"Algesssumnida," The blond said dejectedly into the phone, a silent sigh passing his lips as he rested his feet on his silver-haired friend's lap. The taller male was thoroughly out-of-the-loop. He didn't speak Korean, and he doubted he would ever learn the language.
Stupid Roxas and his stupid Korean cousin. He couldn't even remember the other guy's name after the blond had told him so many times.
". . . Aniyo, Sora-ssi" Roxas continued, annoyed with his cousin after something the other had said. Sora, was it then? He wasn't sure of anything he might have misheard.
". .Aa, aniyo, Sora-ssi. Annyonghi kaseyo." Roxas said, flipping his cell phone shut as he groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose to rid his on-coming headache.
"Korean family getting on your nerves, Rox?" Riku questioned, taking the blonde's phone and opening it, going to his photo-gallery to look at the pictures the blue-eyed blond received and took. He only had one of the Korean cousin he had been talking to just moments before, and it was taken a few years back when the two of them last saw each other during the summer. The two had been fourteen then, and even now you could tell that Roxas - and probably his cousin, too - were completely different.
"Shut up, Riku. You'd complain too if yourcousin was rambling on and on about his day at the festival his town was having. Geez, he sure can talk. He tried speaking in English for me, and he's actually improving." Roxas explained, snatching his phone back from the taller male, glaring his cold glare while Riku sighed dramatically.
"Oh yes, do not ramble at Roxas at midnight because he becomes Mr. Cranky Pants. I get it, I get it." Riku joked, then swore as the blond socked him in the arm. The silveret rubbed his soon-to-be bruised arm, wincing as his hand brushed over it too hard.
"Shove it, Riku," Roxas growled, shutting his phone and tossing it onto the couch on the other side of the coffee table. Riku punched the other back, but not nearly as hard.
"Shove it where, Roxy?" Riku grinned, letting his hand hover over the blonde's crotch. He laughed when the blonde's face turned red from embarrassment.
"If you want to continue wanking off when you can't get laid, then I suggest you remove your hand from that area." Roxas threatened, his threat a sure-fire threat. Riku chuckled, pulling his arm away and putting both hands on the blonde's socked feet.
"Alrighty then, Roxy," Riku said innocently, a big smirk appearing on his face. He decided to change the subject as he was fully aware of the daggers the blond was mentally shanking him with. "So, what did your cousin want near the end? You sounded annoyed or something." Riku questioned, looking to Roxas with curious eyes.
"Oh, he was telling me about how his parents were considering moving to the states. Ya' know, to our state. Kind of next door, ya' know." Roxas grumbled, not at all amused by this predicament.
"Seriously?" Riku said, shocked that Roxas' Korean family wanted to move to the states. "Why?"
"Because Sora says we don't get to see each other enough, and that we should get to spend more time together since we look so much alike. But I talked to Yuna earlier, and she said that the reason their parents suggested it was that Sora was unhappy at his school after his friend Kairi moved." Roxas delved deep into explanation, and Riku was surprised that he remembered his best friend's female cousin's name instead of the one that was suppose to be his twin.
"I thought you liked your cousin? So why the grumpy tone?" Riku asked, remembering that Roxas did enjoy his cousin's company.
"I don't know. Having him here all the time is going to end up being really, really awkward somehow. He always asks me what some things mean after watching American shows, and even over the phone I get so fucking flustered." Riku didn't know if the blond was still blushing from earlier, or from a thought he had had. "So having him here, asking questions in public, is going to be seriously embarrassing and awkward." The blond groaned, covering his face with his hands.
"Don't worry, Rox. I'll be there to help you out." Riku said, patting the blonde's spiky hair in reassurance. He chuckled when he received yet another famous Roxas-Glare.
"Don't count on it. They're only considering the idea. School just let out over there, too, so if they do move it'll be closer to the beginning of the school year here." Riku yawned, tired at the thought of school. He always slept in his classes and yet made the highest grades in their school. He'd be a senior this year while Roxas was a junior.
"Yeah. Don't remind me." Riku grumbled, leaning his head against the back of the couch, silver bangs covering his eyes from view. The blond rolled his eyes, and proceeded to shove his friend off the couch.
"Go sleep on the other damn couch you ho-bag." Roxas grumbled as Riku muttered obscenities under his breath. He stood up and made his way to the other couch, picking up the blonde's discarded phone before plopping down onto the black leather.
