"Our Love"
Summary: Aisha deals with her emotional ups and downs after losing Nabu and her recent struggles within her family. Riven and Aisha will become close friends along the way. The Winx and Specialist team together to help make all well with their friend during the holiday season.
(Aisha's thoughts)
As I sit here looking at my friends bask in the happiness of their relationships, I wonder if they think about us. Do they sense my loneliness and unhappiness? Sometimes I don't think they do, then to my surprise it's always Bloom who remembers me. I don't want to reveal my pain, for I'm the strong one, the fighter, the one who doesn't get down and depressed. But inside, I'm breaking into pieces and that's when I think about "our love." Oh Nabu how I miss you. I remember when my parents told me about our arranged marriage, I was so angry that I cried. However, our parents were so right, we were perfect for each other. I couldn't see it then but now I do and it was all because of you, my sweet Nabu. You came looking for me just so you could see how awful I really was. Instead we found love. The first time I saw you, Stella had just revealed you to us and I was so angry. But it wasn't anger that made me lash out at you it was fear. There you were, this gorgeous guy looking at me. Me of all people, you were interested in me. I didn't want to need someone else, I thought that I could make it on my own without a man's love. Oh how I was wrong, I miss your touch, your kisses and your sweet embraces. Those beautiful violet eyes so full of life and happiness, that reassuring tone of yours, telling me how proud of me you were and how much you love me.
Just then Bloom pulled me away from my thoughts.
"Hi Aisha, are you alright?" she asked
I smiled at her and said"Yes Bloom, I'm fine."
"Okay then I'm going back over here, if you want to talk" she said
I started to turn back around and resume my thoughts when I heard her say.
"Aisha if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here for you. Remember you are never alone, we are here for you. I miss him too."
Her comment took me by surprise and I really wanted to breakdown and cry right then and there, but instead I put my head down and said.
"Thanks Bloom, I'm going to the park. I'll meet you guys back at Alfea." With that said I turned and walked away.
(Bloom)
The Winx and Specialist were enjoying a day of relaxing on Earth but I could tell that something was wrong with Aisha. Since Nabu had made the ultimate sacrifice to save the fairies, her world had not been the same. I don't know what we all expected or thought as being okay but none of us never really gave Aisha time to grieve and I'm sure that it's affecting her dearly. I had failed as a friend to notice her grief and put all else first but now I had to right my mistake and show her that we really do care about her and her feelings. She is our sister and I want her to be happy to. When I arrived back at the table that Sky and I were seated at, I expressed my concern to him.
"Sky, I'm worried about Aisha."
"Why Bloom, she's fine." he replied
'But that's just it I don't think, well I know that she's not. She won't talk about it and sometimes she looks so sad and lost. I should've paid more attention to her feelings and been there so that she could grieve. Instead all of us were so caught up in our own worlds that we neglected our friend. I just have to try to make it right Sky."
"What do you want to then Bloom. You can't make her talk about it. She has to do it when she's ready."
" I know Sky but I still feel like there's something that I should do. I don't want to see her like this. Look at everyone they are so wrapped in their love lives that they don't even know that she's gone." I looked at the other girls with their boyfriends and I noticed something that I hadn't noticed until recently. We neglected to notice all and everything when we were with our boyfriends. Sky's speaking interrupted my thoughts.
"Honey, you are such a wonderful person and thoughtful friend but right now all you can do is be there when she finally breaks down. Look at Riven because of Nabu and his guidance, he is able to be a better boyfriend to Musa. He touched all of our lives and he will never be forgotten. I am honored to have known such a noble person and be able to say that he was my friend." Sky replied as he grabbed my hand and looked into my eyes. I could see that no matter how we masked it the pain of losing Nabu was still present in all of us. But for Aisha it was an open wound that was slowly healing.
( Aisha at the park)
(Flashback)
"Aisha, Uh"
"Yes Nabu"
"There's something I've been wanting to ask you for sometime but lacked the courage"
"You know you can tell me anything Nabu. What is it?"
"Words are escaping me but well uh, Aisha will you marry me?"
Our eyes locked and we glazed deeply at each other before I answered.
"Oh Nabu, of course I'll marry you."
(End Flashback)
We were in this very park when Nabu proposed to me. I was so happy and worried all at the same time. So many changes were occurring in our lives and each couple was going through their own set of problems, except for Nabu and I and Flora and Helia. Things couldn't have been better. The moments that I spent with Nabu were some of the happiest of my life. Just then movement to my right caught my eye and I turned to see what was going on. It was a young couple who looked extremely happy, and the guy was proposing. At that moment I became overcome with total and complete sadness. Memories attacked my brain at top notch speed and I was no longer in control of my emotions. I did the one thing that I never really wanted to do and that's breakdown and cry for all the world to see. But at this moment in the middle of the park, I had lost all composure.
