Yay, time to update! Holy Krabby Patties! Ame is actually going to try to make hearts for them! What will happen?

"You are always gonna be the one."-Utada Hikaru, "First Love"


Chapter 12: Receive Your Heart
Roxas and Naminé both gasped.

"Hearts?" Naminé repeated.

"You can do that?" Roxas asked.

"Yes," Ame nodded, "At least, I think so."

"What do you mean, you think so?" he asked.

"Well," she answered a little self-consciously, "My mom was a spirit child with powers beyond imagination, and she gave them all to me. I haven't used many of them, but if I do have such incredible powers, it makes sense that I should be able to make at least a couple of temporary hearts, doesn't it?"

"And you'd really do it for us?" Naminé asked humbly. Ame blushed slightly.

"I can try, at least," she beamed.

"Well, if there's gonna be any experiment testing, then do it on me, Ame," Roxas volunteered, "You've never tried this before, right? I mean, I'm sure you know what you're doing, but…" He looked sideways at Naminé, who smiled shyly.

"I get you, Roxas," Ame smiled, "Okay; we'll do you first."

'Help me out, Mom,' she prayed silently, 'Don't let me screw this up.' She placed one necklace back in the box and held up the other one.

"Roxas," she said politely, "please give me your hand."

The boy looked at Naminé, and they both nodded. He held out his right hand to Ame with his palm upward, bathing in moonlight. Ame held the necklace over it and closed her eyes; Roxas followed suit. The young waterbender took a deep breath and furrowed her brow.

"Okay," she whispered, "Here we go." She placed the pendant in his hand and covered it with her own, placing her other one under his hand. She opened her eyes, which were shining icy blue with power.

"Roxas," she whispered with a slight echo, "Noble warrior of the realm of light and worthy user of the Keyblade: You have journeyed further than you ever thought possible in your search for the truth. You chose the light over the dark and joined with your original self. Your worth for this life is duly proven, and you deserve what you did not have before."

Ame removed her hand from over his; the Japanese symbol for his name shone on the pendant.

"This heart is not permanent," she continued, "but it is yours to keep and treasure until I can find a way to make it real. Use it well; protect it, and protect others with it. Feel with it, fight with it, and love with it."

Ame took up the necklace and placed it around Roxas' neck; the pendant reached the middle of his chest plate. He opened his eyes to see her hand near the pendant with the fingers spread out. Her eyes were still glowing, and he saw intense concentration on her face. He held her gaze steadily and stayed still.

"Roxas," she said, echoing again, "receive your heart!"

An energy wave shot through Roxas, but he didn't move away from her. It wasn't painful, but he felt something coursing through his body, filling it to the brim. He felt light-headed, and a flash of red briefly crossed his vision.

'What' he thought, his head spinning, 'What is this? Blood? Is this what it's like…to have a heart?'

He started to lurch forward and caught himself with his elbows on the table.

"Roxas!" He felt Naminé's hands on his shoulder and arm. Her voice sounded distressed.

"Roxas," she repeated, "are you okay? Did it work? Are you hurt?" Roxas stared at the table, breathing moderately heavy.

"I…" He put an arm around her for support. "I'm fine…I think." Naminé leaned in closer and pressed her hand to his chest to help him sit up; then she gasped.

"Roxas," she said, "do you feel that?" Roxas looked down at her hand and put his own hand over it. Naminé removed her hand and placed it over his. Roxas felt a soft thumping in the middle of his chest, right under the pendant.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. His breathing became more steady, and his head slowly stopped spinning as he realized what was inside him. He gasped and his eyes widened. He turned and looked at Naminé.

"Naminé," he breathed quickly and looked up at Ame, whose own face made clear that she could hardly believe it herself. She was still holding her hand up; it started to tremble.

"It worked." She half-smiled and started to laugh. "It worked—I can feel it." She leaned across the table on her hands.

"Roxas!" she sparked with excitement, "It did work! You can feel your heart, right? It's inside you beating and alive, isn't it? Let me feel it!"

Roxas took her wrist and directed her hand to his temporary heart. Ame's eyes widened.

"I did it," she breathed unbelievably to herself, "I really did it! I made a heart!" Tears spilled out of her eyes; in her mind, she imagined herself at five years old running to her mother with bouncy excitement and crying, "Mommy! Mommy! Look what I did!"