"Yay, picture time." Riku whispered to himself as he heard the blonde's even breaths from the other couch. The blond always fell asleep quickly, and Riku never understood how the blue-eyed male did it.
It was mysterious indeed.
"Hn. . ." Riku grumbled, staring at the smiling brunet who resembled his best friend greatly. Of course, there were big differences like Roxas' blond locks and his cousin's chocolate-brown tresses. He could tell from the picture that Sora's eyes were just a lighter shade of blue, though Riku knew most people couldn't tell the difference. Sora also had a slightly darker skin tone, though Riku had no clue as to why.
I wonder what it would be like to meet him. Riku thought, before he closed his aquamarine eyes and promptly passed out, the open photo of Sora open in his hand.
"C'mon, boys! Wakey-wakey!" The loud, feminine voice ordered, causing the two teenagers to groan and fall off their respective couches.
"Ow!" Riku and Roxas yelped in unison, holding different parts of their anatomy which they fell on. Roxas had banged his head on the edge of the coffee table while Riku fell on his ass and nearly on Roxas' phone.
"Oh come on you guys. Don't be such babies," Olette said, pointing a finger at both of them, wagging it in the blonde's face. He growled, and she pulled her hand away before he could bite her defenseless finger.
"Olette," Roxas started, glaring up at his brunette friend. "How the hell did you get into my house?" He questioned, so happy to know the answer.
"Your Mom let me in silly! It's Saturday and you two are still sleeping! It's noon already, get up!" She said cheerfully, giggling when Riku plopped back down onto the floor face down, trying to go back to sleep. Twelve hours wasn't enough for the poor, tired seventeen year-old.
"No way, Mr. Pretty Boy! You're getting up too!" Olette said sternly, grabbing one of Riku's arms and pulling him across the carpet, laughing when the boy started to complain from carpet burns. Riku wriggled free, rubbing his now burning cheek.
"Thanks, 'Lette. You're such a great friend." Riku grumbled, looking to the blond with an Why-are-we-friends-with-this-psycho-again expression. Roxas shrugged, before earning a kick to the shoulder from said psycho.
"Olette!" Roxas said, holding onto his now injured shoulder. "How the hell are we suppose to get up if you keep abusing us?" He asked sarcastically, glaring.
"You crawl, you silly-goose!" Olette answered happily, acting as if she were on fifteen different happy-pills.
"Yeah, yeah. . ." The blond muttered, getting to his feet and sighing, rolling back his shoulder to make sure it wasn't numb yet. Riku got up as well, holding the blonde's discarded phone in his left hand.
"Sorry for almost breaking it, Rox. S'not my fault 'Lette scared the shit out of me." Riku said, handing the blond his phone which was now dead from being open all night.
Roxas didn't glare, for he was too tired to do anything.
"Well, go get dressed and we'll meet you at the Café. See you later guys!" Olette said, waving then hurrying out of the theatre room, closing the door behind her. Both boys groaned, not liking the idea of going outside.
"Might as well do what she says. I don't want to get kicked again." Roxas said, exiting the theatre room with Riku on his heels. They went down to the basement which was now Roxas' very large bedroom. He didn't like living upstairs, so he had begged his parents to renovate the basement. They said yes, of course. What could they deny their only child? Nothing, really.
"I hate waking up on Saturdays. I mean, it's summer! We should be able to sleep in as long as we damn well please." Riku complained, going over to the blonde's bed and going through his bag which held clean clothes. "You want to shower first or should I?" He added, pulling out the necessary clothes he would wear.
"I'll go first. I don't use all the fucking hot water like someone." Roxas growled, pulling clothes out of his dresser and rushing into the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it. He had left his phone on his desk connected to the charger.
"Was that an insult, Roxy?!" Riku shouted through the door, though he knew the blond couldn't hear him now over the running water. The silveret grumbled, walking over to the blonde's desk and sitting in the chair while turning the desktop computer on. Roxas had a laptop, too, but it was hidden from Riku for some odd reason. Plus, he didn't feel like looking for it.
Riku hummed to himself as he watched the computer screen boot up, aquamarine eyes half-lidded. He drummed his fingers on the mahogany desk, watching the computer come to life like magic.
Okay, not really.
"Hm?" Riku questioned, noticing that Roxas' IM system logged him on automatically, and the silveret grinned madly. Maybe someone Roxas' knew that Riku didn't would be on.
