The Roommate and Company
Written by Whimsical Symphony
Summary: Unemployed university graduate, Naminé, wants to try testing out her job prospects in the city, Radiant Garden. Her cousin, Kairi, suggests a place for her to live, the only (daunting) issue being that she'd be sharing it with her ex-boyfriend, Riku.
So, I've already written about 9 chapters of this story. First chapter might confuse people a bit, well, the ending at least with Riku's nosebleed, but it'll make sense in the future. This is a romance story, but it's also a friendship story, and is filled with loads of crappy humour. As such, many other characters like Vanitas play a large role; they're all interesting enough so you won't need to skim past anything. Kairi and Sora will only show up for a part in this chapter, and then will be mentioned until later chapters where they'll play a larger role. It'll have some dark moments in it, as a lot of the characters have stuff to deal with which is less than funny.
This is a test run to see the reaction to the story before I decide to post any more, since I'm pretty unsure about it. My humour may not even be funny, for all I know. Naminé has some sassy inner monologuing even if she's shy and easily flustered, and hopefully that makes her amusing enough. She was really funny to write. And uh… this story has loads of sexual innuendo for jokes. I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, don't kill me! That's why I'm putting it under the M tag mostly. It has some inappropriate themes in it.
So… uh, I'm slightly scared to hear what you guys think, but lay it on me anyway! Don't be concerned on my part! I really do love criticism too, and I love to hear anything you might have to say about it. If you want to rip it apart go ahead!
I'm not certain how long this story's going to be and release dates will probably vary since it's a secondary story I'm working on, but I do intend to finish this eventually. I think it's way better than my other Namiku's so I actually intend to.
Chapter I – The Friendly Ex
Naminé didn't know why she'd agreed to Kairi's offer at all, other than the fact that her desperation rose to new levels and she needed a place to live. Now, she stood nervously at an unknown man's doorstep because her cousin set her up. Oh, she heard stories about the man behind the door, but she never actually talked to him. And suddenly, she'd become his potential roommate. Naminé skipped about a billion steps in any normal relationship.
"My friend, Riku. He'd be glad to have you. He's super nice, you won't have to worry about a thing," Kairi told her with a wide grin.
"Riku?" The name sounded awful familiar to her. Then, it clicked. "That Riku?" she exclaimed, eyes wide.
See, while Naminé never lived in the same town as Kairi before, they talked quite a bit. Kairi had always been the popular one, going to this party and that, and socializing with more people on a daily basis than Naminé knew in total. Kairi had two close friends though; one was Sora, her cheerful friend who soon became her boyfriend (which Naminé lamented still, since she liked him quite a bit even if she only saw him occasionally), and Riku, the friend she dated before yet still managed to remain close with.
So, Kairi apparently sent her to live with her ex. She remembered hearing about arguments they'd had, when Kairi wanted to vent. Additionally, she heard all the dreamy gushing that came with having a crush, even before they started dating.
No matter how someone sick with infatuation looked at the one they grew infatuated with, they only saw someone perfect. That flawless someone sculpted by clay and brought to life by a prodigy like Auguste Rodin.
"Naminé, you don't understand. He's like Adonis or something. Never thought a guy could be so good looking, and a gentleman to boot! He's so kind and understanding," Kairi told her with a blush on her cheeks.
Well, it didn't last, obviously. Either they didn't understand each other because they didn't look well enough, like if they looked at a book's cover instead of reading it, or something else happened.
Naminé never heard the details and didn't want to burden her already weary mind by listening to someone else's issues. They broke it off, and eventually Kairi hooked up with Sora – a low blow for Riku who was best friends with him. Naminé sighed, and picked herself up like she always did, since a wallflower like her had to be durable at least, and dealt with it even though she liked Sora a lot, was sick with her own infatuation for him.
She never heard about the kind and understanding, good-looking, princely Riku again until after she graduated from Traverse Town U. with a degree in Fine Arts and couldn't find a job.
Naminé dreamed a little too much, never took the most rational route to a good life, was a complete space cadet, and her parents always told her so. She thought that it'd all work out eventually. It didn't. After drinking herself half to death at the local bar (and acting like an idiot by blubbering and spilling her problems to the irritated bartender) and wallowing in self-pity for months, she decided to move to Radiant Garden for more job prospects.
Kairi's town, much to the dismay of her doting family, and wayward, loving brother, Zack who wanted her safe and sound at home.
