A.N. Enjoying it so far? Sorry for the inconsistency with the chapters, and the length of time between updates. I'm a terrible person – but that's life.

Disclaimer. I don't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, yaddayaddayadda...

Story. Roxas and Cloud are shipped off to Radiant Garden. As they attempt to survive the summer all manner of things will occur that will result in them changing their views on life forever; and the views and opinions of others.

Warnings. Boyxboy/yaoi/shounen ai. All the junk like that. Pairings include but not limited to AkuRoku, SoRiku, Cleon, Zemyx and whatever else I can concoct.

Spanners in the Machine

Naminé

Despite her cousin's unnecessary worries that she could clearly read on his face before he got into the truck, Naminé already had her day planned out. Her cousins and her darling older brother were off doing their own things. It meant that she could go off and do her own things too. While Tifa kidnapped Cloud and drove away, she remained on the swing seat, listening to the creak and clink of the old thing. Judging by the goings on of that morning it was already obvious that this summer was going to turn out to be something quite interesting. Grinning to herself, Naminé felt shivers tingle up her spine in anticipation at just how things would pan out. Sora had dragged Roxas to Cid's. Tifa was most likely telling Cloud about how their old hang-out had been corporate bought, but the old staff members were continuing to work there, despite now being part of the conglomerate machine. Radiant Garden was a small town; a local and family run town. To have a big city company in their midst would always be the elephant in the room; an elephant that only a select few would actually point out.

With all these thoughts in her head, Naminé hopped down from the bench and headed inside. She could hear her mother pottering about in the kitchen – most probably taking a break from caring for the various animals her parents kept on the farm. Deciding to leave her to her own devices, Naminé headed up to her room to collect her things before she left the house. She yelled her goodbyes to her mother, just catching the reply as she tossed her back-pack onto the passenger seat of her car.

There was something those male relations of hers neglected to ever learn about her. The few times Sora had ridden shotgun she had taken care and consideration into account when she'd driven him to his desired destinations. She drove an unflattering battleship grey coupe that had originally belonged to one of the kids in town who moved away to study abroad. The parents didn't want to keep the unneeded vehicle and after much pleading on Naminé's part, her parents gave in and allowed her to have her own car instead of just sharing Sora's. It had a lot of little ticks and tricks, but the engine worked and didn't make any unnecessary sounds. It had electric windows and the tape deck had been updated out of her pocket to a CD player. Everyone believed her to be the sweet, kind and gentle little Naminé Strife. She was Sora's little sister with the heart of gold and Who Didn't Get Into Trouble Unlike her Ungrateful Brother. Everyone didn't sit in her car though.

With a wicked little grin on her lips, Naminé flexed her fingers on the steering wheel. Art was her world. She could sit and paint or draw for hours without noticing the constant flow of time around her. Yet, when she was in her car there was a side to Naminé that only existed within this world. It was there, lingering under the palms of her hands whenever she drove Sora anywhere but she never allowed it to slip through. It was all unconscious – the reason why Sora disliked being her passenger. There was something not quite right about his sister as she sat there with her hands in the perfect positions on the steering wheel, but he could never put his finger on it. He had 'uhm'ed and 'ah'ed and 'err'ed the entire journey, unable to fully form what he wanted to place in words. Just seeing Sora's confused expression sent an electric thrill through her body. She could tell his primal instincts had set him up for 'flight' in the face of a beast, but it was the face of his caring sister who was just driving like every other person on the road (bar Tifa).

Turning the key in the ignition she started the engine and electricity tingled in her fingers. Pulling out of the shaded spot at the side of the house where Naminé always parked her car, she beeped another goodbye to her mother and headed for the open gate. Electric windows hummed as they went down to let the wind in to play and dance through her hair. One hand on the steering wheel the other set about selecting a CD from the clutter on the passenger seat. She rarely had an extra passenger, so didn't see the need to keep the seat next to her free. Slipping the selected disc into the slot everything was done before she had even left the grounds of her home. Turning the corner and heading in the opposite direction than Tifa's pick-up Naminé pressed her foot down on the accelerator pedal and drowned herself in euphoria. She was not, by all means, a dangerous driver. Radiant Garden was such a place that there were rarely ever two cars going in the same direction at the same time within nothing more than a few feet of each other. Now and again drivers would pass one another on the dirt roads that made up the network of roads in Radiant Garden. There would be a pleasant wave as they passed one another and maybe even a beep of a horn. Radiant Garden was an expanse rather than a cluttered town. Only the main hub of the town could truly be called a town and it was usually only the shopkeepers that lived in the area. Everyone else lived on farms with acres and fields stretching out between homes.