Grabbing the mouse, Riku started going down the blonde's friend-list. He didn't have that many. His friend-list included himself(DarknessHost), Olette(SunriseSunset), Hayner(Gonna-Beat-Seifer), Pence(Sea-Salt Ice-Cream!), and a couple of other people that Riku wasn't acquainted with.
He didn't get the chance to look through more as an IM box appeared on the screen. He read what was sent;
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Roxas-ssi? Yoboseyo!
Riku had to guess that it was either Yuna or Sora, since they were the only ones who used the computer(but why were they on at two in the morning?). That's what Roxas had told him, anyway. Riku had always been curious as to why the blond wouldn't let him friend his cousins.
Riku typed in;
SleptNextToAFan says: Um, this is Roxas' friend Riku. Who is this?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Kuraeyo?
SleptNextToAFan says: I can't understand you. I do not speak Korean.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Choron, so sorry! Not used to writing English.
Riku had to admit that the way the other apologized and typed was cute. Riku wasn't use to such shy and apologetic people.
SleptNextToAFan says: It's alright. Is this Yuna or Sora?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: This is Sora. Yuna is sleeping.
SleptNextToAFan says: Okay, Sora. What are you doing awake at two in the morning?
Riku was worried when he didn't get a reply back after a few minutes. He didn't know why, but he was.
SleptNextToAFan says: Sora?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Sorry! I was, eh, looking up what you said. I do not understand.
SleptNextToAFan says: It's okay. I was just curious.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Aa. To answer your question, Riku-ssi, I can not sleep. Too awake.
Riku nodded, before remembering that the other couldn't see him. He blushed, glad no one else was in the room.
SleptNextToAFan says: Why?
Riku was curious.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Too much sugar today. haha!
SleptNextToAFan says: That's funny, Sora. heh.
"Riku! What're you doing?" Riku jumped at hearing Roxas' voice directly behind him. Shit, Riku thought, looking up behind him to see a dripping, angry Roxas. He laughed nervously, before he heard another beep.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Really? Most find it. . . uh. . irritating?
"What're you saying to him?" Roxas asked again, glaring down at the silveret.
"Nothing! We're just chatting! Your computer logs you on automatically and he IM'd you! Jesus, Roxas!" Riku defended himself, telling the complete truth. Before Roxas could respond, Riku was already typing a reply to Sora.
SleptNextToAFan says: I don't, Sora. It's cute. Anyway, Roxy's behind me, so just friend me, okay? I'm DarknessHost. Bye-bye, Sora!
As soon as Riku hit the enter key, he was thrown out of the chair by Roxas.
"Go take your damn shower you ass." Roxas ordered and Riku rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, Rox." He said, grabbing his clothes and walking into the steam-filled bathroom.
"R-i-k-u?" The hyper brunet pronounced the different name slowly, trying to figure out how to say it right. He had already done the deed of adding the other to his friend-list, and couldn't wait to talk to his cousin's friend again. He was even more excited now, happy that he would have friends if his family moved to the states.
"Sora-ssi? Ka-hant'e-cha." Sora turned to the voice of his sister, grinning childishly at Yuna's messy bed hair.
"Ne-ne, Yuna." He said, his voice a whisper as to not wake their sleeping parents. Yuna smiled before returning to her own room, too tired to reinforce her command.
Sora looked back to the IM box he had not yet closed. He blushed, reading over the word 'cute'. How could the other think he was cute if he did not know what he looked like? Was it some type of American thing? Sora was so confused at the prospect.
He blinked, hearing the near-silent beep which meant an in-coming message.
SleptNextToAFan says: Ach'im, Sora-ssi.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Oi, Roxas-ssi.
SleptNextToAFan says: Can we speak English, please?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Sure, Roxas-ssi. Something the matter?
SleptNextToAFan says: Nothing, just annoyed at my friend.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Your friend Riku? He's nice.
Sora blushed at the thought of meeting his cousin's friend. He could barely remember the photo that Roxas had showed him two years ago. He would look through Roxas' photo gallery to see if he had any recent photos.
SleptNextToAFan says: He is sometimes. Not always. What did he say to you, Sora-ssi?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Nothing important. He just questioned why I was not sleeping.
SleptNextToAFan says: Why aren't you sleeping?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Too awake.
SleptNextToAFan says: Aa.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Yes. Roxas-ssi? Does Riku fear you? He seemed rushed when he stopped talking earlier.
SleptNextToAFan says: No, Sora-ssi. He isn't.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: O-kay. Oh- Do you have a photo of Riku?
SleptNextToAFan says: Why?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Curious.