Hopefully there, Naminé would find more friends too instead of remaining such a hopeless introvert. Thought she could move in with Kairi, she did, but Kairi already lived with Sora. Naminé wanted to exhaust all other options before choosing to live with a really lovey-dovey couple who kissed and hugged and called each other nauseatingly sweet nicknames.
Kairi suggested Riku, her ex and friend, who Naminé'd never seen before to live with. "He'd be happy to have you, Nams. I'll let him know. His place is really nice too."
"Um… okay…" Naminé agreed reluctantly. "If you're sure he won't mind."
Really, she knew she didn't have much of a choice, but she didn't know how she'd manage living with a guy let alone someone who used to date Kairi. Naminé never associated with many people and the few she did, were female… and didn't date Kairi.
Naminé wanted to talk more to people. She really did, but she grew incredibly anxious and always did something stupid she beat herself up over later.
So, now, after ringing Riku's doorbell after buzzing herself into the outrageously fancy building (dear God, it had a piano player playing jazz in the lobby), she shuffled her feet on the floor. She hoped she wouldn't do something to make her potential roommate hate her.
The door opened, Naminé held her breath and clutched her handbag tightly until she could feel the tension in her fingers.
Before she even saw his face, she blurted it all out, "I'm Naminé Fair, Kairi's cousin. I hope I'm not intruding!"
She heard the deep chuckle before the man said, "Alright, that answers my question. Chill out, Kairi told me you'd be coming."
"Thank you very much!" Naminé squeaked, still looking at the carpeted floors of the hallway.
Really, she found herself too nervous to look up, after everything she heard about Riku too. Naminé had no desire to look Adonis in the eye.
"I would like to see the face of my potential roommate. If it's not too much trouble," he said, amused.
He sounded pleasant enough, with a voice made of chocolate – sweet and smooth. But he could've been greasy. Maybe Kairi was so infatuated, she chose to look past his golden tooth filling and extra four-hundred pounds of excess body fat, and a terrible body odor that men working up a sweat at the gym would be ashamed of.
Naminé swallowed once, uncomfortably, and raised her head reluctantly, only to conclude then that Kairi hadn't been lying at all. He neither had a golden tooth, or an extra four-hundred pounds on a tummy fat surpassing a muffin top.
The man in front of her indeed matched the definition of 'drop-dead gorgeous'- lean muscles, piercing aquamarine eyes, silver hair in a stylish chin-length cut, sharp features and flawless skin worthy of even a women's skincare advertisement, without all the extra airbrushing. He dressed well too – a white and grey zippered vest and belted baggy grey pants, both pricy. She expected to find these listed in a fashion magazine under the subtitle 'casual wear' though, when worn, far too uncomfortable for casual wear and a couple thousand dollars over budget.
She looked at her own white dress she bought on clearance and then looked at him again, casually leaning against the wall, unintentionally appearing like a Burberry model. Naminé wouldn't know how to survive when her inferiority complex reared its ugly head in the presence of a disgustingly attractive roommate.
If she had him back in Traverse Town U, no doubt she would have gotten top marks on her final Life Drawing project. Not that her grades mattered now, considering she was jobless and all.
That said, people who dressed like "bad boys" sort of intimidated Naminé. More than most people. And Adonis here definitely dressed like the stereotypical one she remembered girls in her high school giggling about.
"You're cute," he concluded with a sly smile. Naminé's cheeks burned. He narrowed his eyes again and scrutinized her closely, much to her embarrassment. "You look a lot like Kairi. But, you know, blonde." He looked sort of uncomfortable when he said this. Naminé suspected that no matter how good a breakup, it must've been hard for anyone to talk about their ex. Especially when Kairi might've exaggerated when she said it went well. She hooked up with his best friend for crying out loud. He stuck out his hand. "Riku Valentine. It's sweet meeting you, Naminé. I think I hit jackpot with you."
A flirtatious one. Even though he probably didn't mean it, Naminé admitted he was one smooth operator.
He smirked, and took her hand before she could take his. His skin was as soft as it looked, completely different from her own chronic dry skin on the palms of her hands due to abuse from art. Heat crept up onto her cheeks when she realized she touched him. Naminé knew he knew that she was nervous as heck. Maybe Kairi warned him or something about her social anxiety, and he'd think of her as less of a weirdo.
