An Unforgettable Date Part 1
[Destiny Islands]
"Calm down, Roxas," Sora casually placed his arms behind his head and gave his usual grin. "I'm sure your date with Naminé will go fine. What's the worst that can happen?"
"Sora," Roxas gave a worried expression," What if she thinks thedate is just mediocre? That's not what I want to happen."
The ocean waves hit the sand once more. Roxas' eyes stared beyond the neverending waves of the ocean. The gentle breeze blew his hair, making it flow in the air.. His senses heightened as a chill ran through his spine. Brrr, this breeze isn't helping me think. Why did I come here? Am I nervous? No. Well, maybe a little nervous. Just a lil'.
"Well, what do you want to happen?" Sora asked. "None of us except you have kept in contact with her— you know her the best." Sora scratched his head, feeling a little guilty. . "But that's a different problem, so we'll deal with that one later."
Roxas let out a sigh of frustration. "I want our first date to be something more than just okay. I want to make her happy with this date. I want this first date to be… you know…" His brain scrambled for the right word. "Unforgettable. The good kind of unforgettable."
"There's a bad kind?"
"Yeah. The bad kind where things go so bad she'll never want to talk to me again. Sora, I want her to enjoy this date. I really do."
"If you want her to enjoy herself, just be yourself," Sora advised." You asked Naminé in person as Roxas, so you should date her being Roxas."
The Ex-Nobody stopped moving. His ears heard exactly what Sora said. He continued to pace back and forth in a frantic manner, ruffling his hair anxiously. The warm sun and the cool winds failed to ease Roxas' worries.
Heh, never knew my heart could be like this. It was fast when I asked her out, but going to meet her… Agh, I'm tense as it is. What if she's not there?! Roxas began taking slow deep breaths. Calm down…
"I've never seen you so excited about something," Sora commented with his trademark grin. "That's one of the perks of having a heart: Falling in love."
Roxas turned and scowled. "Not helping." He returned to his pacing. His shoes went past the soft sand, leaving its marks once more.
He could hear Sora throwing a rock against the ocean waves, skipping across the vast blue waters. It sunk after the 6th skip. Where would the rock go now? Wherever the ocean's water could carry it. What would the rock see? Who knows? He had other things to consider.
"How far did you plan into this date?" Sora raised his brow in concern. "You do have a plan, right?"
Roxas quickly grabbed a light blue bag, which looked like there was a small box in it.
"What's that Roxas?" Sora asked.
"...just something I made for Namine."
"Neat, but do you have a plan?"
"Of course I do; why wouldn't I have a plan? Matter of fact, this box is IMPORTANT to the plan." Roxas looked slightly offended. "I want to show her Twilight Town. The town I call...home. Naminé lives there too but at the mansion."
He sighed. "With all she's been through— Yen Sid's training, studying magic, and dealing with high school— she finally has time to hang out." He brought out a fresh crumbled letter, "She told me recently that she's explored the world for about the 1000th time. I have one place I bet she's never seen!"
"Why so confident in that one spot?"
"Call it intuition." Taking a deep breath, Roxas stretched his hand, summoning a Corridor of Darkness. "Besides, I don't want her to regret it if she just has an okay time with me."
"Leaving already?" Sora pouted. "I bet she can wait just ONE more minute."
"Yeah, I don't want to be late." he gave a deadpan expression, "I wouldn't want her waiting for me forever." Roxas entered the darkness, leaving the comfortable place known as Destiny Islands. He gave Sora one last look. "Thanks."
"No problem, Roxas." Sora gave one last wave. "If everything works out, we can try double-dating. I bet Kairi would love seeing your progress."
"That's if she's ever free." he retorted. "A princess is usually busy ruling her subjects."
"Low-blow." Sora pouted, "Don't worry, we'll figure something out. Maybe a party." he pondered. A moment later his eyes shined with an epiphany.
"Hey, what about a reunion!? It'll help everyone reconnect with her." He grinned once more. "It's been a really long time since anyone's seen her, I bet everyone would love to see her again!"
"I've been exchanging letters after the Xehanort business, I'm sure she'd like that." he put the letter back, "Her letters sometime talk about you guys."
"So old-fashioned. Heartphones make communication way easier."
"Whatever." he chuckled, entering the darkness. "See you soon."
"Good luck."
…
Traversing through the Darkness always helped him feel better. Alone and traveling to different worlds became second nature to him. His time as a Nobody helped him control the darkness rather well, and being a wielder of the Keyblade made things easier for him to battle any heartless that tried to take his newfound heart. Despite the light within him, the darkness always felt the same as it ever did.
