Well, here it is, the final story in the "author-style-inspiration" series. Technically, this was the first written, even though I stated that "Paperclips" was (in reality I made a mistake, but let's just go with the assumption that it wasn't considered a series until "Paperclips" was written, and because "Paperclips" introduced the concept, I counted it as the first). This one follows that author's style a little more than "Paperclips", but "Connections; Or, How Senses are Fluids in Motion" follows it the best. Still, this one story is closest to my usual work.

I hope you enjoyed this series!

I stood on the dock of Destiny Island, patiently awaiting the ferry that would be arriving soon. Behind me, palm trees swayed in the gentle, salty breeze, throwing their shadows around with each small swing. Above me, the sun glazed everything with its light and bleached the earth a bone white. Its heat wasn't oppressive and there was no humidity to speak of, so I wasn't really sweating. Any exposed skin, though, was hot to the touch. My hands were in the pockets of the cargo shorts I was wearing, and my white t-shirt moved to the right every time the sea breeze blew in. The "X" necklace I wore reflected the sun's light.

"Do you know when the next boat comes in?" I asked a red-head who was also standing on the wooden platform. The girl was wearing some sort of pink dress covered in zippers, though to say it looked bad on her would be wrong. She was about a head shorter than me and her body was that of an athlete's. She was well-endowed, chest wise.

"Yep." She answered, a smile shown on her face, "At about 1."

A little less than two more hours, I thought and frowned internally. But then I realized that once I was able to see Namine again, it'd be worth it.

"Thanks." I returned the smile and went back to staring at the blue water beneath the dock.

A few minutes later, the red-head walked up to me and extended a hand. "I'm Kairi Tambura, pleasure to meet you." That same dazzling smile was back on her face.

"Roxas Grey." I shook her hand. It was soft, though not exactly dainty. She seemed like the sporty type, and her firm grip confirmed my suspicion. I guessed that she played either volleyball or softball.

"So…why are you going on the ferry? Going to the mainland? One of the other Destiny Islands?" she asked.

"I'm heading to the third island. To meet an old friend I haven't seen in a while."

"A female friend?" she asked, now sporting a sly smirk.

I rubbed the back of my head nervously "…Yeah…"

"Aww! How wonderfully adorable! Two long-lost friends reuniting on the beach!" she hugged her arms to her chest and spun around once in a little circle.

I laughed.

"What?" now she was pouting. "I just think that it's so romantic!"

"Well, I guess it is. I just never really thought of it that way."

I did realize that I had feelings for Namine, and her letters conveyed that she had the same for me, but my intentions weren't purely romantic. Namine had been my best friend years ago and I wanted to see her again.

"I bet that's how she's thinking." The same smirk from before graced Kairi's face. I swear, this girl cycled through more emotions in a matter of minutes than most people did in a day!

"So where are you going?" I questioned. The quicker I changed the subject, the better.

"The mainland for some shopping; I decided to treat myself because I won my team's volleyball tournament yesterday. I'm meeting my boyfriend there too, so that we can have dinner together at a fancy restaurant."

So she was a volleyball player. 1 point for me for figuring that out.

From out in the distance I heard the motor of a boat and I looked to the sea. Heading straight for the dock was a small speed boat with 2 people, one sailing the vessel and one in the passenger's seat, legs kicked out on the dashboard and sunglasses over her eyes. The boat stopped in front of the dock, and the girl in the passenger's seat called out to Kairi "Hop in, Kai! We're going to the mainland too!"

"Bye!" the red-head called out to me as she ran to the boat. But before she sat down she turned around as if she had just remembered something important. "Want a ride?" she asked. "We can take you to the third island. It isn't too far off course."

"Nah, it's fine. I hope you have fun on your date, though!" I didn't really want to be a burden to the girls.

"Aww, thanks! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too!"

The boat started speeding away and I waved to Kairi, who waved back until I could no longer see her.

I went back to staring at the few cottony clouds drift across the sky until I felt my stomach growl. Looking at my watch, I saw it was 12:15. I had wanted to save the sandwich I made for when I was on the ferry, but hey, when you're hungry, you're hungry.

I walked off of the dock on onto the beach. The dock itself was just a series of connected wooden planks that jutted out from the sand about 20 or 30 feet from the shore. At the water's edge some 50 feet horizontally from the beginning of the dock, I sat on the sand. My feet were covered and then uncovered every time the waves came and went, but luckily I had remembered to take off my shoes and socks.

My sandwich was just a simple one: roast beef, turkey, lettuce, fresh cucumbers, and some salt and pepper on white bread that was cut into two triangles. It did taste good, though, and that was all that really mattered with a sandwich. In between bites, I took a sip of a water bottle that I packed. I looked out to the horizon as I ate. The crystal blue water was well complemented as it met the baby-blue sky and I had to smile when I saw it. I imagined Namine waiting for me on the shore of the beach on the third island, staring out to the horizon just as I was.

Before I knew it, it was 5 minutes to 1 in the afternoon. I put my socks and shoes back on my feet and walked to the dock. When I looked out into the sea, I could see the sun glinting off of the side of the ferry. I grinned and could hardly contain my excitement as I boarded. In just about 2 hours, I'd be at the third island and I'd finally, finally get to see Namine again.

Namine and I had both been born in the Destiny Island chain of islands, her on the second and me on the fourth. When we were both 3rd graders, however, our parents moved to the third island at nearly the same time. I arrived only about a week ahead of her.