"Yeah… people say we look alike. Family resemblance, right? Haha…" Naminé said rather lamely. "Um… nice to meet you too, Riku. Hope I won't be a nuisance."
She chose not to address his flirting. Really, Naminé wondered what she would have said, 'I'm cute? Look at you!' Then he'd either shoo her away for acting creepy, or he'd decide to try to seduce her – the latter option having a possibility close to zero, because she didn't have the appeal that Kairi did. And she didn't do relationships.
Or sexual relationships. Or anything like that because the thought frankly embarrassed her.
She liked being alone.
Really, she wanted to feel around in her purse for a roll of duct tape, to tape her own mouth shut. Everything that came out of her pie-hole sounded stupid. And everything in her mind, now that she thought about it.
"Relax, Naminé. Don't want you feeling so uncomfortable in your own home," Riku joked with her, gesturing for her to come inside, which she did hesitantly. He shut the door behind her. "Well, that is, if you like it and all. And me," he added rather unnecessarily with a mischievous smile.
But she could smell his self-confidence. He oozed it like melted chocolate out of a well-baked lava cake. Like, 'how could you not like me?' She frowned at that. Of course, all good looking specimens had to have some major character flaw.
Nonetheless, Naminé blushed and felt a tingle travel down her spine, like a million tap dancing spiders or something equally ridiculous. She wanted to go dig up a hole for herself to hide in. She couldn't believe she was acting like a pre-teen girl at the age of twenty-one. Naminé wanted to believe she passed the point in her life where any sort of affection meant the world to her, especially when it came from someone who normally would look right past her.
But then she remembered, inside, she probably compared to said insecure preteen girl since she sure acted like one when Sora started to date Kairi.
"So, I can show you around then. You can just leave your shoes in the entryway."
Riku's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked in front of her, in awe. Even the entryway was large and spacious, and everything so far looked incredibly expensive, especially the cherry-wood floors and the sleek, modern furniture. Riku led her to the sectioned off kitchen, full of stainless-steel appliances which he admitted he didn't use, and a breakfast bar from the living area.
Naminé could see the whole city through the large window which replaced a wall on the far side. Bright, airy, and a beautiful view she couldn't help but admire.
"Nice, isn't it? You can see everything from here," Riku told her when she put her palms on the glass and looked outside in awe. "Lots of light."
"A… dark place would've been kind of uncomfortable. But I would've dealt with it. Just want to live in Radiant Garden…" Naminé answered unthinkingly, looking at the marvelous, translucent skyline, and all the little people below walking dogs and travelling.
From the window, they looked like chess pieces. Or the little pegs used in the Game of Life, complete with the colourful board.
"Well, you won't have to now," Riku reassured her. "The apartment's always bright." He looked at her, nearly pressing the tip of her nose against the glass from so high up, and chuckled. "Man, you look like a kid getting her first glimpse inside a candy store."
Naminé turned away from the glass and looked at him, finding this all amusing. She frowned, and blushed.
"Not a bad thing, trust me. It's cute," he told her before laughing again and gesturing for her to follow him.
At least he was friendly enough. And even though he flirted shamelessly, Naminé didn't get those red flags she often got from sleazy old men looking for a 'good time' because she was 'so cute'. Riku clearly was friendly, and Kairi still got along well with him.
"The bedrooms are up these stairs. There're three, you can pick either one of the two guest bedrooms," Riku explained to her, leading her up a short flight of stairs to a small railed hallway that looked down upon the main living space. "Bathroom's on the far side, and this is my room," he pointed to the door. He saw her looking at the door and then teased, "What, you want to see my room?"
"I'm… I'm okay." Naminé blushed and looked at the ground.
"Oh, sorry, just joking. People always tell me I'm a little too out there. Probably shouldn't be joking around if there's a girl living with me…" Riku said a little sheepishly.
"No… it's okay. I know you're a good person. Nothing's wrong," Naminé told him honestly. Strangely enough, though he oozed self confidence, he also had the social tact to act considerate towards her. She gave him a quick smile in thanks. With someone who felt so anxious around everyone, he reassured her greatly. "Thank you…"
"No problem." He led her into the second door, and gave her a wide smile. "So, what do you think?"
"It's beautiful," Naminé said honestly, looking around the large room from the deep red curtains, to the canopy bed, the vanity and the small couch to sit on and read. "It's… thank you…" Really, she never expected living in a place so nice when she didn't even have a job.