With this fact clear in her mind, Naminé immersed herself in the fun of driving. Going from Point A to Point B in the usual driving frame of mind put the driver into a state of automatic pilot and Naminé preferred to feel like she was actually going somewhere. The journey was sometimes more fun than the destination. Music up and singing along with the lyrics, Naminé bounced happily in her seat as she took a bump in the gravel road like a professional off-road driver. Sora may have known all the best places to pull stunts and show-off to his friends, but Naminé knew all the little routes and shortcuts to get almost anywhere in Radiant Garden. Some days she just went out in her car with no set destination in mind and just drove.

It didn't take her long to reach her intended destination, only getting held up the once by a herd of sheep being moved from one field to another. Having experienced the situation many times before, Naminé merely sat back in her seat and waited for the bleeting mass to pass until she was able to resume her journey. Turning onto a dirt track she headed for the converted barn and extended farmhouse. Turning off her radio before reaching the house, she pulled off at the side near a recently built garage. Compared to her own home, the house before her was new. It had been added to and renovated over the years until it was a brand new house entirely. It was aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and one could tell that the owners had purchased the place with every intention of getting away from the hustle and bustle of city living to enjoy the much quieter life in the country.

There was the sound of breaking china and a shout from somewhere inside the house as Naminé headed for the rear door. As she lifted her hand to knock on she could clearly hear "She's insane! If she does it one more time I'm going to set her on fire!" and instead of knocking on the door she merely stepped gracefully to the side just in time for a show to ensue. Within a matter of seconds the door flew open and a tall, gangly streak of human with fire engine red hair charged out with nothing but a towel wrapped around their waist. They sprinted a few feet down the path and then turned to face the door, one hand clutching the towel tight and the other pointing to the girl now standing in the doorway with a toddler resting on her hip.

"You keep that evil baby away from me," he warned. The threat, however, lost all of the intended ferocity because he was almost naked and still dripping wet. He'd left footprints from where he'd fled from the house. "Oh, hello Naminé," he added, bright green eyes glancing over to where the blonde leaned against the side of the house with a little smirk on her lips.

"Nice chicken legs, Axel," she responded. Leaning forwards in order for the pair in the doorway to see her, she waved to the little girl, wiggling her fingers playfully at the toddler. "Eventful morning, Kairi?"

Kairi chuckled, boosting the toddler up on her hip to keep her from slipping down too far. "Xion turned the taps on in the kitchen while Axel was in the shower," she explained, acting as if there wasn't a semi-naked man standing outside for all the world (or lack thereof in Radiant Garden). "And she kept doing it until he came out screaming from the shower, so she threw Mom's best china at him. Do you want to come in?"

Pushing away from the wall, Naminé waved to Axel and followed Kairi inside. There were more wet footprints on the terracotta tiles of the kitchen floor and the door to the downstairs shower was wide open. A trail of towels littered the shower room doorway and there were the broken shards of what had once been a tea cup on the floor near the breakfast bar. Kairi sat Xion down on the counter and began sweeping up the pieces. Naminé gave an apologetic glance back to where Axel was still stood dripping on the paving stones before heading deeper into the kitchen and standing before Xion.

Bringing her face closer to the little girl she put on her best 'face of disapproval'. "Were you being mean to your big brother?" she asked.

"No," Xion said matter-of-factly. "I was pwayin' wiv Askle."

"You're telling me porky pies, aren't you, Xion?" She placed her hands on her hips for added effect.

"I was pwain' wiv him, honestilly!" There was barely a pause to even think about her response, but under the look Naminé was giving her, Xion squirmed on the spot before finally giving in. "Yes, I sowwy! Won't do again!"