Eventually the darkness led him to one of his most fondest worlds, Twilight Town, one of the few places where he felt he could live a normal life like a normal teen. Being special had its perks along with its downfalls.
As a wielder of the legendary weapon known as the Keyblade, Roxas could go on adventures and battle new foes to seek thrills whenever King Mickey called him. However, one of the downfalls was that King Mickey always needed him to take on new foes, meaning he needed to train practically every day to stay strong. All the training paid off when Heartless attacked occasionally, too.
Even after defeating Xehanort, the Heartless never left, and darkness itself is still around. Really shows how light and darkness needs one another to survive.
If he could ignore the past for just today, Roxas could be a normal teen and go on a normal date a girl who was anything but normal.
"Finally." Roxas gave a breath of relief. "I'm almost there, Naminé."
...
[Enter Twilight Town — Side Street]
Roxas exited the darkness and stepped into the sun warmed-concrete. The place still had the same fresh air as always. He looked around him— everything was the same as it was the last time he saw it, too.
This is Twilight Town. He gave a satisfied smile, taking in another breathe of fresh air. It's been too long since I've been here.
Closeby he noticed a familiar open gate. The Usual Spot. He murmured with nostalgia. He let himself in and saw the place filled with furniture, board games, old photos and no one inside. A place had so many memories was now empty. He recalled the time Hayner and him spent hours getting the couch past the gate, or the time when Pence finally defeated him in a game of checkers, and the time Olette taught Roxas how to take photos.
"Hayner! Pence! Olette!" He let his voice echo through the small area. He gave a slightly unhappy sigh."Guess Hayner and the others' are somewhere else. Maybe I'll see them next time," Roxas reprioritized. "I need to find Naminé. We agreed to meet at the Market Plaza. I better not keep her waiting."
Roxas breezed through the Sandlot and made his way straight to the Market Plaza. He scanned the area, looking for her. Where is she?
He noticed another familiar face not too far away. His name is Seifer, a jerk with big muscles and a black beanie. He was currently butting heads with another familiar friend. Between the two was a girl, who seemed a little uncomfortable at the growing argument. Roxas made his way. It can't be!
"Hayner, don't get in my way— this is meant to be." Seifer cracked his knuckles. "This is fate. It's meant to be!"
"No way knucklehead! I'm betting fate has other things in store for you. Besides, you heard her— she's waiting for her Special Friend." Hayner glared, "We both know what that means. But if you don't, it means she has a boyfriend. Just leave her alone. You're better than this." he paused, "Or are you even lower than that?"
"Her friend might not even show," Seifer raised his well-built arms with a shrug, "so don't get in my way." Seifer turned his attention to the blonde beauty. "Now, where were we?"
He placed his arm on her shoulder. She brushed him off, as her sky blue eyes recognized her spiky lover in the distance. Her previous anxious frown transformed into a blissful smile, "Roxas!"
"R-Roxas?" Hayner repeated, a smile forming. "W-where?"
"Ruck-ass?" Seifer bit his tongue with disapproval. "Seriously, of all people, why him? First the Struggle Tournament now in this?" he practically face-palmed.
The young beauty left the two rowdy boys to themselves. Their attention followed. She practically pounced onto Roxas like a young cat pouncing onto a chew toy. Roxas would've have fallen, but thanks to all the training, he was able to withstand Naminé's intense tackle. Naminé's hugs were always strong, almost always knocking him off his feet, but he wouldn't have it any other way, since he always enjoyed them. After breaking the hug, Roxas looked at Naminé more closely; she looked absolutely stunning. Their eyes locked as his lips formed a joyful smile. For a moment, he was lost in her eyes, a vast blue sky. His heart fluttered. Say something! Something clever! Or dorky, she likes that too…
"At least one of us got stronger since last time." Roxas quipped, giving room for the both of them to breathe. "Did I keep you waiting Naminé?" His attention was only on her.
"A little bit. Those guys started arguing about me, though." Naminé gave a small pout. "I kept telling them I was waiting for you."
"Err, sorry. Traveling from Destiny Islands to here took a while," Roxas apologized. "So, are you ready for today?"
"If it's with you," she gave a heart-warming smile, "I'll always be more than happy and ready for anything."
They proceeded to walk towards the bright future.
"Good luck, Roxas!" Cheered his old friend, waving goodbye ecstatically.
From the distance, he gave Hayner a smile and a thumbs-up. He really is a good friend. For Seifer— Roxas stuck his tongue out and walked away with Naminé holding his hand. The two began their date in Twilight Town.