Strange and Likable.

As the week dragged on I saw little of my boss' new assistant, but it wasn't like I cared. She was an assistant and nothing more - a new girl. I didn't have time to talk to assistants; I spent most of my day emailing and talking to clients. I was too busy to interact with her.

It was Thursday now, and I was attempting to do work. Of course, Axel decided to slack off and was lounging around in my office. It didn't help that Larxene and Demyx tagged along too.

"Mansex never had an assistant before," Larxene leaned against the wall and crossed her hands behind her head, "I wonder why he needs one now?"

"Beats me," Demyx shrugged, "She's really hot, though."

"Oh c'mon," Axel cackled, "It's kinda obvious." He thrust his hips jokingly and made inappropriate moaning noises, "Ungh, Xemnas...don't stop - harder, harder...ohhhh!" Larxene and Demyx burst out in laughter.

This was the first time they ever decided to talk about the assistant - Naminé...was that her name? - ever since we first saw her on Monday...at least with me. I didn't know if they talked about her when I wasn't around.

I rolled my eyes and tried to concentrate on my computer. "Grow up, you guys."

"What, are you disagreeing with us?" Larxene raised an eyebrow, and I ducked behind my computer screen, "Ooh, I think someone has a crush."

"Do not," I muttered indignantly, "Besides, I only saw her for, like, ten seconds."

"Then it must be a love-at-first-sight-thing," My best friend snickered, "'Cause you were ogling her the entire time she was talking to the boss man! D'you guys remember that? HAH!"

My three coworkers nearly collapsed on the floor from laughing so hard, and I rolled my eyes. "You're ridiculous. She's just an assistant - I bet she won't last long. I'll give her a month." It happened all the time in TV shows and movies, so I figured real life wouldn't be any different.

"Well, it depends on when Mansex gets tired of her...if y'know what I mean." Axel winked and playfully nudged Demyx with his elbow. The three of them laughed again, and I rolled my eyes. How these guys ended up as executives, I'll never figure out.

"Don't you guys have work to do or something?" I asked grumpily, raising a hand to run my fingers through my hair. I really just wanted to be by myself for at least the remainder of the morning; I could feel a headache coming on and having them joking around like a bunch of high school kids wasn't going to help at all.

"Yeah, yeah," Larxene waved her hand, "We're going. Geez - what a party pooper."

"Have fun fantasizing about our boss' sex slave! Be sure to close the blinds - your door and front wall are all glass, remember?" Axel jeered before closing the glass door behind him, and I groaned.

At least the office was quiet now. I sighed and shook my head, blinking rapidly in a vain attempt to take the impending headache away. After a few minutes the pain only got worse, so I decided to fetch something to drink.

I made my way towards the lounge room, where the water cooler was. Nobody was here, as usual. I bent over the water cooler, grabbing a paper cup from the dispenser and pressing down on the small blue handle. I gulped the tiny cup in less than a second.

The drink really did help; I filled up another cup, and after draining that one I filled another. As soon as I crumpled the sixth cup into my fist I heard someone laugh softly from behind me.

"Someone's thirsty."

I whirled around and came face-to-face with my boss' sex slave - er, assistant. "Uh," I gaped stupidly, "Hi."

Naminé's heels clacked hesitantly against the tiled floor as she stepped towards me; she hugged a small pile of files to her chest and glanced up at me from beneath her long, dark eyelashes. I was at least a head taller than her, I noticed. "I saw you in the meeting room on Monday, didn't I?"

I tossed the crushed cup into the rubbish bin. "Er, yeah. So you're Mans-Xemnas' new assistant, huh?"

She dipped her head, nodding once. "Yup. Just got the job last week." She held out her hand, and I stared at it. "It's nice to meet you, by the way."

I grasped her hand firmly, and I couldn't help but notice how soft her skin felt against mine. An uncomfortable tingling sensation bubbled in my abdomen, and I gulped anxiously. Great… "I'm Roxas Atsumori. It's nice to meet you too, Naminé."

Naminé. I only noticed now how unusual of a name that was. It sounded so foreign, so old-fashioned. She slowly withdrew her hand from mine and absently reached upwards to brush her hair away from her ear - which was curled very slightly at the ends and flipped over her right shoulder, by the way. Why was I noticing all of these things? "Oh, you remembered my name!"