(Riven)
I was enjoying my time with Musa but something else had captured my attention. It was Aisha or better yet the lack of her presence. She was no where in sight. Where had she gone? All the girls were accounted for except for her. I had failed so miserably at being a good friend to Nabu that I just wanted to put all our differences aside and be there for his fiancee'. To say that me and Aisha had a good relationship would be a stretch but we did get along. I noticed her grief a couple of weeks ago so I tried to look out for her and make sure that she was alright. When Nabu woke up I didn't need him giving me grief for being self centered. I refused to believe that my best friend was"dead", he was just sleeping so that he could regain his
energy. The dark magic in the abyss had drained all his magic and he needed time to heal. He loved all of us enough to protect us but he loved her more and he would do anything to protect her. Aisha was Nabu's world and he was hers. They were so happy. I missed him more as the days and months passed by because he seemed to be the only person who understood me. For that I am extremely grateful. I have to find Aisha now though and make sure that everything is okay. No one else seemed to notice that she was even gone not even Musa. The last time I saw her, she was talking to Bloom. I need to ask Bloom of her whereabouts and go find her.
" I'm sorry Musa but I need to talk to Bloom about something"
"But Riven we are suppose to be spending time together." Musa replied looking annoyed.
"We will I promise but this is important." I replied while getting up to leave. I spotted Bloom and Sky sitting a couple of tables over engrossed in a deep conversation.
"Hi guys" I said approaching their table
"Hey Riven what's up?"Bloom replied
"Yeah Riven what's going on?"Sky replied smiling,
"Have you guys seen Aisha? I don't see her anywhere?"
"Oh she went to the park. But why are you looking for her, Riven?" Bloom replied with a confused expression on her face.
"Thanks guys" I replied while running out the door. I know that they were wondering what was going since Aisha and I were not the best of friends. But hey this is my best friend's fiancee' and I have to make sure that she is alright.
When I arrived at the park I saw a young couple rejoicing in their love. They seemed so happy and then I noticed something else. Everyone's attention was focused to my left. So I looked that way to see what was happening. It took me a moment to recover from the full shock of what I had just seen, Aisha looking broken and defeated. She was on her knees with her hands covering her eyes, crying softly. I slowly walked up to her and kneeled down beside her placing my hand on her shoulder. I could feel when her muscles tensed up, letting me know that she did not want to be seen like this. So I called her name softly. She quickly tried to wipe her tears and asked me.
"Riven what are you doing here? What do you want? Who else is with you?" She shot off quickly.
"I'm alone and I came to check on you. I'm glad I did. Now come on Aisha and tell me what is going on. Why are you down here on the ground crying? So get up and let's go over here to this bench and talk." When she looked up at me, I noticed how sad her eyes looked. She was truly miserable and none of us had notices it before.
"Why are you checking on me? I'm fine, Riven. I don't need a babysitter." she snapped
"No you don't but you do need a friend. I am truly sorry that I haven't noticed how miserable you are before now. Nabu would want you to open up and not suffer alone like this. So don't push me and the others away." For a minute she didn't say a thing. She just sat there, then she responded with more fire and determination than I have seen in her in awhile.
"Riven, I have told you that I am fine so leave me alone!"she yelled.
"No"I replied as gently as I could because Aisha could always push my buttons and make me angry.
"What did you say?" she asked with a scrawl on her face.
"I said NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ALONE! WE ARE GOING TO TALK TODAY, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!" I yelled.
My yelling must have startled her because she flinched as if I had slapped her and I could see the tears pool in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Aisha but you need to talk to someone. Look at how I found you. Stop trying to be strong all the time and let someone else be strong for you."
"I did"she sobbed, "And look at what happened to him. He's dead Riven. Nabu is dead!" with that said she really started to cry. So I did the only thing that I could, I hugged her and lead her over to a bench.
(Bloom)
It had been two hours since me and the girls had returned to Alfea and Aisha was no where to be found. I wonder what Riven wanted with her. That was odd to me considering that they were not good friends. In fact they were always on opposing ends of the spectrum. The girls were talking amongst themselves and didn't even seem to notice that one of us was missing.
"Bloom, what's wrong?" Flora asked sweetly.
"I'm worried about Aisha"
"Why, isn't she here? She seemed fine earlier." Musa piped in.
"She's not fine and none of us even took the time to notice that our best friend is in pain. She has been through so much lately and we didn't even consider her feelings. We have all been so wrapped up in our own lives." I replied with aggravation in my voice.
"Oh no" Flora gasped. She had been too consumed with thoughts of Helia and Princess Crystal lately. Now she really felt bad because Aisha was her best friend and had always been there for her.
"Gosh Bloom, you don't have to make us feel bad for spending time with our boyfriends." Stella replied. That did it for me.
"Well gosh Stella, you didn't have to make Aisha feel bad for spending time with Nabu either but you did. So how does it feel now?'I replied storming off. I couldn't believe how self centered Stella could be at times even if she was my best friend. I needed to find Aisha and make sure that Riven had not upset her. The last thing she needed was a blow up with Riven.