'Did you see me, Mommy?' she thought, 'Did you see what I did?'

Roxas' hand gently closed around hers.

"Ame," he said humbly, "thank you." She looked up to see him crying, too. She chuckled and wiped her eyes.

"Hey, no problem!" she wavered, trying to pull herself together, "Immortal power, remember? Piece of cake!" Naminé touched her boyfriend's heart again and smiled.

"It may not be complete," she said, "but it's a beautiful heart, Roxas."

"Don't forget," said Ame, holding up the other necklace, "You get one too, Naminé." The blonde's cerulean eyes shone.

"Okay," she nodded and held out her right hand palm up. The moonlight intensified her pale complexion as Ame lay the pendant in Naminé's hand and covered it with one of her own, placing the other under Naminé's.

"Ready?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. Naminé held Roxas' hand.

"Ready!" she said, closing her eyes. Ame took a moment to prepare her mind.

'Okay, Mom,' she thought, 'Round two; don't leave me yet.' She opened her eyes, icy blue once again with power.

"Naminé," she whispered with her slight echo, "beautiful child of the light, friend of the Keyblade, and bearer of power both blessing and curse: You have born your burdens well in your quest to help your friends. You did not fear your gifts, but endeavored to use them in purity. You defied your superiors following your feelings of what you knew was right and chose to join your original self, thus triumphing over a cruel fate of nonexistence. You too deserve what you did not have before."

The witch's name symbol appeared in a shining light on the pendant.

"Though my powers are great," Ame said, "I can only give you the kind of heart I know how to give. It is yet incomplete, as are you, but this heart I give you is yours alone to nourish and protect. Feel, fight, and love with this gift."

As with Roxas, Ame put the necklace on Naminé and held out her hand near it. Naminé looked into her eyes and gripped Roxas' hand, ready for what he had felt.

"Naminé," Ame commanded, "receive your heart!"

"Uh!" Naminé gave a small cry as the wave hit her. She was aware of Roxas' hand on her back as the new blood flowed through her entire body. Once the bit of red flashed across her eyes, she started to sway.

"Whoa…" She came forward, but Roxas put his arm across her front and caught her. He brought her close to him and let her lean on him with her eyes closed; her breathing was shaky. Roxas streamed her hair with his fingers.

"Naminé," he said softly, "you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, a little disoriented, "just a…little dizzy."

"That's just the side effects," he smiled, "right, Ame?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Ame scratched her head sheepishly, "How else do you feel, Naminé? You got your heartbeat?" Naminé touched her chest over the pendant and smiled.

"It's a girl!" she beamed. Roxas laughed, kissed her head, and cradled her, whispering "I love you" into her hair as she started spilling her own tears. Ame cried silently again.

'I can do it!' she thought humbly, 'I can help my friends with my power! Did you hear that, Momma? I'm starting to get the hang of it!'

"Ame," Naminé reached out for her. Ame held her hand.

"Thank you," Naminé whispered.

"Yeah," smiled Roxas, "thanks." Ame nodded.

"Now," she said, "there are some things I have to tell you about your new hearts." They looked attentively at her.

"The hearts I just gave you are incomplete," she explained, "They're temporary hearts until I can find a way to make them whole. Since they're temporary, they are powered by your necklaces. They will not work without your pendants, so under no circumstances can you take them off or let them be removed. If those pendants leave your necks, you'll be right back where you started, inside Sora and Kairi. You…" She hesitated. "You might even…die."

Fear filled Naminé's eyes.

"Die?" Roxas repeated.

"But don't worry," she said hastily with a blush, "I've also infused them with celestial protection, so no matter what happens to your bodies, no harm will ever come to your heart pendants—the chains, too. They're protected too, so they'll never wear or break. And if anything happens to the hearts inside you, your pendant will fix it!" Roxas heaved a sigh of relief.

"That's good to know," he said, "Anything else?"

"Yes," Ame nodded, "You may have your own hearts now, but you still have to stay close to Sora and Kairi—not the way you were before, though. No—what I mean is, they're still not whole without you, so you still have to stick to them like glue. You'll have to stay in the same building as them at all times, except when they're asleep. If they're outside, you have to stay within 100 feet of them. I'll increase the radius periodically. But the best part is you don't have to stay inside them all day anymore! Even though you still have to be with them, you don't have to be in them. You can be together at daytime now; you don't have to wait for them to fall asleep anymore!" Roxas' face flooded with joy.