"Glad you like it. Does that mean you'll live here?" Riku asked, eyeing his shy potential roommate.
Naminé bit her lip and asked, "How much is rent?"
She did have to bite the bullet and ask. The place looked like a million bucks. And if she didn't have the money to afford his 'casual clothes' worth a couple thousand dollars, she couldn't afford a million dollar place.
Riku shook his head and said, "It's chill, don't worry about it. I'm not really in any need for money and this was more a favour to Kairi." He looked at the floor a moment before looking at her again, and saying, "I'll just trust you to buy groceries and toiletries. How about it?"
Naminé wanted to pinch herself to check if she was dreaming. "Pardon?"
"Not good?" Riku asked, looking at her a bit concerned.
So he really did say what she thought he did. "It's too good to be true! I have to pay somehow," Naminé protested.
She already felt like enough of a charity case and didn't want to burden Riku in any way, especially since he already seemed so good he was willing to take in his ex's cousin.
Naminé already knew they looked alike. Riku pointed it out himself. Even if those two still remained friends, he probably didn't know how to react seeing a blonde Kairi asking him for a place to live. Well, a Kairi who happened to be basically a loser in the social aspect of life, but the point still stood.
"Don't worry about it. Just make yourself comfortable. I'm not strapped for cash." Riku reassured her with a pat on the shoulder.
She could see that. She expected to live in a hole in the wall when she came to Radiant Garden, not a condominium located in the best part of the city with all the music and entertainment. This place had women in pretty cocktail dresses and heels walking with men in tuxedos, throwing one hundred dollar bills in fountains, unlike regular people who just wished upon pennies in the more average areas of town.
Or, in Hollow Bastion, the "hood", people horded said pennies in holes in the walls, hoping to buy a condominium in the best part of the city. Naminé expected to be one of these people.
Naminé narrowed her eyes, quite ready to give this guy a piece of her mind. But then, she withered under his frown. Riku knew how to get his way without doing anything at all. Seemed like he wouldn't accept any payment from her, and though that was a good thing, she couldn't help but feel ashamed. She remembered him saying he didn't really cook because he couldn't and then jumped at the chance.
"Fine, but I'll cook meals for us, okay? And buy groceries and toiletries." Naminé stated firmly (well, as firmly as someone like her could manage, it came out as more of a squeak, especially when he started smirking again).
"That's cool with me. I'm sick of ordering in anyway." Riku shrugged and pulled out his phone. "Stuff at Kairi and Sora's?"
Naminé nodded. Riku dialed the number. Somehow, even though he made her feel well and comfortable, she didn't know how to feel about living with him.
Kairi and Sora greeted her at the door a while later, and helped her to move in her stuff. They unloaded her suitcases and boxes from the trunk and backseat of Sora's car.
Her cousin looked exactly like Naminé remembered her- delicate, immaculate makeup, well-dressed, and probably could reign in a rich businessman if she so much as spared him a glance on the street – dangerously pretty.
The girl greeted her with a bear-hug and prattled on then about her new roommate. Clearly, she looked a little uncomfortable to be seeing him, even if they were friends. Kairi did tend to act obnoxiously optimistically sometimes. Just imagining the gloomy mess Riku probably was inside, made her feel a bit nauseous.
"It's so nice that you guys are getting along. See, Naminé, I told you Riku was a good guy," Kairi prattled on, grinning so widely Naminé might've thought her face would split in two.
Naminé remembered she also called him a God, a hot piece of man, a sexy son of a bitch and a few other choice names but that was beside the point. What really did matter was that he was a good guy. Indeed, it did matter, since she didn't want to live with a sleaze or a jerk, and he seemed pretty accommodating so far.
Also, she could look at him since she found him aesthetically pleasing in a completely platonic sense (as platonic as one could get while acknowledging someone like him attractive), and hope that one day he'd let a poor Fine Arts graduate draw him.
"Thanks for helping me bring my stuff over, Sora, Kairi," Naminé said graciously, as the two of them moved into the apartment, rolling her suitcases full of clothes.
She really didn't want to know how awkward Riku must've felt meeting them. She knew Riku and Kairi had been pretty serious, going strong for about two years before whatever happened… well, happened. And as soon as she thought that Riku came through the door, carrying a large box of a few choice books and art supplies she wanted to take along. Tension did form around them a bit thickly, and Naminé didn't doubt that she could cut it with a knife.