"I seriously don't believe her," retorted Axel as he strode into the kitchen like he wasn't standing there in little more than a blue towel to hide his nakedness. "This is the third time this week." He scratched the back of his head, causing the bright red strands to stick out in all directions. "And now I'm going to be late for work."

"Naminé can always give you a lift to Cid's," Kairi said as she tipped the unfortunate china teacup into the bin. "You don't mind, do you Nami?"

Kairi knew all about how Naminé drove. She had pointed out that it seemed like Naminé was different when she was driving with a passenger and that she shouldn't try to be something she's not just because there was someone else in the car with her. Being given the go-ahead by her friend, Naminé snapped back to normal and drove like she did whenever she was alone. At first it had freaked Kairi out, but she was used to it now. It was their little secret, and Kairi loved watching other people squirm when given the option of Naminé driving them anywhere.

And Axel visibly faltered. "Er...No offence, Naminé, but I think I'll pass."

"Your loss," Naminé replied with a nonchalant shrug. Out of the corner of her eye her gaze caught Axel with his chest on display, tracks and trails of water visible on his pale skin. His ribs were prominent but she knew that were he just a little thinner there would be no mistaking the fact that he looked half starved. "Are you going to put any clothes on?" she asked, turning to face him completely. "No offence, Axel, but I'd rather not have the image of you in your birthday suit ingrained in my mind. I'm not interested in painting nudist pictures."

"Askle's in the nuddy!" Xion added for that effect that only a child could provide to a situation that they have only an innocent interpretation of.

Axel seemed not to care, however, that there were two teenage girls and one toddler witness to his appearance. Two of the three females were his siblings and Naminé was Naminé. She was as much a sister to him as Kairi was. "Fine, but keep the Devil's spawn away," he added, motioning to his baby sister still sat on the counter who seemed more interested in her fingers.

"Just go and put some clothes on, otherwise you'll be even later for work than you are now," Kairi said authoritatively, pushing her brother out of the kitchen. She returned as Naminé heard Axel stomping up the stairs and smiled sweetly. "Sorry you had to witness that," she apologised.

Naminé waved it off and picked Xion up, following Kairi into the lounge. "It's to be expected. There is nothing Axel can do that Sora hasn't subjected me to already, unless he feels like streaking. Please make sure he doesn't streak." She placed Xion on the floor and the toddler made a beeline for the bright red plastic box filled with toys. She tugged it onto its side and the contents spilled out over the floor, much to the audible dismay of Kairi who was sat on the sofa. Naminé settled behind her and reached up, combing her fingers through the other girl's auburn hair.

Kairi and Naminé hadn't grown up together. Kairi and Axel's family had moved to Radiant Garden only a few years ago, but the two girls lived relatively close enough that their parents could meet on a regular basis and therefore introduce the girls to one another. Axel was the ever present annoying older brother, but Naminé already had one of those and could cope with him easily – this taught Kairi how to deal with Axel instead of bursting into tears if he ever so much as looked at her funny. Neither of them had a sister and had bonded in that sisterly way that only close female friends did. When Kairi's half sister Xion had been born Naminé had worried that Kairi wouldn't need her as a sister figure anymore. Instead Xion seemed to be developing qualities from both older girls. No one was quite certain just what kind of person Xion would grow up to be.

It was on days like this when her parents didn't set her specific tasks to do on the farm that Naminé would drive up to Kairi's house and the two would indulge in those girly activities that would scare away any self respecting teenage male. It certainly made Axel do a double take when he wandered into the room only to spin around on his heel and leave again causing Kairi to chuckle.

"You would think that with having hair as long as he does that he wouldn't be averse to having it braided once in a while," she mused while Naminé collected all her hair into separate strands. Unable to respond with hairpins in her mouth, Naminé merely hummed her agreement. "You going to work now, Axel?" she called out.

"Yeah!" yelled the response.

"Don't let us keep you then. Will you be home late?"

"Don't know," replied his voice from somewhere on the other side of the doorway. "Tell Mom to put my dinner in the oven if I'm not home before she cooks it." And with that the sounds of him leaving echoed through the house. It took a few moments before Xion realised that her big brother had left, turning to bring her big blue eyes upon Naminé and her sister.

