~*Hope for Tomorrow*~

Let today be that day…

This is both heaven and hell.

Roxas opened his eyes and tried to see past the blinding pale blue glare of Sora's heart. The world here was thunder—thumpthumpthump went a strong heart—the world here was lightning—seeing her face sent his pulse racing, but she must never know—the world here was devoted entirely to Light and love and happiness.

I'm…complete. And it's a wonderful feeling. I guess…It was something I never knew I was missing.

Like her. Like…

Naminé. Lately…I can't get her out of my head. Since we first met back at Twilight Town. I want to blame this on Sora, since he's always thinking of Kairi, but I don't think I really can. I think this is all me.

Corridors so fine that even the Nobody couldn't traverse them spread off in all directions. He was indistinct here, a phantom almost, stubbornly living—existing, what was living without her?—somewhere within Sora's heart past his own understanding.

Did he know that Roxas was there? Most likely, but the Keybearer never spoke about it.

Raising an ethereal hand to his face and absently studying the wavering strands of radiance that were streaming from his Somebody's heart like bands of white flames that he could still see on the other side of his own skin, Roxas smiled grimly to himself.

It's amazing. Unique. I feel whole…but in a different sense. If I had just gotten my emotions back, wouldn't my feelings on Naminé, or Axel—or that girl whose silhouette whispered forgotten words of friendship in the very back of his mind—be stronger? They feel the same. So I always had a heart. Axel was right.

He turned halfway and let his dark navy eyes settle on the "horizon", a point where Sora's fiery heart couldn't—wouldn't, the shadows are strong there—illuminate. Darkness, meager as it was, controlled that part of the Keyblader.

Roxas scoffed.

But it's so insignificant that Sora is completely unaffected by it.

He closed his fingers into a fist so tightly that the nails dug into his skin, leaving crescent-shaped marks. Fading wasn't an option. Fading wasn't even worthy of a single thought. As long as Naminé existed within Kairi, he would wait until they could be together again.

True to their promise, Sora and Kairi were together every day. But a day wasn't enough, and oftentimes Roxas longed for his own body. But that came with a nasty backlash.

I feel whole, and I remember how it feels not to. I don't want to feel that way again, but…it's for her. Did Naminé put up with this too? Urgh. If I had never gone back to him…I'd not know how painful it was to be incomplete.

Before he could gripe any longer, one of the glimmering silver corridors that led away from Sora seemed to spontaneously combust. He threw his hands up to cover his eyes—pointless, pointless, there is no pain here, no nothing, but waiting—blinking owlishly as the light vanished and reformed itself into a wide road of beautiful, frosted stained glass. There was no color in particular, but Roxas knew at the end of that pathway there was a detailed mural of the Princess of Heart and more importantly, her Nobody, the white witch.

Elation and excitement transformed his serious features, and Roxas's form became more solid, less like a ghost. His footsteps echoed along the strange platforms that Sora's heart generated to connect his own heart to Kairi's, and the blonde Nobody wasn't intimidated in the slightest by a long fall down into the gray, cloudy abyss.

As long as she smiles. I'll go through fire and back as long as she smiles.

(Don't dismiss him, fair lady, for nothing hurts your knight in shining armor more than your words. He'll brave Heartless and Nobodies and a distant part of him murmurs "Unversed", so long as you don't send him away from you.)

So what if the road shattered under his feet? What did it matter compared to her?

This is bizarre, Roxas thought as he ran as fast as his legs could take him. Only my second encounter with her like this, taking these weird…paths in Sora's heart, and every time I leave I find it harder not to stay.

Could he do that? Stay in Kairi's heart? Probably not. Besides, then he'd risk that horrible incomplete feeling that would surely follow.

It'd be worth it…right?

Knowing Naminé, she'd be miserable if he was unhappy, as his detachment from Sora would promise, and therefore he'd be miserable.

Roxas wanted to groan.

I've fallen for her and I don't want to get up! What would Axel say if I told him I was in…love I think…with the Nobody of Kairi? That same girl that Sora's heart obviously adores?

He could imagine.

"Gee, Roxas, isn't that predictable! Sora gets a crush on Kairi and you follow suit."

Another name danced on the tip of his tongue, as it had always been since he first joined his Somebody, but as usual the name escaped him.

He was about to pursue it when he saw her.

She was standing there, waiting for him, and why was she always at the meeting point when he ran helter-skelter, without a scrap of dignity, towards her without a moment of delay? Was she that light on her sandaled feet?

Doesn't matter!

"Naminé!" He called pointlessly since she had already seen him. He skidded to a halt in front of her, panting hard, placing his hands on his knees and slouching over. The great circular plaza that marked the connecting area of Sora's and Kairi's hearts depicted a brilliantly lit scene. Kairi, one hand clasping Sora's, leaning with her shoulder against her best friend and staring up at him. Sora was doing the same, and behind them, lifted slightly so they were in full view, Roxas and Naminé were replicating their poses.

Weird thing is, Kairi's and Naminé's parts are on our side.

"Are you okay?" Naminé asked, her soft voice amused. She placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned forward, studying his face curiously.

Roxas straightened and flashed a grin, shoving his hands into his pockets. "You better believe it," he said in lieu of something terribly embarrassing like I am now that you're here.

She brought one hand to her mouth and giggled slightly, and he noticed her bangs had gotten a little longer. The blonde locks dropped in front of her pale Arctic-blue eyes and hid sections of them from view.