"It's cool, Nami. It's going to be awesome having you live near us now. The old days were good days," Sora commented with his signature grin.
What he said just depressed Naminé more. Sora was so utterly adorable, with his friendly smile and perpetual bedhead. And he was really cute too, in the boy-next-door sort of way (an extremely attractive boy-next-door, and friendly too: an all-around good guy).
Naminé liked him for the longest time – since the old days when he used to buy them sea-salt ice cream, and ruffle her hair, and play with her and Kairi at the beach. Too bad he went and got with Kairi, even if it'd been kind of expected. He really only did see Naminé as a sister, much to her disappointment.
Naminé hoped during the days Kairi'd been with Riku that she'd stay with him. But her luck sucked. Since then, trying to seem happy for them had been the most difficult and tedious chore. She expected Riku probably felt the same way about it all, but one hundred times worse since he'd been in a relationship with Kairi rather than just pining after her like Naminé did with Sora. Now that she thought about it, it was kind of sad.
"Yeah, they really were," Naminé said softly, enjoying the feeling of Sora hugging her.
"You knew Naminé before?" Riku asked curiously, setting down the box near the couch. He stretched then, giving Naminé a nice view of the muscles on his stomach.
She turned away immediately and flushed a horrible shade of red. Riku looked at her curiously and then gave her a wink and a sly smile, much to her shock. Well, it was entirely his fault that he practically flashed her by stretching like that.
"Yeah, she used to visit Kairi a few times a year back in high school and less during university. Kind of stupid she never met you before now, huh?" Sora told him scratching his chin. He placed the suitcase next to the box and settled himself on the leather couch across from the wall-mounted TV.
"Mhm, those were the good old days. Say, why didn't she meet you before now?" Kairi asked Riku, a little reluctantly, moving to sit beside her boyfriend.
Naminé saw just fine that Kairi had been about as desperate to start a normal conversation with him, as Naminé had been to find a place to live. She clasped her hands rightly together on her lap and looked down immediately when Riku looked at her. He noticed too, as he opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it.
Watching those two fascinated Naminé.
"My family always went on trips during the holidays, remember? Kind of a relief now that I don't have to deal with that crap anymore." Riku gave Naminé a glance, which made her flush and look at her feet. "And now I've finally met Naminé who Kairi wouldn't shut up about. Heard a lot about you."
"All good things?" Naminé asked weakly, with a nervous smile.
"Definitely," Riku told her, moving to sit on the couch, lounging like some sort of jungle cat, resting his chin on his palm. Naminé couldn't help but admire him again since he looked so regal, and elegant, and so pretty to put it bluntly. If he heard her thoughts, he'd probably find her odd and kick her to the curb immediately. No one wanted to live with a creeper. And art didn't count as a valid excuse these days. "Though Kairi mentioned you're shy. And probably even more because you're living with a guy now. I'll try to make it bearable for you, promise."
Sora stifled a laugh and mentioned, "It's okay, it'll be like living with a girl. He takes ages in the bathroom in the mornings. Takes a while for him to get his hair to shine like it does."
Lips twisting into a mocking smile, Riku swung arm around Sora's shoulder and began to mess up his hair, to which the other protested rather vehemently. "Remember Sora? You used a hell of a lot of hair gel to keep your hair up in high school." When he stopped, Sora's hair still looked the same, just as spiked, probably just as much hair gel. "I'm guessing it's the same."
"Shut up, Riku," Sora said, frowning and crossing his arms. "At least my hair isn't as glossy as a girl's."
"At least my hair doesn't have shit loads of product in it."
As they started arguing like best friends often did, Kairi exclaimed to Naminé, "Don't they bicker like a married couple?"
Both of them shot Kairi a glare. She didn't pay any attention to them, quite content to just smile at Naminé.
"Uh…sure…" Naminé muttered, feeling rather overwhelmed with all the eyes on her. Clearly, this wasn't the right thing to say, as the two promptly shut up, and the heavy atmosphere in the room rose to even higher levels. Desperate to fill the awkward silence (kind of already filled with this unbelievable tension between Riku and Kairi) she said, "Maybe I should cook dinner now… we could all have it."