(The Winx)
"Bloom come back!" Tecna yelled after her. When Bloom didn't respond, she turned around and glared at Stella."Gee, thanks Stella. What kind of friend are you?"
"I didn't mean to upset her." Stella replied.
"We are not good friends right now." Flora replied. "I feel so bad because I just assumed that she was alright. Poor Aisha. Where is she?"
"We did to, Flora. Don't blame yourself. If Aisha would have opened up to us, none of this would have happened." Musa replied.
"You're right Musa." Tecna agreed. "But when did we give her time? Whenever the boys come around we leave her alone and go off into little groups. It's only during missions the we acknowledge her."
"Well said Tecna." Stella responded.
"Now we have two friends to find and apologize to." She continued.
"But" Musa said. "I need to call Riven and see where he ran off to earlier."
"Musa, stop thinking about yourself right now. Bloom and Aisha are more important.' Flora cried.
"She's right Musa, we need to find them before something bad happens. Bloom is seriously worried for a good reason." Tecna replied.
"She's right let's pull ourselves together and go find our friends." Stella chimed in.
"Alright." Musa replied "Let's go Winx"
(Aisha)
I cried for a good hour and Riven stayed right by my side to my amazement. We talked about Nabu and our feelings and I realized that I wasn't the only one missing him. It felt good to finally open up to someone even if it was Riven. Riven had never really been one of my favorite people but now I could see why him and Nabu had been best friends. He truly was a god person deep down and because of all the hurt in his life he kept his guard up. But today he let it down and was a good friend to me when I needed one.
"Oh Riven, It's getting late. We better go."
"Yeah let me get you back to Alfea." he replied.
"No, Riven, I don't want the girls to see me like this. I'm going home to Andros. I need to be Nabu right now."
"Well if you're going to Andros, I'm coming too." Riven replied.
"No go back to Red Fountain." I told him. "They will need you more than I will."
"Aisha, I'm stubborn to, remember and I'm going with you. I want to check on Nabu too."
I sighed in defeat. "Alright Riven let's go see Miss Faragonda."
"Let's go" he replied.
When we arrived at Miss Faragonda's office, Riven and I explained what was going on. I informed Miss Faragonda how I wanted to be near Nabu right now and how I wanted to check on him. Riven, much to my dismay, explained how he didn't think that I should be alone and that he also wanted to check on Nabu. Miss Faragonda approved our request , informed Red Fountain of Riven's impending absence and told us to be safe. So off to Andros we went.
(Bloom)
I had looked everywhere, even the park, and I couldn't find Aisha anywhere. She couldn't have gone that far. On the way back to Alfea, I had phoned Sky to see if Riven had returned but I was informed that he was not there either. What was going on? Where were they? Had Riven upset her and she ran off? My mind was asking a hundred questions a minute and I wasn't paying attention when I ran into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry." I said getting up. Only to realize that it was the other girls.
"Bloom, are you okay?" they asked
"Where's Aisha?" Flora questioned
"I don't know. I couldn't find her anywhere. I even called Sky to see if Riven had returned and he's not there either. I just hope that he hasn't upset her."
"What are you talking about Bloom? Why would you think that Riven would upset Aisha?" Musa asked
"Because he went to find her earlier today, when she went to the park." I replied.
"That's why he left in such a hurry?" Stella asked. " Brandon and I wondered what was wrong."
"Well I'm worried and I think we need to talk to Miss Faragonda." Flora commented. "Now come on." she added.
"Alright" we all said in unison.
(Miss Faragonda's office)
When we arrived at Miss Faragonda's office, she didn't seem to be surprised to see us or notice that Aisha wasn't present.
"Sit down girls" she said not letting us get a word out.
"I see that you have come to find Aisha but don't worry she's safe."
Everyone gasped.
"But why did she leave and where is she?" I questioned
"Bloom, she left because she needed time. Everyone around her seems to be enjoying their lives but Aisha is still mourning Nabu. She needs time to deal with her emotions but she is not alone. Riven is with her."
"What?" Musa nearly shouted. "How?"
"Because girls, Riven was there when everything became unbearable for Aisha. He supported her then and he feels the he should now as well. They will return soon."
With that Miss Faragonda dismissed us and we returned to our dorm room. As soon as we reached the dorm room, I phoned Sky to alert him of what was going on but he already knew. Saladin had informed the guys of Riven's departure with Aisha but not their whereabouts. I guess we all were wondering the same thing, why was their whereabouts a secret? Musa was fuming because Riven hadn't told her anything. Tecna was trying to make sense of everything. Stella well Stella was just being Stella. Flora was really upset that Aisha hadn't confided in her and that she hadn't noticed when her best friend needed her the most. Me well I was worried and confused. Confused by the fact that Riven had been the one who turned out to be a good friend when Aisha really needed one.