Roxas blinked as he entered the room, the white momentarily blinding him. Rain dripped from his hair and black cloak. He'd done it. He had left. Left everything he had ever known. Axel.
Roxas was afraid.
So he came to a place he felt safe.
"You came sooner than I thought you would, Roxas," Naminé said softly, looking up from a drawing. Carefully she placed the bright blue colored pencil down, and Sora looked up at her from the page. A surge of rage ran rampant through his veins.
Sora. It was always Sora. What was so special about his Other anyway?
He sighed, calming down.
It was easy, when you never really felt angry in the first place.
Naminé stood and placed the picture on the wall, taping it up with the others.
"I… want to go back," Roxas said, unable to keep pain and anguish from his voice.
"But now that you've taken that step…" she trailed off with her soft voice ringing in his ears, though not an echo resounded in the room.
"No, no I can't," Roxas whispered, "Not now."
"You miss him already?"
"I don't know,"
"He was your friend."
Roxas didn't know what she was implying. Should he feel guilty for leaving behind the only person he had nearly had feelings for? Yes, he loved Naminé… but that was because of Sora and Kairi. With Axel he had rebelled against the puppet strings of Fate that tugged him along.
Yet here he was.
Not with Axel.
With Naminé.
"Nami, I don't know what to do anymore," Roxas whispered as a poppy red droplet, bright as her crimson colored pencil appeared on the floor.
"Roxas…" Naminé whispered as he began to cry.
He felt like a lost child.
Naminé slowly put her slender ivory arms around him.
"Let me see," she said, and he held out his hands. Roxas, trying to let his non-existent feelings out, had been fighting Heartless in the city since morning, and blisters, cuts and scrapes, slashing through his pale skin stood livid in the White Room. She carefully peeled off his ruined gloves to wince at the sight of the ruined skin beneath.
No questions. That was how he and Naminé were, though. He never asked about the pictures, or of Sora or Riku. She never asked about the scars, the secrets. So many secrets held in both of them. Deep scars, wounds that never had, and never would fully disappear, ones they couldn't truly feel.
For neither could really feel.
But someday they would.
Roxas let Naminé pull him into the bathroom and clean off the wounds before carefully bandaging them with fingers lightly calloused from drawing.
"Fate won't let go of me," Roxas said, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.
"No, no matter how hard we fight against it… you and I will always be Sora and Kairi," she replied and kissed his hand like a mother would. She always liked to take care of him.
"Better?"
"A little."
"Good," Naminé said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Nami, what's going on? I keep remembering thoughts, feelings, places and people- that I've never thought, felt, seen, or met. It's all his and I don't want it…" Roxas whispered, running a bandaged hand through her hair. Long and such a pale blonde- everything about her was a contrast to her almost dark sapphire eyes.
"Don't worry. It would have happened no matter what, because of the strong link between you,"
"I'm sorry I'm getting everything wet," he apologized suddenly.
"Oh, Roxas, you know I don't mind."
"I know."
Roxas leaned his head on hers.
"Do you wish you never existed?" Naminé asked, lifting her deep eyes to meet his sky colored ones. Deep ocean and azure sky.
"Sometimes. When I 'feel' like I can't do anything and I'm just lost in the surging ocean's waves… when I have to leave everything behind to get washed away by the storm…" Roxas whispered.
"Me too," Naminé said just as softly, feeling just as bound by iron chains, "When people just use me to get to Sora like I'm nothing but a rag doll, and then I'm tossed away to clean up the mess…"
"I'll make it stop. I'll take care of you, just like he told me to," Roxas said.
"What?" Naminé's head jerked up.
"Riku told me to take care of you. I promised him I would."
"But Sora was the one who made that promise about Ka-"
"I'm Sora too though, remember?"
"Yes…" she nodded and held him tightly, "I'm glad you're here, Roxas."
"Me too, Naminé, me too," he smiled, and took her hand, leading her back out into her room.
"I love you, Roxas," she lied, bitter sweetly.
"I love you too, Naminé," he lied, just as false, just as bitter sweetly empty.
| . ~ ~ . |