They remained silent for a moment longer. Riku looked away from Kairi and rested his head on the couch's armrest. Kairi looked similarly despondent and fiddled with the cuffs of her frilly designer top, before biting her lip and turning her gaze to Naminé. Sora looked like he didn't understand, but Naminé remembered him being strangely observant. He probably did know, just didn't show it.
Who couldn't be aware of the tension when he knew quite well that Riku used to be his girlfriend's boyfriend?
"Actually, Sora and I've got to head home. Have some errands to take care of. But I hate turning down an offer for your cooking, Nami – you'll probably end up winning Iron Chef or something in the future." Kairi honestly looked disappointed as she got up and picked up her purse. But even so, Naminé saw how quickly she did this. "It's been nice seeing you again too, Ri."
Riku nodded in response and sighed a little.
"Damn, Naminé makes the best food," Sora commented, which made Naminé's heart soar, even though she knew it was wrong and all, considering he was with her cousin. Snap out of it, she told herself. He followed Kairi out to the entrance, along with the slightly dejected Riku. "It's been good seeing you, Nami. Don't be a stranger." He looked at Riku and said, "'Ri, take good care of her."
"Who do you think I am? I'm responsible as shit – Naminé's in good hands," he joked in that cocky manner of his that Naminé experienced first-hand at the front door. He looked at Kairi then, biting his lip. "Hey, Kai, it was nice seeing you. All of us should hang sometime. We haven't done anything in a while."
When he talked to Kairi, suddenly, to Naminé, he didn't seem quite so smooth anymore. He looked like a flustered schoolboy. All that confidence he had radiating in waves, just vanished suddenly, like it hadn't even existed. Then, she knew, what happened between them must've been bad.
So bad, that Kairi covered it up with optimism.
So bad, that she chose to ignore it and try to act like friends.
And so bad, she didn't let the closest people to her know.
"Yeah… sure. It was nice to see you too, Riku," Kairi offered with a weak smile. Then giving a nod to Naminé, she quickly left.
"See you around, guys. Call us up if you need anything," Sora said with the wide grin she loved so much before chasing after his girlfriend. "Hey, wait up, Kai."
Riku shut the door after they left. They left some sort of emptiness behind. She didn't like it. Especially because those two left her and Riku alone while he looked like a dark cloud loomed over him.
Naminé ended up cooking some pasta while Riku kept her company. It was odd how her day had started off so happy, and even though it wasn't necessarily sad now, it was odd– just like she expected it to be with Kairi's ex. Except, she expected to feel this strangeness more when she knocked on his door, but he welcomed her in, all affection and smiles and teasing, playful flirting that made her think he would have made a damn good host.
Meeting Sora again and feeling the distress radiating off Riku in waves cooked up a horribly messed up concoction in her stomach. Desperation to puke it all up in the bathroom took hold of her.
"You know we dated," Riku said with a small frown on his lips.
"Yeah, um… Kairi and I talk a lot. So I knew of you before I came here," Naminé explained, turning up the heat on the stove to get the pasta to boil faster. "I thought… it was a little insensitive of her to send me to live with her ex."
"Figures. Well, what's done is done. Don't think I'm not happy to have you here. It was getting a little lonely here, truth be told," he said. He sounded sincere too. "And don't blame Kai for it. I was the one who broke up with her."
"Why?" Naminé asked, even though she had a niggling feeling as to why.
"She always liked Sora."
He didn't offer anything more.
So her suspicions proved true. Even though Kairi gushed about Riku a lot, whenever she talked about Sora, her tone changed. It became loving instead of just shallow ramblings of a girl with a crush. Naminé took a look at Riku then, who sat on the barstool looking pretty exhausted. He only dealt with Kairi for a short time and he already looked this way. Naminé never got this bad when dealing with her unsaid feelings for Sora. Pity welled up in her, especially since he took her in as a favour to Kairi.
It was pretty obvious he still liked her, that the police would have arrested her for stealing his heart.
She wondered how Riku sounded when he talked about Kairi back then. Naminé imagined, with how heartbroken he seemed, that the way he talked about her must have been the way Kairi talked about Sora. How painful it must have been, to have been in a relationship with someone when you were more invested than them, much more, and when you knew they loved someone else.
Naminé didn't answer him and instead backtracked on the conversation. "I'm… happy to be here too… it was getting a little lonely in Traverse Town…"
"Well it's not that bad now that we're roommates, right?" Riku offered with a smile. "No more getting lonely then."