I smirked and crossed my arms. "It's not like the meeting happened ten years ago."

She smiled, and my palms suddenly began to itch. "You look very young for an executive," She giggled, "Actually, all of you do - and all of your names have an 'x' in them." She laughed again, and the tingling intensified. "I think I'm starting to see a pattern."

I swiped my fingers through my hair. "Yeah, all of us are pretty young - but we get the job done and that's what matters, right?" I noticed the way she bit her lip while I was talking, like she was eager to listen to what I had to say.

"Yes, I suppose so." She jostled the files in her arms. "Anyway, I gotta get these faxed. It was nice talking to you, Roxas."

"Bye." I mumbled pathetically just as she spun around to leave. Once she was out of sight I groaned and pressed my hand to my face. The tingly feeling in my stomach was gone, at least...but still - why was I even feeling it in the first place?

"You sly dog, you." My head snapped upwards and I spotted my best friend leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "I knew you had the hots for the new girl."

"I don't," I spat, and my eyes narrowed when Axel didn't look convinced, "She's just a really nice person, that's all. She's likable."

"Likable. Right." His green eyes glinted underneath the fluorescent lighting. "I believe you." He strode over to my side and clapped my shoulder. "This is a good sign, Roxas - at least we know you're not gay. I mean, if you were I'd be cool with it and everything but honestly...you had Sora and I wondering for awhile."

I jerked away from him. "Idiot." I began to make my way back to my office. "She's just a girl; there are millions - no, billions of girls inhabiting this planet, Axel. She's no different from any of them."

"If she wasn't any different how come you seemed interested when you were talking to her?" Axel was trailing behind me the entire way back.

"How did I seem interested? We were just having idle conversation - something people do every day. Just because I talked to the new girl doesn't mean we're meant to be!" I growled as I forced myself into my chair. I turned my computer on and composed a new email; I was supposed to get back to one of my clients on a deal we were discussing last week.

"Well, for one you looked like a total idiot," My head snapped upwards and I spotted Axel sitting in the chair across from me, staring nonchalantly up at the ceiling, "Laughing nervously and watching her every move - I've never seen you act like that before. You were like a fifteen-year-old boy talking to his childhood crush."

My cheeks flared up and I ducked behind my computer. "Okay, I admit she's pretty but that's it. She's pretty and nothing else. Are you satisfied?"

"No - anybody can look you in the eye and tell you they think someone looks pretty. It's meaningless." Axel leaned back in his chair and exhaled slowly. "You like her."

"No I don't." I hissed. In my head all I was thinking about was how she bit her bottom lip when she listened to me speak and how dark her eyelashes were in comparison to her hair.

"You should have lunch with her or something," My redheaded friend suggested, much to my chagrin, "She seems interested in you too."

"Axel," I glared over my computer, "I am not interested in her. I'm not interested in anybody! Why can't you just leave my private life alone? Go make out with Larxene or something!"

He seemed to be enjoying the fact that he was bringing me closer to breaking point. Axel leaned forward and rested his elbows on my desk, peering over the top of my computer with mischievous eyes. "Best friends are meant to meddle with each other's private lives." He smirked, and I exhaled sharply. "I'm not letting this go until I'm fully convinced that you're totally, honestly, one-hundred-percent not interested in her."

The competitive streak in me pulsed excitedly. "Is that a challenge?" I asked in a low voice.

"Maybe." He leaned back and grinned.

"If I convince you, will you swear to never bother me about this again? No more blind dates, no more nagging…"

He held up a hand as if to swear an oath. "Scouts' honour," He smirked, "And if I win you have to admit I was right the entire time, and that love really exists for everybody. You also have to refer to me as your superior...and you have to buy me lunch for a week."

"It's a challenge, then." I smirked back, crossing my arms. This was going to be easy, I could feel it; Axel should know by now that I wasn't the relationship-type of guy. I never had a girlfriend and I was never keen on getting one. I wasn't into relationships. I wasn't into being tied down.

I wasn't lonely.

"I'm gonna give you...oh...say a month and a half until you tell me you've fallen head over heels for her?" Axel chuckled, "I'm definitely gonna win this one; the affection's already beginning to blossom."

"I don't see how talking over the water cooler counts as any sort of affection."