Seeing as we were both the "new kids", Namine and I grew close; the kids on the island had already formed their core friendships, and new members weren't accepted very often. So Nami and I decided to just stick with each other. Our friendship blossomed quickly, and in the course of about 8 years, we became inseparable. I had had feelings for her back then, but due to my father's job, we had to move again, this time to the mainland, which was a whole day's trip from the third island. And due to problems with money and time, we only got to meet once, about a month after I moved. I never did get to tell her how I felt.

But about a year ago, something inside me pushed me into getting in touch with her again. I'm still not sure exactly what it was, but it gave me enough motivation to look her up and send her a letter, a handwritten one. I felt that it being handwritten was important; handwritten letters convey a sense of intimacy, a sense of belonging. She answered back a few weeks later, and after that we wrote letters to each other nearly every week.

And now finally, at 23 years old and it having been 7 years since I last saw her, I was going to visit Namine. I had traveled to the first island the day before and stayed at a hotel overnight, and now I was on the ferry only a few hours away from meeting her.

I looked out the window, chin resting in my palm, and daydreamed about what it was going to be like to see her again.

~!~ (Namine's POV)

I, Namine Watanabe, had sat on the shore, knees bent to my chest and my sandals resting next to me all day since 11 in the morning. It was just so hard waiting for the official Destiny Island Ferry to come into view. There had been some false alarms early in the day when I thought I saw it, but those had all turned out to be privately owned boats. Each time I was tricked, I grew more and more impatient. To keep myself occupied, I hummed the song "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin, a song that my father used to sing to me every night before bed.

What a relief it was, then, when I finally saw the great white boat slowly sail its way towards the dock on the third island! I watched intently as the passengers shuffled off, but I didn't see anyone who even looked remotely like Roxas. Did he change so much in 7 years that I couldn't even recognize him any more? Did he forget that we were supposed to meet today?

I felt rejected after 10 minutes and when the boat finally left the dock, I accepted the fact that he wasn't coming. I was just about to leave my spot when I heard my name being yelled.

"Namine! Namine, I'm here!" he shouted as he ran towards me. His necklace bobbed up and down with every step he took. He stopped when he reached me and bent down with his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

"Are you okay?" I asked, worried that he might just pass out on the spot.

"Yeah…just give me…a few seconds." He forced out just before he collapsed and fell on his back into the sand. After a moment of worried silence between us, he started laughing, and I did too.

"I really need to work out a bit more! Just a few years ago, a run along this shore looking for you wouldn't have even made me sweat!"

"Whatever, old man." I joked, and laid down beside him on the sandy shore.

For a long, long time we just laid there on the beach without saying a word. I think it was just the fact that we were in each other's company again that did it. Plus, there wasn't much to say; we'd been sending letters back and forth for a year and had kept each other up to date. But at dusk, when the sky was a deep blue and the setting sun a blazing orange that casted a flickering fire onto the water, Roxas broke the silence.

"I really, really missed you."

"I missed you too." I responded.

Roxas stood up and offered a hand. When I took it, he helped me up and then intertwined our fingers. We started walking down the length of the beach with no destination in mind. Behind the beach, the buildings of the main city on the third island rose higher and higher due to the island's natural hills, like a collection of matchsticks stuck into an anthill. The setting sun sent shadows covering those matchsticks until the only thing you could see were black monuments in the distance.

"I never said this to you before, even though I wanted to. And I never put this into my letters," he started, "but I think I love you."

I smiled the most natural, intimate, and warm I ever smiled for anyone and pressed my body closer to his. "I think I love you too."

He was quiet for a moment or two, until I spotted his own grin when he looked down at me. "So if you think you love me, and I think I love you, don't you think that we should go out?"

"Oh, I definitely think so." I laughed and started swinging our arms back and forth a bit.

He stopped us in what seemed to be directly in front of the setting sun. Then he my face in his hands and slowly, slowly, slowly leaned in for a kiss. I closed my eyes and when our lips met, I felt a surge of energy pulse through me. It quickened my heart beat and pushed the air from my lungs. I basically melted in his embrace, though it seemed as if he was struggling to not do the same. I wrapped my arms around his waist and his went around my shoulders, and we stayed like that until the sky grew dark. The crashing waves and screeching seagulls provided a stunning soundtrack to the scene.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew inland and chilled me to the bone. I shivered and saw Roxas doing the same.

"Want to come back to my place?" I asked. "We can warm up and have some dinner."

"I'd love to." He answered.

With fingers still intertwined and love replacing the oxygen in our lungs, I lead Roxas to my apartment. We headed towards the great blackened matchsticks of the city upon the hill, enjoying the scenery of our island.

Absentmindedly , Roxas started humming Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea". I looked up to him, smiled my biggest smile, and then sang along with his melody.

~X~

"Somewhere, beyond the sea, somewhere, waiting for me, my lover stands on golden sands, and watches the ships that go sailing." – "Beyond the Sea", Bobby Darin

So...how'd you like it? I personally really like this one. I think I like it better than "Paperclips", but not better than "Connections". Either way, opinions are opinions, and the only way for me to know yours is through reviews! Reviews are love, remember that! They're also a great way for me to figure out how to get better, but that's not as exciting as love.

Again, I hope you enjoyed this three-part "author imitation" series. I may do something similar in the future, so keep a heads up!