SleptNextToAFan says: I do. Look in my 'End of School' folder. He's the silver-haired one.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Kamsahamnida!
Sora quickly opened a tab to Roxas' photo gallery and was glad that the most recent folder was the one his cousin had suggested. Roxas had a lot of folders. He clicked it and his azure-eyes went wide at the first picture.
It was a near perfectly taken photo of a shirtless male in black and silver swim trunks knee-deep in the water. He had his back turned to the camera, though his head was turned to the camera with an expression of shock.
He must not have suspected it, Sora thought logically. His passed shoulder-length silver locks shined brightly in the bright sunshine and was wafting to the left from the sea breeze. Sora was even more surprised at the color of his eyes - a bright, aquamarine. Sora had never seen that shade of blue-green in his sixteen years of life.
Sora jumped at the unexpected beep from his laptop. He must have been staring very intently at the photo of Roxas' friend.
SleptNextToAFan says: Sora-ssi? You there?
Blue-Eyed Angel says: Ne. Your friend, he's very handsome.
SleptNextToAFan says: Pfft.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: ???
SleptNextToAFan says: Never mind.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: O-kay.
Sora clicked back over to the folder and moved on to the next picture, which was a photo of Riku and Roxas splashing water at each other, both drenching wet. Sora blushed a deep red at the thought of the taller male soaked in water.
Bad, bad thoughts! Sora told himself, holding his burning cheeks. He shook his head, trying to rid his head of the thoughts. He wasn't allowed to think of his cousin's friend that way!
Sora clicked back over to the IM box, seeing the new message.
SleptNextToAFan says: Hey, Riku's out of the shower now so I'll talk to you later, alright? Get some sleep. Love ya'.
Blue-Eyed Angel says: O-kay, Roxas-ssi. Annyonghi kaseyo.
SleptNextToAFan says: Annyonghi kaseyo.
Sora exited out of the box and sighed, running his fingers through his brown locks.
"Riku. . ." The brunet whispered to himself, a small smile finding it's way to his face.
( One Month Later )
"Hey Riku, did you here about the Paopu Festival? It's going on at the end of the summer! We should all go on one last vacation!" Olette suggested, smiling as she stirred her iced tea with a straw. Riku had been drinking his own drink when Olette interrupted his state of mind.
"Why should I drive you all to Destiny Island for a stupid festival? A festival for freaking couples Olette! No one's dating anyone right now, so what would be the point of going?" Riku stated, bored. The brunet huffed, her green eyes glaring at the silveret. Unlike Roxas' glare, it wasn't scary at all.
"That's not the point, Riku," Roxas started, sipping at his own strawberry milkshake. "The point is to bring people together. It's not just for couples, you moron." Roxas explained while Riku rolled his eyes, earning a hit in the head from Olette.
"Right!" Olette piped in.
Riku growled at them, not at all amused.
"I'm outta here. Oh and Roxas- your leg is vibrating." Riku pointed while standing. He walked over to a trashcan and tossed in his cup, while giving a two-fingered salute and walking out the door and into the night.
"Does that mean he isn't taking us?" A quiet blond asked, her large blue eyes wide. Olette smiled a big smile, patting the girls hands with her own.
"Oh he will, don't worry. We still got a month left." Olette said positively.
"Yoboseyo," Roxas said into his phone as the two girls chattered away. Sora had called unexpectedly, which got Roxas' wheels turning. Was something wrong? He didn't normally call before twelve.
"Roxas-ssi! Yoboseyo! We're doing it!" The exited-sounding brunet shouted into the phone, causing the blond to shrink away.
"You're doing what, Sora-ssi?" Roxas questioned after the other male stopped squealing.
"We are moving to the states in a week! It is so exciting!" Sora said happily into the phone, and Roxas could hear Yuna in the background telling him to be quiet. Roxas' eyes bugged out as soon as the statement registered in his mind.
"WHAT?!" Roxas shouted, causing the entire Café to go silent and their eyes focused on the now blushing blond. "Uh, sorry, everyone!" He apologized quickly, standing up and rushing out of the Café with his entire face red. Namine and Olette followed after him worried.
"Roxas-ssi? You o-kay?" Sora asked nervously.
"I'm fine. That's great news, Sora-ssi. I can't wait."
"Hey, um, can you be there when we arrive at the airport? Mother and father aren't really sure of the way."