Irked, and without thinking, he brushed one strand of her hair back and placed it behind her ear. "There."

Naminé blinked at him, and then she just smiled and shrugged. "How are you, Roxas?"

He had fast reflexes and a quick mind, courtesy of his (could have been worse he guessed) upbringing via Organization XIII. Instead of devoting said traits to watching his surroundings—What will honestly attack us inside a heart?—Roxas concentrated his entire being on Naminé, not wanting to miss a thing. She had her hands clasped in front of her, not behind her like Kairi did, her level gaze resting on his. She stood with a strange sort of peaceful calm, but he had the oddest suspicion that she was always hiding secrets and stories and mysteries better left unsaid.

"I'm fine." He would have asked how about you but the next question he couldn't resist blurting out was something that had just occurred to him. "You know Sora, don't you?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "What makes you ask that? Of course I do...in a way. I have his memories." White tendrils of light slid across her eyes and he had to remind himself that he was dealing with someone that could have potentially been Sora's downfall, if she didn't have such a pure heart.

(She has a heart, obviously. How dare you believe otherwise, she always did.)

"But…I mean…I just remembered, about Castle Oblivion. C.O. You were there, weren't you?"

"Of course. Roxas, what is this about?" Naminé seemed honestly clueless.

His abrupt train of thought was rushing past his reason, not stopping to let it on at the station. "What did you think of him? I mean…did you like him?" Roxas rubbed at his golden hair, feeling embarrassed beneath her scrutinizing stare, turning aside.

"…He's very kind." Naminé murmured, closing her eyes. "He gave me a second chance that I never deserved."

She was utterly impossible to read when she hid her eyes, and it convinced the panicked Nobody that she was hiding something from him.

"He's funny and friendly," she went on, but for a few heartbeats, she said nothing. Just paused. "But did I like him? Of course I did. But he's not for me, and never will be."

Roxas felt a horrible jolting pain—Heartless claws and Nobody scythes digging into vulnerable flesh—deep within his body, right in his torso, and he tried to suppress his gasp. Disappointment meandered after the previous agony, casually dumping salt into his internal wounds.

She…does she love Sora? Why doesn't he…that's right. He went to sleep at Castle Oblivion and completely forgot her. I wouldn't. I'd have let her…but no. I mean I'd forget Axel if I had been in his place, and I suppose…my other friends too.

He wanted to hate Sora. He really did. But before he could muster his frustration and direct it at his Somebody, Naminé spoke again.

"But I don't want him. I hope he stays with his light and never leaves her side."She opened her eyes and looked straight at him with a gaze that surely must have made Sora's heart stutter as fast as his. "Because then I'll never have to be apart from you, Roxas. Like we promised. We belong together too."

Naminé placed her hands inside of his and held them up, smiling gently. "Let's make a promise."

"I thought we already did." His mind was racing, not standing still enough for him to sort out his thoughts. But he knew the wonderful sensation of his skin against hers so he just tightened his grip and let her do the talking.

"An official one. Like Sora and I did," she added a bit hesitantly.

Roxas bristled a little but let it pass by unchallenged, nodding.

She pulled one of her slender hands from his and they joined their smallest fingers together. "We'll always be with one another, right?"

"Of course." Roxas blinked rapidly as she leaned her forehead against his and hid her eyes from view again with her long lashes.

"Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome."

They didn't move from their position, just stayed that way until the blonde Keybearer muttered, "This is it, huh? Our lives from now on?"

Laughter rebounded inside of his heart and for a moment, Roxas saw a flash of Kairi, snickering at something Sora had just said, with the latter thinking of nothing but how wonderful her delight sounded. The depth of his unrealized love surprised him.

I can't hate Sora. He's done nothing wrong, he just wants to find his friends and keep them safe and close. Even if Naminé l-loved…I couldn't fault him for that.

Regardless, if that happened, he darn would try.

"Maybe. Things change, Roxas. Things will get better from here on out. I don't think they're too bad now." She peeked at him briefly before closing her eyes again and sighing deeply.

No. I guess they're not.

"Naminé?"

"Yes?"

"What will happen to us now?"

"Something good. I know."

"I mean…do you ever…have you ever imagined us as…" Roxas cut himself off and said hurriedly instead—and darn my courage for deserting me, "This is the end. Something's over and finished. My old life as a Nobody will never return, but maybe I'll get lucky and be back in the world again…someday."

"There is no true ending to anything." Naminé pulled away from him and instead rested her back against his chest. She crossed her arms and frowned, her expression pensive. "I don't have to believe that, it's the truth."

How did she get so wise?

Then he noticed she was looking more troubled by the second.

Roxas turned one corner of her mouth up, grinning. "Hey, none of that! Now, tell me about your past. You may know everything about me—"

"I could write an autobiography on you," she joked, eyes bright, smiling despite herself.

He pretended to scowl threateningly at her. "Well I know nothing about you. So get talking!"

One day I'll get brave enough to tell her how I feel. But something tells me I won't be able to until Sora says those same three words to Kairi.

Naminé tapped her chin, unaware or ignoring his thoughtful silence. "Where to begin…"

I guess…I'll just hope for tomorrow to be that day.

Written for Kiome-Yasha, since basically this is my contribution to her club of RoxasxNamine and SoraxKairi on DeviantART. You guys should totally go check it out, it's not hard to find.

…First one of these in a while. Nothing else to say besides drop a review.