Crimson and Clover

An Important Note to the Readers: The following are fifty mini-drabbles for the Mashed Potatoes universe covering random events that occur before, during and after 'Mashed Potatoes and Family Reunions' and 'Lengthy Drives and Stupid People'. Just half-plotted ideas and such – and they are in order of occurrence (although some may be flashbacks). That said, it should also be known that this contains a boatload of spoilers for the upcoming sequel thingamajig. Do not read if (a) You haven't read MP&FR or LD&SP, (b) You don't want to spoil the sequel, (c) You are easily confused, or (d) You hate drabble-type things and can't be bothered reading fifty of them.

Warnings: Spoilers (they start at number 8), character death, slash and epic confusion fest ahoy.

1. Meal
There was only one occasion during large gatherings like these that Roxas genuinely liked, and that was the inevitable banquet whereby he and his sister would always sit side-by-side without fail and eat together. The only time he figured he didn't enjoy a family reunion dinner was that one night where there was nothing but piles upon piles of pizza and bland mashed potatoes. That had been at Sora's house. Roxas clearly remembered that occasion with vivid recollection.

2. Sweet
There was always something in her wide, sparkling blue eyes that made Roxas sorely want to grip her tightly by the shoulders, tell her it's okay, and take her invisible tears and brilliantly-concealed anguish away and obliterate them simultaneously, because really, he didn't like to see her smiling like that. It always made his heart want to shatter.

3. Glass
Riku Mesna would always, always manage to see through her false smiles and placid façades as though her porcelain face were made of thin, fragile glass. But he knew that no matter how many times he'd try, he would never be able to get through to her so long as he remained stubbornly distant and disconnected with her beloved twin brother.

4. Traffic
Leon was perfectly capable of chalking up six demerit points in one sitting at the wheel of a car. But that's nothing if you compare his driving with Cloud's. It was a fact: Naminé got carsick every single time Cloud took the wheel. Especially when she sat in the back. She used to throw up every single time her older brother drove her and Roxas to school when they were young.

5. Freestyle
The amazing thing was, Uncle Luxord was never late for anything. Ever. He was never early either. He was always on time – on the dot. And Roxas had often wondered whether the man's ability to transcend time had followed him into the afterlife. Of course, Roxas would always then dismiss the belief soon after because it was quite obvious that his luck at dice and card games hadn't quite stuck with him in the slightest.

6. Silence
She didn't like the way Riku always shied away from her twin brother. She knew it wasn't out of hate nor contempt. No, far from that. Perhaps, she mused, it was due to something like shame. And the possibility that he just wanted to leave Roxas alone in fear of causing bad memories and tension to resurface once more.

7. Chances
Roxas didn't like to leave things for fate and destiny to decide. Chances were you'd probably start out on the losing side from the very beginning. And really, the blond knew everything about starting out on the losing side. It had happened to him more times than he really cared to count. If there was anything he's learned in the past, it was that fate and destiny always held hands, smiled cunningly and lied to your face.

8. Concern
The woman had been insanely curious at first when she spied the young girl on the ground one day in Riku's back yard, crying over sheets of scribbled-on paper. But then the girl moved away to Destiny Town, and Larxene decided that she couldn't care less where Naminé went and why she had broken down in tears that day.

9. Green
He was undeniably tense and uneasy when he first met the tall, scrawny redhead during his first day at school. The redhead was, after all, two years his senior. But he had such beautiful green eyes and such a charming smirk that Sora couldn't help but find himself drawn to him like a moth to a flame. It was like there was a faint, not-really-there-but-there imprint in his heart that told him there was some sort of indistinguishable bond between them.

10. Cancelled
The movie outing was called off because of the harsh storm. So, the four of them – Sora, Riku, Kairi and Axel – decided to go to the nearby gaming arcade instead. That was when Roxas Strife called to speak to his cousin to confirm the two-week trip to Twilight City. Sora then proceeded to pass the phone around to the others like a hot potato. Riku was less than amused and Axel was unmistakably delighted.

11. Paper
Without a doubt, Zexion Rëdaer had something in common with Naminé Strife. Together, they had worked hard and put pen (and oil pastels) to paper to bring to life a beautiful but tragic story, retold in flamboyant words and vibrant colour. But that was where their similarities ended and their differences began, for their intention to let Demyx N. Aeco know the truth had clearly differed from the start.