"'Course." Roxas answered, slowing down to a walk as he reached the park. He could barely see Riku out on the basketball court shooting hoops with who looked to be Hayner and Tidus. He couldn't really tell in the lack of good lighting.
"Roxas! Wait up!" Olette said, tugging on Namine's hand to drag her along.
"Who's that?" Sora asked quietly.
"That's just my friend Olette. You'll meet her when you move. She lives across the street from where you'll be moving." Roxas explained, sitting on a bench to watch his friends. Olette and Namine sat on both sides of the blond, eager to hear more.
"O-kay. Well, I was just so excited that I had to tell you, Roxas-ssi! It'll be so much fun when we get there!" Sora stated happily while Roxas let out a silent sigh.
"Yeah, lots of fun. Oh, Sora-ssi? Could you just call me 'Roxas' when you move? In America, we just call each other by our first names. It's a way of informality." He asked, the two girls on both sides of him giving each other worried glances.
"Oh. Um, sure, Roxas. Yeah, I can do that." The other mumbled dejectedly.
"Please don't take it personally, Sora."
"I won't. Aa, I've got to go now. Yuna is wanting to use the phone." Before Roxas could even tell his cousin goodbye, the brunet had hung up.
"Shit." Roxas growled, mad at himself for making his cousin feel that way. And only a week? Only a week till his cousin moved next door and into his life for who knows how long?
"Roxas?" Namine asked, worried, placing her hand gently on the blonde's shoulder. Namine had moved to Twilight Town a few years ago with her mom. They also moved from Korea and Roxas had been there to show her around. That's the reason why Namine was such a withdrawn girl, but she was so very sweet and kind.
"Nothing's wrong, Nami. My cousin Sora and his family are moving here next week. I'm just worried for them, that's all." He forgot to mention how disappointed his cousin sounded when he told him to stop addressing him as he usually did.
"That's awesome!" Olette exploded, hugging the life out of the blond. "We finally get to meet him! This is so cool!" She went on and on about it while Namine laughed quietly.
"Olette, stop! Geez, you've been so handsy lately." Roxas whined, prying the brunette off of him.
"Well, why wouldn't I? I mean, we get to meet your cousin! We get to meet the other half of your family!" Olette squealed as the three boys who had been playing basketball walked over to see what all the commotion was about.
"And that's a big deal because. . . ?" Roxas said in his dead-panned voice, annoyed and starting to feel a headache approaching.
"What's going on?" Riku asked, his long, silver locks tied up in a screwy pony-tail while his bangs still hid his aquamarine eyes from view. His hair shined in the dim light of the street lamps.
"Roxas' family is moving!" Olette answered for the blond as Roxas groaned. Namine chuckled nervously, patting him on the back.
"You mean Sora and his family?" Riku asked.
"Yeah. . ." Roxas muttered, irritated now. He had been so irritable lately and he had no idea why.
"Nice," Riku said in a sarcastic tone, sitting on Namine's right. "When're they coming?"
"In a week." Roxas started, "I have to pick them up next Saturday. Oh man," Roxas heaved, hiding his face in his hands.
"Roxas?" Namine whispered, leaving her hand on the other blonde's shoulder.
"Hey dude, you okay?" Hayner asked, kneeling in front of his friend with a look of worry.
"Yeah, you don't look so hot." Tidus added, sitting next to Olette on the now-crowded bench.
"I'll be fine. It's just, having them here is going to take some time to get use to. Shit," Roxas moaned, his stomach starting to eat away at him.
"Roxas? Are you hurt?" Olette asked, her green eyes filled with concern. The blond took one look into them and he turned pale, abruptly standing up and knocking hayner over, while running into the woods as they heard sounds of vomiting echoing from the shadowed forest. Riku immediately rushed to his best friend's side, trying to see if he could help.
The others watched in horror at what was happening.
What was wrong with their friend?
Dictionary -
Algesssumnida - I understand.
Aniyo - No
Annyonghi Kaseyo - Goodbye
-ssi - a Suffix added to family or friends.
Yoboseyo! - Hello ( Over Phone/Internet )
Kuraeyo - Really?
Choron - Huh ( I think, I can't remember. )
Ka-hant'e-cha - Roughly 'Go to sleep'.
Ach'im - Good morning
Oi - Hey
Kamsahamnida - Thank you!
Well, thank you for reviewing! I would greatly appreciate it if you would tell me what you thought. Oh - and if any of you are fluent in Korean, please tell me if I make a mistake. I'm not fluent yet, and I got these from a book.
Kamsahamnida!