Author's Notes: This is it, guys. Here's the last chapter—it's more like an epilogue than anything else. It might not be what some were hoping for, but it feels right and it goes with the theme. :3
Well… I've grown up over the past few years, partly because of other people and partly because of myself. Therefore, "Good Enough" is dedicated to the people that have come and gone, and especially the ones that are still here.
A lot of myself was poured into this fic. I'm so glad it was well received, and also that the AxelRiku fandom has grown. It will continue to flourish, by golly!
I said I'd post the soundtrack, didn't I? I won't list it here, but what you can do is go to my writing journal (it's linked in my profile). Beneath the Friends Only post will be the only other public one—this will have the soundtrack listed, along with lyrics and available downloads for easy access. Lyrics don't necessarily have to fit—I used the music to set my mood for scenes.
Enjoy!
Lastly, thank you—again—for the support.
Without further ado, I present to you August, which needs no explanation.
"Good Enough"chapter twelve- August
by: Rosalyn Angel
-
In August, nothing special happened.
Days passed normally. The summer heat and late nights melded them together into one long stretch of time. It was easy to lose track—they often asked others whether the day was Friday, Saturday, or otherwise.
But in the last week of the month, the days became startlingly clear.
Friends broke up to return to their respective colleges. Things were packed and loaded into cars and goodbyes were exchanged. It was now an old, familiar routine.
Axel didn't need help moving this time. He managed to cram all his stuff into his jeep, and he even had all the directions memorized. He knew precisely which turns and exits to take.
The drive felt long. Each mile marker he passed on the highway caught his attention. They counted down one by one.
His cell phone sat in the cup holder, and his hand itched to use it.
Traverse University had it all.
Riku stepped out of his car, and looked up.
The trees were still mostly green, but autumn would soon change them. The lawn in front of the main hall was newly manicured, and the fountain had seen its yearly maintenance. The college was empty of its usual population—it was the earliest they were accepting on-campus students—but there were a few people here and there, checking their schedules and buying their books.
The main hall entrance, in all its glory, stood straight and tall as it always did. Its columns were still smooth, and the flagpoles in front still shone.
It was the same sight that greeted him the year before and the year before that—there was no great change to its structure. The air was still crisp, the breeze was still small, and the sky was still cloudy and blue.
Riku locked and shut the car door, pocketing the keys. There were a few things to be done before he could settle into his new room.
He took one step forward. His shoes scrapped against the pavement.
Nothing around him had really changed.
And then, his phone rang.
He paused and blinked, glancing down at his jean pocket where the phone buzzed and Aladdin serenaded him. He didn't move for a moment, just staring, wondering who it could be, daring to think that it was—
He pulled it out. The name read in bold: Axel.
It rang in his hand. The vibration was odd against his skin.
He flipped it open slowly and brought it to his ear. The word was released with an exhaled breath, the same greeting as always: "Hey."
Axel's answer was, as always, "S'up."
In the phone's background Riku could hear cars and other people. There was no hum of a nearby engine, though; just the brief roar as other cars passed. Axel was outside—maybe on a sidewalk.
Riku could hear him breathe.
There had been so much on his mind, but now none of it came.
"Where are you?"
The question was unexpected. "Huh?"
Axel's chuckle was quiet. "I asked where you were."
"Uh…" Riku looked up at the building before him. "On campus. The main hall entrance."
"Outside?"
"Yeah," he murmured, studying every detail of the entrance—every chipped brick and every intricate design.
"Gotcha."
He thought about what he'd say. He thought about how it'd happen.
Riku could hear Axel's quickening footsteps. His sneakers fell heavy and loud against the concrete.
"How was your summer?"
Riku lowered his head. Silver bangs fell into his eyes, and his hand cradled the phone close. "It was okay."
Another chuckle. More footsteps. "Glad it's over?"
He nodded, even though Axel couldn't see. "… Yeah."
"That's good."
His breath caught, but he didn't know why. There was silence.
Axel didn't stop walking. Riku listened.
"… I'm glad, too. It was nice and all, but…"
Axel's voice was sincere and sedated. Riku heard him mutter an excuse to someone before he continued.
"… I thought a lot. Well… I couldn't stop thinking, actually. I guess that's a good thing. That's a good thing, right?"
Riku smiled, but only briefly. He stuck his free hand into his pocket. "What'd you think about?"
There was Axel's usual laugh. "Isn't that much obvious?"
Something bloomed in Riku's chest. It was light but compact, and it made it hard to breathe. His entire body felt the need to move—anything to let loose the energy that was beginning to course its way through.
So he walked. He walked onto the grass and across the lawn, not fast but not slow. The fountain, stone gray and water spraying, was up ahead.
"… I thought a lot, too," he said quietly. The words were, at start, hard to say, but after the first syllable came, the others followed with ease.
"Oh?"
"Yeah," he said, watching the ground. The grass crunched under his feet. The sound of trickling water became closer. "I thought about here."
I want to get out. Go somewhere else—
"What about here?" Axel sounded hushed.
Riku remembered the dorm. He remembered room number 214 and the bunker bed inside. He remembered the wooden floor and the small bathroom they had fought over.
Riku remembered the blanket Axel had taken. He remembered how Axel had rolled it up under his arm and how he had fanned it out across the grass.
Riku remembered the stars.
"That it's not so bad," he said slowly.
There was no answer—just more footsteps.
He met the fountain's edge. Looking over, he saw his reflection wavering in the pooled water. "After all," he murmured, "everyone's here."
In his mind's eye, there were people. Each person had a little space all to themselves—a private corner reserved solely for their memory.
In one corner, there was Demyx. His eyes were bright and vibrant as he shouted at a concert, jumping up and down, excited and alive—and then there he was with Seifer, and Yuffie, and Luxord and Zexion, all together in a band that idolized another, playing hard and long and loving every moment.
In another there was Naminé. She, sitting so calmly, swept a pastel across a page; adding color, adding intrigue—and then she glanced up, smiling her smile, encouraging, knowing, and always so understanding.
There was Ansem. He was a dark, cold figure, sitting at his desk—he peered intently over his work and documents, barely looking over. There he was, seemingly without acknowledgement or interest—but even then, he opened his door all the same, and if watched closely, there was the subtle hint of a raised eyebrow that showed he was listening.
Leon and Cloud were close together. It was strange, seeing them apart; one grew too used to the other. Leon had his stoic, grim face, and Cloud had his thoughtful one—both familiar and comforting, however far apart they became.
There was Kairi, sweet, red-haired, and giggling. There was Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. There was his father, tall and forever present. There were other people, ones he had never met, those faceless but still with names and stories—Hayner, Pence, Olette, Larxene and Roxas.
And there was Sora, all blue eyes and brown hair, smiling with his hand reaching out.
I want you to be happy.
Sora. Sora was there.
Everyone's here.
"Riku?" "Riku?"
The voice was echoed through his phone, and then a hand was laid on his shoulder. Another blurry reflection formed beside his.
Riku turned around and was met with sharp, green eyes and red, spiky hair.
In a special little corner, all to himself, there was a person. This person grinned, joked, smirked, and laughed; he pulled him to his feet and made him sing along. This person took him out, took his hand—he took his mind and maybe more. This person—he made him understand that—
The phones slipped away.
"Wanna help each other unpack?"
"… Yeah."
—that life right then, for all it was worth, for all the times and memories, for all the people that had come and gone—that it was okay. That it was good enough.
Yeah…
Axel grinned. "Awesome."
It was good enough.
-August, end
"Good Enough"
April 11th - December 23rd
2006
fin