"Askle gone?" she asked her eyes as wide as saucers as she looked up at the two girls.

"Gone workies," Kairi told her while Naminé studiously set one half of her hair into a braid. "He'll be home again though, don't worry."

It seemed that she was considering Kairi's reply for a few moments before nodding her affirmation and turned back to her collection of toys that rattled, whirred and generally made quite the ruckus. She was easily amused for at least a few hours at a time, which meant that her mother could leave Kairi to watch her while she went to the little office above the garage and focused on her work. Her husband and Kairi and Axel's step father still occasionally worked in the city which they had fled from, but most of the time both parents worked from home. Naminé often wondered what it would be like to live in the city, among the people with their busy lives. It was a world where people lived cramped together; doors along hallways leading to little homes that could fit into Kairi's kitchen with room to spare and no one really knew one another's names. It was a world where one could melt into the background and were only known by the people you wanted to know, instead of everyone within gossip distance. In reflection though, she saw how people from the city changed in Radiant Garden. Kairi had been a shy, quiet girl who wouldn't say boo to a goose before moving to Radiant Garden. On the days she wasn't with Naminé she'd be caught with Sora and Riku, being all rough and tumble and making fun of the fact Riku's family bred geese. She could see it in her cousin too, whenever Cloud came to visit. He liked it here, she could tell. Hopefully Roxas would see it that way too.

No, living in the city was an idea, not something she thought she would ever actually do.

She mused on these thoughts while working on the other half of Kairi's hair, braiding it to match the opposite side. Removing the last hair pin, she neatly slipped it into place and sat back, admiring her work. "There."

Kairi reached up, touching her hair and feeling for any imperfections. This was Naminé's handiwork though, and imperfections were rare. Standing up, she looked at her reflection in the mirror hanging over the fireplace. Turning this way and that, she tried to see it from all angles. "It's amazing, Nami, thanks." She looked down at the girl sitting on her sofa and bounced down beside her once more. "My turn," she announced gleefully.

Kairi's hairstyling talents were, if Naminé had to be honest, better than her own, but the auburn haired girl would never admit it. On days when Axel was in a state of distress over some minor detail that even the girls couldn't figure out, it was Kairi that came to his rescue and spiked that crazy coloured hair in such a way that it remained for several days at least. As long as Axel didn't get wet – and Axel was very good at not getting wet. There was also the fact that Kairi could style hair without even having to think about it.

"Did you know that Cid's got some crazy scheme cooked up for his employees this year?" she said while she gently tugged the brush through Naminé's blonde hair. "Axel said that he's going to try and bring more trade in by offering a car wash service. Of course Axel is already thinking up excuses of why he shouldn't be considered for car wash duty, but I highly doubt Cid will let him skive off from helping out with his new plan." Kairi's mouth worked separately from the rest of her body sometimes, especially whenever she was doing someone's hair. Naminé's mother said it was the "Hairdresser's Tongue."

"Sora's taken Roxas to Cid's today."

"Your cousins are here already then? Here, hold this for me."

"Roxas spent his first night here asleep on the sofa," Naminé replied, reaching up to hold a section of hair in place. "He knew he had trouble sharing a room with Cloud before, but he doesn't seem too pleased about sharing a room with Sora." She let her eyes drift to where Xion was still playing on the carpet. The age gap between Kairi and Xion was such that the two would never share a bedroom (not that they would need to) and there was no one for Naminé to share with. Naminé didn't really understand what put Roxas off sharing a room with Sora. "So why does Cid want to run a car wash?"

Kairi shrugged, moving Naminé's hand out of the way. "I never try to work out what Cid is thinking and I tend to only hear what Axel relays from his job. He complains like a baby about it all the time but Mom said that she wasn't going to support his ass all summer so he either got a job or took care of Xion. Obviously he chose the job over spending time with his baby sister. He acts like she annoys him but deep down he does care about her."

"Are you babysitting all summer?"

"Only when Mom is working. She should be done to make sure Xion is fed. We can head into town if you like. I want to see what all this fuss about the car wash is – and if Cid has caught your cousin after he and Tifa stole stock the last time he was here."