"Really?" he said, his new heart thumping, "Are you serious?" Ame nodded.

"You can be together anytime, day or night," she said, "And at night, you can be as far away from anyone as you want."

"Naminé, did you hear that?" he looked at his girlfriend, "We don't have to wait all day to see each other!" Naminé wiped a few tears out of her face.

"It seems too good to be true," she smiled through her tears.

"But it is true," said Roxas, holding up his pendant, "We're that much closer, Naminé, to becoming real, our own whole."

"Ame," she said, "I don't know how to thank you." Ame sat down by her.

"Easy," she smiled brightly, grabbing the other girl's face, "just say thank…you…!" They laughed.

"You've been hanging out with Sora way too much!" said Roxas.

"I don't live with him," she countered and stood up, "Now, come on! It's gotta be close to midnight by now, and you two have a date!"

"But what about Sora and Kairi?" asked Naminé as Roxas helped her up.

"I'll take care of Sora and Kairi," Ame assured her, "You two go and have fun. But try to get some sleep, okay? I'll set up a couple of spots for you in my room."

"Thanks, Ame," Naminé replied, "Thank you for everything."


If you were to stand on Ame's favorite balcony, which looked similar to the one from Beauty and the Beast and face the door, you would see a ladder of a design matching the rest of the house, built into the wall. If you were to climb this ladder, you would see a stone rail as thick as a bench bordering the rooftop. This was another favorite spot of Ame's, and she called it Stonerail. The rail came up to waist-level, and she was now leaning over it, watching Roxas and Naminé slow dance together in one of the rose gardens without any music. She decided to be their music herself, even if they couldn't hear her.

Ame pushed away from the rail gracefully and summoned a stream from the vase in the hall inside. It flew out from the balcony to her and she began to sing a slow version of DJ Sammy's "We're in Heaven" as she freestyle danced and twirled the water around with her hands and arms.

Oh, thinking about our younger years
There was only you and me
We were young and wild and free

Ame closed her eyes and floated a couple of inches off the ground, dancing on the air as if it was solid.

Now nothing can take you away from me
We've been down that road before,
but that' s over now

She looked down at Roxas and Naminé with a smile.

You keep me coming back for more

She started turning in slow circles as she swayed to the chorus.

Baby, you're all that I want
when you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
we're in heaven

She also started to spin on her soles.

And love is all that I need
and I've found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
we're in heaven

She floated backward with her eyes closed when she suddenly felt herself being gently caught behind her arms. Her eyes flew open; whether it was destiny or her mother's power, she didn't know, but she knew by his touch and her own physical reaction that it was him. She turned her head back enough to meet his bright blue eyes in what seemed like slow motion. She blushed again.

"Riku!" She softly landed on her feet. The stream of water splashed to the floor some feet away. She faced him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a softer tone than she meant to use. Riku blushed.

"You never came back from the bathroom," he said self-consciously, "I wanted to make sure you were okay." He then asked himself if he could be any lamer.

"I'm allowed to walk around my own house, Riku," she said with her back to him and her arms crossed.

'Idiot!' he chided himself, 'What are you so paranoid about?' Then Ame turned her head to him and laughed.

"I guess I was up a little late," she chimed and turned around, "I just…couldn't sleep." She didn't want Riku to know about Roxas and Naminé without letting their original selves know first.

"I'm sorry," he said profusely, "You're right. I didn't mean to…I just—I—uh…" He sighed and slouched his shoulders: He'd blown it. Somehow or other, he'd blown it.

"I'll just go back to sleep," he said with defeat and started to turn around.

"You can't do that, Riku," she said. He stopped and turned.

"Why not?" he asked, confused.

"If you leave, I'll be lonely," she smiled and blushed, "You promised never to leave me lonely, remember?" Riku straightened up.

"You mean you did hear that?" he asked with surprise.

"It was the last thing I heard before I dropped off," she said and smiled, "Your voice is very soothing." She turned pink in the cheeks.

'Holy crap, did I just say that?' she thought.

"So, ah," she tried to change the subject, "how did you know I was up here?"

