Sunset Dreams
Prompted by twilightpromise's post on Tumblr: Where would Roxas take Naminé for their first date?"and also written for Day 5 of Rokunami Week 2018 (Future/Union). Post KHIII.
Happy Rokunami Week, everyone! I wanted to contribute a little something, and my reply twilightpromises' prompt on Tumblr made me want to write this out so badly, so it worked out perfectly! Please note that Naminé is living in a restored Land of Departure with Aqua, Terra, and Ventus in this story after the events of KH III, as it makes the most sense to me — after all, that's where Castle Oblivion, her birthplace, was. It also makes a great scenario for "protective father" Terra! ;)
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is copyright © 2018 Turnabout Writer. All rights reserved.
This was a bad idea.
"So," Aqua begins, her voice lithe with a teasing tone, "you're taking Naminé out on a date, huh?" She playfully nudges Roxas, who has to hold back a small, flustered growl.
No, no, don't get him wrong. Asking Naminé out on a date wasn't a bad idea (not at all). Insisting on taking her to Twilight Town from the Land of Departure, though, was turning out to be the bad decision.
Terra stares at him intently with his piercing, brown eyes, which causes Roxas to gulp and shift uncomfortably on his feet. Suddenly, the open, outdoor forecourt seems too small and suffocating.
But then, Terra shrugs his shoulders, giving off a hint of a smirk. " . . . Enjoy your date," he finally says, before nodding at him and walking away. He stops in his tracks, and turns his head slightly towards Roxas. "Have her in time for dinner, please."
There's an underlying ominousness in his words that makes Roxas straighten his back. "I-I will," he stammers, resisting to salute in promise. Naminé, come out soon, please! he begs inwardly.
In all fairness, she tried to warn him that Aqua and Terra will be relentless and bother him to no end. Besides, it is more logical for her to meet with Roxas there, since that is where he lives now. He would be going out of his way just for her. She could meet him there herself — Ven could bring her to him.
The thought of that just made Roxas want to go to her more.
Again, don't misunderstand the teenager. He holds no ill will towards Ventus, but being around him makes Roxas feel so . . . unsettled. It's bad enough that he sometimes still struggles over the fact that he was Sora's nobody, and not exactly his own person, but Ventus makes him feel so even more, with the both of them having the same-looking body and voice.
It also doesn't help that he gets along with Naminé so well.
And is probably a better person for her than me, the unwelcome thought pops into his head with bitterness.
So, fine, he is a little jealous of Ventus, but with good reason. Roxas is like a dark, gray cloud, heavy with rain and ready to cause a downpour. Though he is much happier around her, especially since they've become their own persons once more, Ventus is more cheerful than him and has a happy personality that complements the warm, hopeful ray of light that is Naminé.
Aqua chuckles, breaking Roxas out of his cynical thoughts. "Don't worry, Terra's just teasing. He is happy for you two." Suddenly, there is a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Is there a particular reason why you chose Twilight Town? I've heard the sunset there is quite romantic."
Roxas blushes again, looking away from Aqua. It was actually Kairi's suggestion to take Naminé somewhere Roxas knows best, which, of course, is Twilight Town (because Axel — oh, uh, right, he's Lea, now — and Sora looked dumfounded when he asked them for advice, while Riku and Xion simply teased him over his crush on Naminé).
From there, Kairi helped him determine where to go and what to do on the date.
First, it starts off with exploring Market Street.
Naminé and Roxas happily peruse through the stores. Naminé is especially giddy when they look through the arts and crafts store, though. Her eyes are shining in excitement and her beaming smile is radiant as they walk through the aisles, picking up, inspecting, and playing around with some of the knickknacks their hands touch. She's like a child in a toy store and Roxas is amused but pleased to see her like this (and finds himself goofing around with her as well).
He holds up a disposable camera to her face, and her eyes widen animatedly. "Oh, I've never used a camera before. I think I'd like to try it, though!" she says brightly, unclasping her hands to take the blue rectangular device from Roxas's hand.
While Naminé runs off to the paint and colors aisle, wishing to buy some new colored pencils, Roxas stays behind, as a shimmer of gold catches his eye.
After they make their purchases, they travel through the Underground Concourse, using Naminé's new camera to take pictures of each other and what they see along the way. He hasn't gone through the underground in a long, long time. There aren't as many Heartless anymore, and those that remain are harmless, aimlessly wandering around.
They walk side-by-side, as Roxas details the many times he went through here for missions. At first, he hated it — it was a maze to navigate through, even with Axel's guidance. But now, he is having fun taking Naminé through the wide passages and finding the way out of there as a strange sense of nostalgia hits him.
"I have to tell you now . . . when you take me home, Terra's going to ask you to stay for dinner." Naminé's eyes twinkle with amusement when Roxas stops in his tracks.
"Oh." Roxas scratches the back of his neck nervously. "Um, is he now?"