12. Hurt
If it weren't for Demyx, Roxas would never have found out what Naminé had been keeping from him all along. And when he had found out that the person whom he'd trusted for all his life had been keeping deep secrets from him about Riku and Zexion for so damn long, he wasn't happy. He wasn't happy at all. And for the first time in his life ever, he had felt like hitting her.

13. Absurd
Sora found it so incredibly ridiculous when Naminé, Roxas, Riku and this fellow named Zexion tried to explain to him that Disney characters were real and that he had traipsed the universe with a duck and a dog as his sidekicks before he was even born. It made him wonder if he'd done any other nonsensically wacky things that he couldn't remember. But he was pretty sure nothing would ever beat the fact that he had defeated bad guys and saved multiple worlds with a giant key.

14. Unperturbed
The redhead first had hot, aggressive sex with Roxas at Sora's awesome party thing. But for some odd reason, when he finally learnt the truth in dribs and drabs, he wasn't the least surprised when he was told that he'd had hot, aggressive sex with the blond many, many times before in a previous lifetime.

15. Admit
It took more than seventeen years before the innocent and oblivious ones were told the story. Even then, Roxas knew from the start that they would never be able to fully comprehend the enormity of what had happened in the past. But he was fine with that. They didn't need to know, really. Because right now, everything was in its right place. And he was content.

16. Metal
He had been reluctant to attempt to summon his keyblades for the past seventeen years of his life because he didn't want to be reliant on them, nor did he want them to be a burden. But when the day came where he met Zexion through Demyx and he'd finally found out what Riku knew, he decided that maybe he could give it a try. And so, in front of half a dozen pairs of eyes, he summoned both Oathkeeper and Oblivion for the first time ever. As the blades sang to life in his trembling hands, he felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. At last.

17. Music
He was utterly thrilled and amazed when his long-time crush, Zexion Rëdaer, had told him that he was indeed musically inclined in a life before this one and that he used to play a blue sitar with much flair and enthusiasm. But he was openly perplexed as to what music had to do with the element of water. Zexion only shook his head and smiled at the former Melodious Nocturne's mystified expression.

18. Water
The first time he'd conjured up a geyser of water, he had thrown both Sora and Roxas into a wall. Zexion had found it extremely amusing. But Demyx was still unable to wrap his head around the fact that he had once been able to conjure water clones. Zexion assured him that he would be able to do it again one day. It was just a matter of time and practice.

19. Golden
He had made many a comparison with Twilight Town and Twilight City. The biggest difference he could come up with was that Twilight Town was his town, and Twilight City was Sora's city. But it didn't really matter whose was whose because they were both pretty much bathed in golden twilight for most of the day.

20. Counting
Demyx had meticulously counted down the days to Christmas in his head, because he knew that the family reunion this year would be awesome. Why wouldn't it be? It was going to be held at the Lexa's place. And they always, always threw the best parties. Of course, he would have to ask Kai's and Reno's parents if they'd let him bring over his electric guitar this time around. But surely they wouldn't say no. Right?

21. Wound
It wasn't fair. That idiot Zexion really didn't have to completely ruin his chances of teaching that fucking asshole a lesson, much less rub salt into his wounds. Honestly, Roxas was feeling peevish enough as it was, especially with Demyx and Naminé looking at him like that. He should have just run the bastard through with his keyblade before the stupid lexicon-wielder had the chance to step in.

22. Lies
Saïx didn't know what was happening to him and effectively believed that he was going insane. Memories that surely weren't his kept overcrowding his mind and causing him to behave so erratically that he hated it. And so he turned dangerous and started wielding a knife, threatening members of the Mesna residence and demanding some answers.

23. Hostage
Kairi Lexa didn't expect to be taken by force so brutally by the madman with the blue hair and weird cross-shaped scar just a day after Christmas. Then again, she didn't expect to be rescued by a handful of weapon-wielding cousins either. And wait, was that a giant key? Oh dear. This was turning out to be one bizarre winter vacation.

24. Desperation
Riku didn't want Sora involved in the fight because he didn't want him to get hurt. So when Roxas took charge of the situation and told everyone save himself, Riku and Zexion – the only ones fully capable of using their weapons and magic effectively – to get the fuck out of there, he was glad. That way, Demyx, Kairi, Naminé, Axel and Sora would be safe.