"I saw some water jump out of a vase and fly outside," he answered, "and…I heard you singing. You have the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. I can tell you're singing from your heart and it shows in your face." Ame's blush softened as she looked at him.

"Thank you," she said humbly, "Domo arigato." She bowed her head politely to him and when she looked up, she saw his hand extended toward her.

"Um…" She blushed.

"I was wondering if you'd let me dance with you," he said softly. She blushed harder.

"In my nightgown?" she said awkwardly.

"It's long enough for it," he smiled.

"Without any music?" she dodged again.

"We don't need it," he said, "We have you." She pinched her eyes shut with embarrassment as her face turned up the heat. He laughed.

"Well?" he pressed, "You want to or not?" She looked up at him with her fist over her mouth. He saw her ocean blue eyes wavering; he was breaking her down, and he knew it. Finally, he took her hand in his and held them up. He slipped his other hand up behind her shoulder blade; it felt tense.

"Relax, Ame," he said easily, "It's me, remember? Look—you sing, and I'll lead." She was so nervous, she didn't answer. She just kept staring at him with a red face.

"Come on," he said gently, "When's the last time you danced with a guy?" She half-grinned.

"Six years," she answered, relaxing in his hold gratefully, "When I was 10." He pulled her a bit closer and she wrapped her arm across his neck.

"Okay, then," she smiled quietly, "What shall I sing?"

"Doesn't matter to me," he said, "as long as it's you." She giggled and blushed again.

'What is wrong with me?' she asked herself.

"All right." She picked back up where she left off on "We're In Heaven."

When she sang and they swayed, Riku closed his eyes and touched his face to hers again as he swept her around the floor in the graceful motion of her song. She sang softly for him, feeling like a princess, and they lived for every moment of their first dance.

After that first song, she sang "Angel" from Sara McLahan, "Another You," by Cascada, "When You Say Nothing At All," by Alison Krauss, and "It Matters To Me" by Faith Hill. Even after she stopped singing, they kept moving. He soon noticed they were slowing down, and Ame had her chin rested over his neck.

"Riku?" she asked in a small voice.

"Yeah?" he opened his eyes and said, almost in a sigh.

"I'm getting tired," she said with slight disappointment.

"Oh." He snapped out of his trance. 'Duh, Riku,' said his brain, 'Night equals sleep?' "Right…We should probably head back inside, I guess."

"Uh-huh," she said sleepily as she wrapped her other arm around him as well. Riku felt her weight increasing as she got sleepier. Holy crap, she was hugging him—and very closely. Riku prayed she didn't feel his heart hammering is way out of his chest, but he doubted it. He shook it out of his head; that wasn't important right now (she was probably too drowsy to notice it, anyway).

"Don't move." He bent down and picked her up. "I'll take you back in." Ame moved her head so that her forehead was in his neck again.

"Thank you," she said sweetly. He turned red.

His mind panicked, 'Skin, skin, skin!' His heart countered, 'Shut up, shut up, shut up!'

"How are you gonna get back down the ladder if you're carrying me?" she asked.

"Easy," he smirked, "I didn't spend a year fighting in the dark for nothing." He held her in one arm with his hand under her legs, like she was sitting in his arm. He used the other one to grip the ladder as his thoughts chalked one up for Riku!

"See?" he smiled once they were on the balcony, "Piece of cake!" Ame chuckled and was soon tucked into her bed again. She smiled at him and he stroked her head, which was still braided. She felt so special to have Riku taking care of her, so loved.

Wait—loved?

They watched each other for a long time without words. Ame soon started falling asleep under his rhythmic stroke, but she still saw the look in his eyes, one of full, deep meaning. They spoke volumes of his true feelings for her, and she thought of something just before she blacked out.

'I think he's in love with me.'


Author's Review
Of course, she won't remember thinking that by tomorrow morning, but who cares! Yay for fluff!!!!

As I was typing this, I remembered seeing a part from KH2 Final Mix where Axel says to Roxas "you have a heart, don't you?" But I don't care about the Final Mix, so there. :P

I hope you guys enjoyed the fluff and magic and dancing and singing and Riku's sexiness as much as I did for this chapter!!!! Whoo, Riku! Tell me what you think, and what you liked about it, 'cause I want your opinions! Otherwise, who's gonna get all these cookies? LOL!

See y'all next chapter!