"Oh, it is, my dear Roxas," My best friend grinned, "You just have to look at the finer details." He stood up and tugged on his tie. "Anyway, I got some work to do. Catch you later, Romeo." He gave me a playful wink before leaving my office.

I rolled my eyes and resumed my email. This shouldn't be hard - all I had to do was avoid her. The less I see her the less chance I have of interacting with her, therefore leaving very little room for attraction or - I cringed - affection to...blossom.

I wasn't attracted to her, I was sure of that. She was pretty, though. I already admitted to that. Pretty, yes. She was pretty. Very pretty. The way her blonde hair started off straight but curled slightly at the ends, draping over her right shoulder - that was pretty. Her pale blue eyes and her long, dark eyelashes - those were pretty too. Her soft voice and her silvery laugh - yes, those were also pretty.

She was just pretty. Cute. Nice to look at.

Nothing more.

Axel was so going to lose this bet.

--

Naturally, I had to tell Sora about this when he dropped by in the evening to pick up the kids.

"Wait, wait," He held up his hands; we were sitting in my kitchen, discussing the issue over some coffee, "So you're saying there's this new girl at work, and there's a possibility you might be attracted to her?" He gasped in mock surprise - at least I thought it was mock surprise - and shook his head. "This is definitely history in the making."

"Shut up," I muttered behind my mug, "I'm not attracted to her. I'm only doing this to prove a point."

"What point?"

I exhaled in frustration. "That I'm not attracted to her and that I don't need a relationship to complete my life. Everything's pretty much complete as it is-" I spread my arms, gesturing to the rest of my apartment, "-I'm financially secure, I have great friends and I have you and Kairi. Why would I need a girlfriend? That's just excess."

"Oh, really now?" Sora raised a skeptic eyebrow, "What was her name again?"

"Naminé Nakasato." I answered immediately.

"What colour are her eyes?"

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "A really light blue - but her eyelashes are super dark, so it contrasts."

"What was she wearing the first time you saw her?"

"Uh...white dress shirt, light grey vest-"

"Yeah," Sora sipped from his mug, "You definitely like her."

"What?!" I nearly choked on my coffee; Koji and Miyo, who were napping on the couch in the TV room not so far away, stirred slightly in their sleep, "What made you come to that conclusion?"

"If you're not attracted to her like you say you aren't you wouldn't have noticed what she was wearing the first time you saw her, or the colour her eyes were - you even told me how they contrasted with her eyelashes!" Sora snorted, and I blushed in embarrassment.

"W-what if I was just being really observant?" I asked timidly, peering into my mug. Sora and Axel were wrong - I wasn't attracted to her…

"I'm pretty sure you weren't." Sora grinned. He leaned over to pat my shoulder. "Aw, my widdle brother's growing up."

"I'm only three minutes younger than you."

"Still, you're younger than me." His grin widened, and I sighed. "I better get the kids home; they're bushed." We headed into the TV room and scooped the kids in our arms. "You have to keep me posted on this - I'm not missing this out for the world."

My eyes dulled. "You're gonna tell Kairi about this, aren't you?"

My brother chuckled. "Of course I am - she'd probably be more excited about this than me!" When we reached the front door I handed Miyo over to him; it amazed me how he managed to hold both kids. Must be a parent thing. "Anyway, thanks for watching them - you're a lifesaver."

"Yeah, yeah," I said distractedly as I unlocked the door for him.

"See you Sunday." He nodded and I ruffled Koji's hair before closing the door. The apartment had that strangely quiet feel to it again - it bothered me how it was making me feel like everything was so big, so spacious. Empty.

I probably just had a long day. I yawned and made my way to my room, pulling my shirt over my head and tousling my hair. As I washed up for bed all I could think about was the bet, and the way Naminé bit her lip when I spoke to her. When I crawled into bed and pulled the sheets over me I pictured her hair and her eyes, and her dark eyelashes. Axel's taunting voice spilled into my ears:

"The affection's already beginning to blossom." I could practically hear him sneering. I yelped in aggravation and stuffed my face into my pillow, forcing my eyes to close so I could sleep and forget what happened today.

I only thought she was pretty.

Likable. That was the right word.

She was likable.

Axel was going to lose.

--

A/N: I don't know why, but I listened to Owl City's Cave In and Tegan and Sara's Back In Your Head on repeat when I was writing this chapter.