25. Keys
When his former Other had mindlessly conjured Ultima Weapon out of all keyblades without even knowing really how the hell he did it and rushed in to attempt to take Saïx down like a senseless fool, Roxas was curious as to whether his cousin had some kind of death wish. But later on, Roxas would come to realise that he would have done the very same if he were to witness his loved ones getting hurt.

26. Race
Maybe it was weakness – she was feeling nauseating compassion for the pitiable group of friends and decided to help them. Or maybe it was pride and self-importance – she wanted to show all of them that she could handle the silly beast effortlessly even though he used to be five ranks her senior. Whatever it was, Larxene knew she had to act fast or one of them could die at the hands of the violent, half-crazed man.

27. Hate
Larxene M. Luxia hated the whole lot of them with a passion, and she would never admit that she secretly found them endearing – even if she was forced to come clean. But her actions spoke louder than words when she pinned Saïx to the wall with her kunai and effectively saved Roxas, Riku and Zexion from any further harm.

28. Dramatic
Axel had very much wanted to punch Riku after the moron had spoken out of line, causing Roxas to flinch visibly at what he had said and leave the circle to escape into the garden. Zexion had clucked his tongue reproachfully at his tactlessness and Naminé had only pursed her lips, saddened. It was then that Riku realised his mistake and hung his head in shame.

29. Jealousy
Axel had been jealous of them when he found out that he knew close to nothing when it came to his previous life as a Nobody. But as soon as he found out how much Roxas was hurting on the inside because the boy was always dwelling on those memories, Axel declared that he wanted nothing to do with his previous life and told Roxas that all he wanted now was to build a new one with the blond by his side.

30. Presently
And then one day, Demyx had walked up to Zexion and hugged him as tight as possible and told him that he was pretty damn certain that even when he'd been a heartless Nobody person (or whatever), he had always always always loved Zexion. And Zexion had smiled and given Demyx an awkward pat on the head and said nothing to rebuke the taller man this time around.

31. Cry
Zexion first found Demyx at the time when they were both employed to work at a café on the very same day. Zexion had stared at Demyx for a full minute before excusing himself from the kitchen and locking himself in the bathroom for half an hour. He came out fine and with a faint smile on his face. He didn't know that Demyx had seen the dry tears. And although Demyx didn't understand and wanted to know what was wrong, he didn't bring the issue up.

32. Sleep
Larxene never remembered a day whereby her dreams wouldn't be plagued by nightmares of her torturing young children. And whilst she never used to care, she was being increasingly miserable and remorseful for some of the things she'd done way back in a lifetime that she knew she couldn't repent for.

33. Burnt
As they moved as one in the darkness, Roxas could make out Axel's blazing green eyes looking down at him carefully, watching every expression that played across his face. This time, they weren't hooded with lust. They were overflowing with love and adoration.

34. Courage
After days of contemplation, Sora finally decides to ask Riku if they could take their relationship further. He tells his silver-haired relative that yes, he understands that they are second cousins and that they are both of the male gender. But, Sora reasons deductively, surely having a relationship with each other wouldn't be as strange as travelling the worlds with a freaking duck and dog and giant-ass key. Right?

35. Alcohol
Roxas knew that once Christmas was over and the school term started again, he would have to leave Twilight City and return to Destiny Town. New Year's would be at the Strife household. And that plan worked fine for him. But for now, he just wanted to kick back and relax with his (metaphorically) new-found group of companions with a beer in hand and just drink the night away. He couldn't remember a time when he had been this happy in his life.

36. Faded
Kairi seemed to be the only one who was not truly in their elite party. But Sora wanted to keep it that way. 'She doesn't have to know', he told the others. Naminé and Riku weren't happy with the decision to keep Kairi in the dark. But Sora had retaliated, saying 'what she doesn't know can't hurt her'. Roxas couldn't care less. If his cousin had a personal problem with Kairi, it was really none of his business.

37. Pale
There was one night where the still air was filled with nothing but Axel's husky voice and Roxas' soft, breathy moans. They had shared steamy kisses and made sweet, sweet love to each other under the white sheets of the redhead's single bed. And it was then that Roxas truly realised that having a heart was worth everything.

