Weekend is here! And XMas is getting closer by the minute!

"You have changed, Naminé," Riku said, looking at her. The girl stopped drawing and looked at him, surprised, her cheeks flushing a bit.

"Oh, uh… Yes. Kairi thought braids would suit me. … Do they?"

"It does suit you, but that's not what I meant," he replied, stifling a laugh. He had not really noticed her new hairstyle - or rather had not really an opinion about it. This time, her whole face flushed quite violently, a panicked looked on her eyes.

"No, of course not. You don't care about that, obviously. I'm sorry, I thought I… Sorry. Sorry."

Riku sighed, still smiling, and took a chaid next to her.

"We still have some work to do on self confidence here. I'll ask Kairi to teach you that, this is going to be some spartan training with her. All I meant is that you look happier. You have almost stopped looking as if you believed you didn't belong here. I'm glad."

She looked embarrassed, but he could see her face soften. "It's thanks to everyone. Everyone here is so nice… So welcoming. Even the ones I was a bit scared of at first turn out to be really kind."

"People you were scared of? Like who?" He had a hard time imagining her being scared of Kairi and Xion, with who she spent most of her time.

"Well, the former Organization members," she confessed, staring at her drawing book on her lap. "After all I've been through… They scared me a lot. But Ienzo really tries to make it up and told me to ask him if I needed anything, and Aeleus looks a bit scary at first… No, he looks incredibly terrifying at first, but he's actually really kind and told me a lot about Radiant Garden. He even had a room prepared for me inside the Castle for anytime I come back there and had it furnished with anything I wanted. They look really sorry for their time in the Organization and they want me to finally feel home. And there's Axel, of course. He has changed the most. He's not quite so manipulative anymore. Isa is still learning to be warmer and more open than Saïx was, and Axel is helping him a lot with that. They ask me to join them sometimes, and it's nice."

All the embarrassment was gone from her face now. Her eyes were full of excitement and love, and it was easy to realise how much she cared about them all.

"Look at you know, having a myriad of friends. That's wonderful. I think they are helping you finding your place in the world, but let me tell you one thing, Naminé: you are helping them just as much. You are the redemption they needed. And I think they really like having you around. Did you know that Ienzo put that last drawing you made him in his lab?"

"Did he?"

"Of course he did. Had it framed on the wall. Finally a bit of colour in their depressing lab. It's good you have been able to forgive them for what they did back then. They really felt bad about it."

"I don't know if I could forget everyone, to be completely honest with you." Her eyes looked a bit sad. "If I ever met Marluxia or Larxene again… They were horrible to me. Cruel. The others mostly just ignored me, but the two of them hurt me a lot. I hope that getting their hearts back made them good people again, but I also hope that I will never cross path with them again. Ever."

Riku nodded gently. "I'll do my best to ensure that will never happen, then. Wishing they have become nice people is very noble of you. You could just have wished they were paying the price of their action somewhere." She looked horrified, so he chuckled. "Of course you would never have thought about that. You are, after all, very similar to Sora. Never wishing anyone something wrong. I admire you for that."

They both fell silent for a short while. He could see by her eyes she wanted to say something else, but somehow didn't, so he gave her all the time she needed, until she finally broke the silence.

"There was someone else I used to be terrified of."

"Was there? Oh, you mean Even, perhaps?"

She shook her head. "You."

This hit hard. He did his best to keep his composure, but her words echoed in his whole body and hurt. But when she looked at him, he didn't see any anger, any hate, any fear. Just love, and pride.

"You had to choose a difficult path because of me. You wanted to protect Sora, and in order to do so, there were sacrifices to be made. To be completely honest with you, you scared me back then. Saving Sora was the only thing that mattered to you, and if that meant using people in order to do so, that's exactly what you would do. And I am telling you that because you have changed. You have made amends so many times, and yet I know you think it's still not enough. You feel bad for how you treated me and now you are ensuring I am doing alright all the time. You of all people are spending your life trying to make up for your past mistakes. I think it's about time you stop believing your job is simply to help people, but that you have no right to stay by their side. You are right, Riku, I have changed, and I'm much happier now than I've ever been. Don't you think it's your turn to be really happy and to notice you belong with us?"

He gasped at her, looking at her as if he saw her for the very first time. She had spent much more time with Kairi than he had originally thought, apparently. Her eyes were teasing, her smile honest and sincere. She was probably right. He was so busy trying to make sure everyone was fine that he never took time for himself. He finally relaxed and chuckled.

"I guess it's time for you to teach me how to do that, then. What do people do when they have some time off?"

"We'll start with a stroll across the city," she said, her eyes sparkling. "Then we will be having lunch with Hayner, Pence and Olette at the Bistro. After that, Roxas will take you skateboarding, and we'll all have ice cream by the clocktower, with Axel and Isa. And then…"

He let her decide for the planning of the day. He could see by her eyes that she had learnt to enjoy herself. Perhaps it was time for him to learn how to do that too.

Fifteenth theme will be Darkside!