Naminé smiles and rubs his arm reassuringly. "He is very nice, I promise. He won't bite you. And Aqua's food is very good."
He is a keyblade master, though, Roxas wants to interject, holding back a shudder. Terra knows how to wield a keyblade, and can slice him in half any day.
But it would be worth it for Naminé.
He exhales, almost in relief. "Okay."
She grins at him before she begins walking again, so Roxas follows her. "I'm sorry if he is a little . . . overbearing." She giggles slightly at her choice of term. "He's just very protective of me."
"Oh, yeah, that's right. You helped him find Aqua in the darkness when he lost himself to Xehanort, right?" he recalls.
"Something like that, you can say," she responds wryly.
.
The highest part of Sunset Hill has a stunning overview of Twilight Town.
The former nobodies stand next to each other in silence, shoulders touching, taking in the view.
Roxas takes a deep breath, inhaling the cool air (and he can tell just by that, fall is approaching), his eyes automatically going to Naminé.
She simply looks over the town with a wistful smile. "I've been here once."
"Huh?" Roxas furrows his eyebrows, leaning away from her slightly. "You have?" DiZ actually let her out of the mansion once?
"Yes." She nods, clasping her hands together. "The last time I was here . . . I was with Axel and Riku. Riku had taken the form of Ansem at the time." Her eyes flicker to Roxas for a moment, and he immediately understands why. This was after he had accepted the darkness in his hear in order to gain the strength needed to defeat Roxas. "It was the day he let me and Axel escape." She grows silent after that, and Roxas doesn't push her.
"Naminé . . . do you want to get some ice cream?" he asks finally, after a few minutes of silence.
She turns to him, stunned by his suggestion. "Y-Yes," she answers, suddenly beaming. "I'd love to, Roxas."
So, they take the tram to Central Station, buy ice cream, and walk up to the top of the Clock Tower.
He watches Naminé's dangling legs swing as he tells her stories of when he used to sit here with Xion and Axel, and Hayner, Pence, and Olette (both in the simulated version of Twilight Town and as of late, in the real Twilight Town, his new home).
She only smiles and nods, as her eyes focus on the sunset. It makes Roxas worry that she's not enjoying these stories.
He feels his ice cream drip onto his fingers but he doesn't care. "Naminé," he murmurs, watching her finish her own ice cream silently, "I'm not boring you, am I?"
She tilts her head towards him. "Roxas . . . " Her eyes, soft and shining, look into his clear blue eyes intently.
Yes, she has been quietly listening to his stories, but gladly so.
Really, Naminé feels so, so happy and honored that he brought her here.
She has felt lonely for the longest time, and has yearned to sit and enjoy the sunset with ice cream (especially with Roxas) as she has seen and drawn out how the others had.
"I can't believe I'm actually here with you," she admits in a quiet voice, "watching the sunset — it's like a dream."
How many times has she admired the sunset all alone from the window of the mansion?
She admits to him quietly that she was finally able to see the sunset on the day Riku spared her and Axel at Sunset Hill, but the moment was clouded by urgency to flee, and also sadness at the revelation of DiZ wanting her gone.
She did want to still stay and take in the sunset, but Axel had summoned a corridor of darkness, and it was time to go.
Besides, there was somewhere she had to go and someone she wanted to see.
"It was Kairi, right?" Roxas questions, as his hands fiddle with his now-clean popsicle stick. "You wanted to meet her."
She shakes her head. "No. It was you, Roxas," she says softly, finally turning to look at him, her eyes shining brightly. "I had to go to Kairi. But I wanted to meet you."
Roxas's mouth falls open slightly. "O-Oh . . . I didn't know." He wants to say more, tell her that he wanted to see her again, too. Maybe mention that he has wholly and completely trusted her, especially in his time as a nobody, something he told Axel he could only do with someone who gave him the answers he had been seeking.
That's why he has always referred to her as a ray of light in his mind, after all. The one who was a light in the darkness for him, and made things clearer for him to see. Not Axel, not Xion, not Riku, not DiZ . . . only her.
She laughs sweetly — he finds himself loving the sound — her cheeks a delicate pink now. "Didn't I tell you that we would meet again, silly? I had to make that happen."
Her response makes his heart warm, and his answering smile is so wide that his cheeks hurt.
He'll tell her those things another day.
After all, they aren't nobodies anymore, he tells himself, as he presents to her a crystal, paopu fruit charm that he picked up at the store earlier — a memento for her to remember this day. They are their own people, and can live freely now.
They can go to develop the film from the camera, if they wish, or they can go to the beach together. They can go wherever they want, whenever they want. Now, he has so much time to tell her all of the things he wants to say.
And he can tell that there is a lot of things Naminé wants to say to him in that moment, too.
"Thank you," she whispers to Roxas instead, the fingers of her free hand lacing with his. She knows that they have all of the time in the world for her to say it all.
So, she closes her eyes, shining with unshed tears, as she holds the charm close to her chest.