"I didn't know about that."

"I only knew because Axel still hears Cid ranting about it to this day. Apparently if he caught any of your family on his land he was going to make you work off the debt, and it seems he's got Sora and Roxas. What's Roxas like, anyway?"

Naminé thought about the best way to describe her cousin. Roxas was only older than her by about a year but she felt as if they had things in common, more so than between Sora and herself. He was quiet and thoughtful and always seemed to be thinking about something exceptionally deep. Whether or not he was actually thinking things like that didn't matter – he just appeared that way. "He's...Slow to adapt."

Kairi clicked her tongue and laughed at the reply. "I'll have to spend some time with him then; teach him how to adapt to Radiant Garden."

Kairi's mother came down from her office just before Kairi had finished styling Naminé's hair. She smiled sweetly at the two girls and scooped Xion up, taking her off to the kitchen to fix her dinner. She even made dinner for Kairi and Naminé and the four sat at the little kitchen table to eat. Naminé liked Kairi's mother – she was kind but her gentleness had an odd sort of harshness to it. She didn't mollycoddle or smother anyone but she looked out for those close to her. She was a strong woman, her armour re-enforced by her living in the city her entire life. It had always been her dream to move away from the stress and raise her family out in the country. Unable to do so with her first husband, after the divorce she met a man that not only promise to fulfil her dream but made it come true. She had hardly been a princess locked away in a tower, but Naminé liked to think that her second husband had been the prince charming she had always been looking for.

After lunch Xion was laid down for a nap, leaving Kairi with a few hours free. They jumped into Naminé's car (after clearing out the CDs on the passenger seat) and headed into the town, both curious about whether or not Cid had enacted revenge on Sora and Roxas for something Cloud had done. As they drove up towards the old building Sora was leaning against a sandwich board sign looking extremely bored. Naminé slowed and pulled up beside him, leaning out of the open window to grin at him while he tried to hide under the baseball cap that anyone working for Cid had to wear. Once he noticed it was his sister his expression changed and he bounced up to the side of her car, fingers curling around the edge of the window.

"Cloud's a thief!" he announced.

"So I've heard," Naminé replied, trying her best to act as if the revelation was new to her and failing. She wasn't aided by Kairi who was sat in the passenger seat giggling at Sora's outburst. "Shall I tell Dad you'll be working at Cid's instead of helping him?"

"I'm only working here until I can get my hands on Cloud," Sora said. "And then after I've killed him dead I'm going to drag him down here and make him pay Cid for the stuff he stole. Do you know where he is?"

"Tifa abducted him a few hours ago. I think you'll have to wait until she's done with him before you can personally do any physical harm to Cloud. I don't think she was too pleased about him lying about when he was arriving," she explained to him, watching his expression to gage his reaction.

Kairi didn't give her long to read his face as she leaned over her lap to talk to him. "So what's Cid got you doing?"

"Promotions and advertising," he declared, motioning to the sign he had been leaning against. Scrawled on the board in blue pen were the words 'Hand car wash' and various washes and prices. "Hey, Kairi, your brother is on hose pipe duty." He paused and glanced around before leaning as close as he could, lifting one hand to cup his mouth as if he was about to tell her a secret that only the two girls in the car were privy to know. "Uhm, Kairi, is he scared of hose pipes?"

Kairi smiled – small and sweet – over at Sora, her hands folding neatly in her lap. "Axel has...A slight aversion to water."

Sora pulled his lips into a frown, brows furrowing out of confusion. "Then how does he clean himself?"

"Like a cat," Kairi chuckled. "Mom stopped him from doing it in the living room years ago though by hitting him over the head with a rolled up newspaper."

Blue eyes widened in an expression somewhere between shock and horror, his mouth hanging open. Sora remained that way for several moments before clamping his mouth shut and turning to look back at the main building. "I have to tell Riku," he announced. Leaving his post unmanned, Sora charged up the gravel path and yanked the door open, flying into the front of the shop while Naminé and Kairi remained in the car watching and laughing over Sora's idiocy. With Sora gone, Naminé resumed her drive towards the building, pulling up beside the disused petrol pumps. Kairi followed her as she climbed out, hands sinking into the pockets of her jeans as she trudged towards the open gates that lead to the junkyard. The soles of her shoes crunched on the dirt ground, pebbles, odd nuts and bolts and broken pieces of ceramic roof tiles dotting over the earth.