38. Afterwards
After being told time and again of broken tales from the past, the former Melodious Nocturne had often wondered what life had been like in the legendary 'Organization XIII'. He supposed that it couldn't have been that bad, surely? Being ruled over by a heart-moon-crazed psychopath who adored zebra prints couldn't possibly be as awful as what Zexion or Roxas had recounted.

39. Drowning
Axel didn't understand why Roxas couldn't just live in Twilight City with them. After all, more than half his relatives lived here, including Sora. When he'd whispered into the blond's ears on his last night to please stay here with me, Roxas had only smiled and given him a light peck on the cheek, before continuing to stuff his dirty laundry into his bag.

40. Brusque
As soon as Roxas had loaded up the car and had said goodbye to his relatives and thanked Sora and his family for having him and Naminé stay over during the winter break, Axel had come up to him, tilted his chin up and given him the longest kiss of his life. In front of everyone. And Roxas didn't care that Mr and Mrs Leonhart were watching. He had kissed back fervently and passionately.

41 Elsewhere
When Naminé moved away to study abroad at a prestigious art school, she crossed paths with a former enemy. Worse yet, she crossed paths with a former enemy who knew everything about the events at Castle Oblivion. Even so, that didn't prevent Naminé Strife from being best friends with Marluxia G.A. Rewolf. She just didn't quite like it that he was constantly at loggerheads with Vexen Winters. But she figured she could live with that minor problem.

42. Selection
Marluxia thought he'd seen many pretty things in his lifetime. But in all truthfulness, he had never appreciated nor realised just how pretty she was. That was until he found himself suddenly yearning for the day that he could feel her lips on his. Unfortunately, he knew that he could never bring himself to force Naminé into something she didn't want. Too much had gone on between them in the past that he wasn't sure that they could become anything more than just friends.

43. Home
When Naminé returned after her four years of being overseas for so long, they threw her a huge party.

44. Thirteen
When she was thirteen, she arrived at Kairi's Halloween party dressed in all white and declared herself the 'Nobody Princess'. Everybody had found it cute and somewhat comical. Roxas didn't understand what his sister was trying to do back then. Only Riku knew that she certainly wasn't trying to amuse people with her short, paper-white dress and her ridiculous alias. It wasn't a Halloween costume. It was an identity that would always haunt her in one way or another – not that she ever did want to forget about it.

45. Blood
Demyx wasn't aware of his bleeding lip. All he was aware of was that Zexion was kissing it better and that Zexion's fingers were trailing down his bare torso and wandering down towards his faded, unbuttoned jeans.

46. Scream
When his sister finally let out her last, aching breath without saying goodbye, screams tore from Roxas' throat. He had shrieked and screeched and yelled, and then tore his way through the crowd and attempted to kill the person responsible for his sister's death. It was Demyx who had to stop him from beating the man to a bloody pulp, and it was Axel who finally managed to calm him down enough to carry him away from the horrific scene.

47. Respect
Riku had always admired the strength and unnecessary audacity that Naminé used to always exhibit. The young girl had always shown him how capable she was in keeping everything in with a small, painful smile. But today, as he stood in the crowd and discreetly glanced over at Roxas whilst they lowered Naminé's coffin into the freshly-dug earth, he finally realised that her silent twin had the same propensity to be just as tough and courageous as he fought bravely to hold back tears of grief.

48. Search
When Larxene had found out about the girl's death, she had gone to Sora's house one afternoon and personally sought Roxas out. And for about an hour, they just sat in the empty bedroom and cried in each others' embrace. Roxas didn't know what Larxene had lost when Naminé had died, but he knew she had definitely lost something akin to what he had. And so Twelve and Thirteen mourned for someone who was now gone forever.

49. Forecast
He wasn't sure why he felt that way, but even after Naminé's passing, Zexion could still smell the stench of death in the air. And he hoped to God that no one was going to take his Demyx away.

50. Departure
When the redhead woke up with Naminé's soft, melodious voice ringing in his ears, clear as crystalline quartz, and was suddenly aware of the bright white light shining into his green eyes, he knew then just how cruel and unfair life could be.

Author's Note: I may have confused the hell out of a lot of people.

And I have this thing for drabbles. This time, they were not entirely random! What an achievement! :D No idea if I'll have the time to write this into a fic at all though. I guess it depends on my mood, my schedule and, well, responses from the readers. Bzuh. First thing's first though; Your Daily Caffeine Fix is my top priority. :)