Yeah, she thought, they could both get drunk together. She always heard of the stories where the understanding bartender acted like more of a therapist and listened to the local drunk's problems. The man at the pub she frequented in Traverse Town never did that for her no matter how many rum and cokes she drank.
Without the alcohol in her, Naminé found it hard to cry, especially over a subject which haunted her like some stupid ghost that refused to pass on. Her life, at the age of twenty-one, felt like it'd hit an obstacle impossible to pass. And for a moment she regretted wasting those years at university studying Fine Arts, no matter how she enjoyed it.
When she drank, she cried about it more, and weirdly enough, she could walk, move, whatever, or it gave her the illusion of doing so, and she didn't feel that empty, lost feeling she normally felt.
Naminé never told anyone because even she knew that sounded like the words of an alcoholic (even if two shots got her drunk) seeking justification. But nothing fulfilled her anymore. Enjoyable moments grew dull, and more colourless with each passing day. And sometimes, she even grew jealous of Kairi because she sounded so cheery on the phone.
Naminé poured the sauce over the pasta and stirred, after straining it. She added the vegetables she sautéed and poured two servings. Sticking forks in them both, she handed one bowl to Riku, before sitting beside him on a bar stool.
"Hope you enjoy," she told him.
She didn't think she'd ever get used to talking to him. It was hard, with the silence just about killing her, so she really didn't know what to do to make anything more bearable.
"Don't worry, I'm not normally so gloomy. I should suck it up, huh?"
Naminé looked up at Riku, who smiled, a little forced. She knew she couldn't be a hypocrite when her own thoughts went to her months of borderline alcoholism and depression which still persisted too. She knew better than anyone it was hard to suck it up. You couldn't help your emotions. They played a part in making a person who they were. For better or worse.
"You shouldn't. It's… it's bad to keep things bottled inside," Naminé whispered softly. She held her fork so tightly that her fingers hurt, so she could feel the strain in them like a bow pulled back all the way. "Just let it out when you can."
She didn't want to see him deteriorate slowly and become her. Even if she doubted he would. Looking at herself now became quite difficult and she knew that simple deterioration wouldn't cause him to become her. It took much more than that. Riku already looked loads stronger than frail little her who'd stumble at the slightest impact.
"You're right," Riku smiled at her. "First time anyone's not told me to just let it all go."
"You will, just not right now," Naminé advised sensibly, looking at her hands in her lap so she wouldn't throw up from embarrassment. "It'll take some time, you can't think you can let it all go immediately."
"That's true. I'll get better." Riku glanced at the quiet girl from the corner of his eye. "And so'll you, right?"
"Right," Naminé answered determinedly. He didn't know, but this was a new beginning for her. No more moping.
No more hoping for fate to make her life better.
Riku ate a forkful of pasta and exclaimed, "Kairi wasn't kidding when she said you could win Iron Chef."
"You do know I found that pasta sauce in your cupboard, right?" Naminé pointed out. "I just put all the parts together."
Riku blinked, then shrugged. "Better than what I could do." He looked at her a moment. "Cute, talented and wise? What a rare combination."
Naminé flushed and Riku laughed, before she reluctantly joined in nervously. It'd probably take her some times to get used to his teasing. All gloom cleared to make room for just a small tunnel of light, no more than a pinprick – one star on a blanket of darkness that shone brightly.
Naminé thought maybe she should've gone to cooking school instead of pursuing Fine Arts. By now, she could've been one of those rich, millionaire chefs, yelling at people for their horrid cooking ability on her own television program.
When she looked at Riku, she gasped. "You're bleeding!" She pulled out several tissues from the nearby box of them on the counter and practically shoved them up his nose like a makeshift drain stopper. He seemed pretty calm for someone who'd just been bleeding. "Nosebleeds common?"
Riku hummed, not at all bothered. "It's the dry air and seasonal allergies." He smirked. "Don't worry I'm not a pervert."
Naminé really didn't think he was, even if he shoved that thought into her mind like she shoved tissues up his nose. Regardless of that, they continued to eat, well after Riku pinched the bridge of his nose and kept his head down to stop the bleeding. A common occurrence, Naminé thought. With that kind of shock, he could've sent her into cardiac arrest. Thank the Gods that despite her timidity, she hadn't gotten scared of blood yet. Because hell, that stuff poured like an open faucet or like boogers would from a child with a runny nose and lacked tissue.