She could feel the smile lighting up her face as she saw the seated figure in the shadow of the building. Sat on a bench with a book open on his lap, fingers brushing tenderly over the pages with his ever faithful Esoterica at his feet, Naminé was curious as to why Zexion was here of all places. His head inclined towards the sound of footsteps and somewhere on his face lingered a smile that just touched his lips.

"Hello Zexion," she said, arms folding behind her back.

"Hello Naminé and Kairi," he replied, folding his hands over the pages of his book. "Is there a problem with your car?"

"Nah, we just wanted to see whether or not Cid had cornered Sora because of what Cloud did," Kairi replied, wandering up to the older man's side and petting the top of the Labrador's head. "How did you know I was here too?"

"Your perfume," he replied simply, brows creasing a fraction as if he disliked the question because the answer was so simple and so blatantly obvious. "From what I have gathered Cid has put Sora to work on his car wash project. Your brother has passed by several times muttering about a hose pipe and where he would wish to, ahem, 'stick it'. So far, however, there have been no customers." He turned his head to where Naminé was standing. "Perhaps you would like to be the first, Naminé?"

Naminé pondered his suggestion, mentally working out when the last time was that she had cleaned her car. It must have been months, although the most recent wash had been a punishment Sora had been given by her father. He had washed all the family cars and the big red tractor that was only ever cleaned if it was rained on. Despite the obvious 'practice' the punishments had given Sora, Naminé actually doubted her brother would make a decent car wash…er. Include Axel in the whole charade and Cid's would be a bog by tomorrow morning. She kicked at the ground, judging how long it would take for the two boys to waterlog the place and just how far into the soil the building would sink. Radiant Garden was going to need a Lifeboat Rescue service by the end of the week. Looking back up to Zexion she shrugged. "I'm not sure. It might not be a very good idea, Zexion. Whenever Dad made Sora clean the cars Dad always had to go back and finish the job."

Kairi made a 'tutt'ing sound in her throat as she rose from her spot beside Esoterica, walking over to where Naminé stood and spun around, catching Naminé's arms in her hands as she came full circle and looked up at her face. The bright grin on her face spoke of a thousand wild and devious deeds. Axel had a similar grin – it was the grin that let slip that they were up to something nefarious. "I'm sure it'll be loads of fun, Nami!" she cheered. "There's never anything as stupid as this going on in this little town – we've got to see it through. If we're lucky, Axel will drown himself and Mom will let me have his bigger room."

Naminé scrunched up her nose in thought, pursing her lips. "I'm not sure – not to mention how exactly can Axel drown himself with a hosepipe?"

"This is Axel – he could drown himself in the rain," Zexion interjected, obvious listening in on the girls' conversation. "It would be nice for someone to describe this absolute farce to me in a way that isn't Demyx's usual enthusiasm of 'oh no's', 'oh my God's' and 'I'm bored now's'. He describes things in a way that wouldn't suit a play-by-play atrocity that would be Sora and Axel attempting to clean a car." He inclined his head towards Naminé and Kairi while a small smile played on his lips. "I'll even pay."

Instantly Naminé felt herself jump onto the defensive. She quickly shook her head and moved over to stand before him. "No, no, I could never ask that of you, Zexion. You don't have to pay me anything; I'll pay and tell you everything that's happening."

Kairi came up behind her and looped their arms together. "You do know that this is Zexion, right?" she said, even though the answer was obvious. "He may not be able to see you blushing, but he's an expert at reverse psychology."

"Why, Kairi, you make me sound like I'm insincere," he replied. "Do not worry, Naminé. Consider it a gift."

She pouted. She didn't want Zexion to reach into his own pocket. The more she thought about it, however, was that he had asked her to participate and tell him of the outcome of Sora and Axel washing a car. Some people would pay to see a scene like that. Zexion was paying to have someone describe it for him. After taking a few moments deliberating in her head and nibbling on her bottom lip, she finally caved with a nod. "Okay. I'll do it."

"Wonderful!" Kairi cheered, punching the air with her free arm. "I'll go and get Cid." Sliding her arm from Naminé's, she headed inside the building.

With her friend gone to be her typical chatty self, Naminé moved to take up the spot beside her other friend. There was just something about Zexion that drew her in. Their personalities naturally complimented rather than the obvious contrast between the blind man and Demyx. She had never told anyone, but when she had first met Zexion she had developed an odd sort of crush on him. It had been silly and atrociously teen-angst-like in every way, and when Demyx came into the picture she had even found herself hating him because he had what she wanted. After spending enough time with the older male though, her rational mind finally caught up with her hormones and she tucked the phase into a little locked chest in the back of her mind and labelled it 'Stupidity'. She placed it next to that time when she was ten and thought it would be fun to try out for the lead in choir only to discover she suffered from immense stage fright.

Her overall liking of Zexion never went away when she had rationalised what she had been feeling and worked out that it was pure idiocy to think of Zexion in any other way than a friend. He was easy to talk to, and had a mature way of dealing with things. Of course he expected people to think in the same patterns that he did, and had moments where he said socially inappropriate things to people who did not comply with his thought processes. There was a way of just dealing with Zexion; otherwise you could end up hurt. Naminé knew and understood those ways, and felt comfortable around him. From time to time he did still say things that touched a nerve within her, but she had learned how to retort rather than internalise everything. If she didn't know how to do that Naminé was sure she would have broken somewhere along the way in her friendship with Zexion. It certainly wasn't how Demyx did it, but she couldn't think like he did.

Demyx was like water. Zexion was like a mirage. Naminé felt like she was a crayon drawing compared to him, but they were both products of something that just wasn't quite real. He was a false image of what could be there – she was an image of what had once been there, or only existed in her mind.

"You're thinking again," he said, breaking the stretching silence. Most people would state that she was being quiet and ask why. Zexion got to the root of things without wasting time on the niceties

She smiled, leaning in close enough to allow their arms to just brush with only a whisper of air between them. "I'm working out things in my head. Today has been…A lot to process." She gave that nudge again. It was their way of showing she was smiling. She didn't even remember when it had developed; it felt like she had always being making the motion. "We've been invaded by Stubborn and Brooding; Sora seems to think we're still kids; and, most importantly, Sora is washing my car."

"You are somewhat incorrect there, Naminé, it is, in fact, Sora and Axel that are washing your car," Zexion responded, picking at the minor detail as if he was picking at an annoying thread poking out of his favourite jeans. "Take into account Axel's obscure aversion to water and his ability to make even damp paper spontaneously combust and Sora going near your car with a wet sponge is the least of your worries." The small, practically invisible smile drifted onto his lips again and sat there for a good few moments. "I met your cousin Roxas too. Demyx has claimed him. He reminds me a little of you. You both have that something that's just a touch to the left of whole." Smile slipped to release a gentle sigh. "I understand that feeling."

"Whenever anyone outside our family met all four of us it was Sora that was always the odd one out. They seem to assume that I'm Cloud and Roxas' little sister rather than Sora's. Then they see Sora and Roxas together and everything gets messed up even more. Can you tell the difference between them?"

"It is the light they have," Zexion replied to her question. "Not the visual kind, but internally…The feeling that they leave you with, if you will. Sora is bright and full, while your cousin is like the edges where the light meets darkness. Even I can make out how a beam of light frays when it reaches its limit and Roxas is like that part where the light ends and the dark begins. There's also Roxas'…similarity to you and I while Sora is a stark difference entirely."

Naminé took everything in he had said, her mind trying to contemplate everything Zexion had given her, but she found herself staring mouth agape at him.

He chuckled as if he could tell her mouth was hanging open like some kind of fish. "They sound alike, but Roxas' tone differs from Sora's. If they were to both say the same thing I would be able to pinpoint which was which."

While taking in all that Zexion had told her and trying to figure out all the ways in which Axel and Sora could destroy her car there was a shout of her name from the rear entrance of the building. Turning in her seat she moved to look at just who it was trying to gain her attention.