Rokushi 2021: Double Date Disaster
A/N: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Company. I do not own The Dresden Files, which is the property of Jim Butcher.
This is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way, shape or form.
Good day to you, my friends! My dearest readers, hello and hello!
Rokushi 2021 has come to an end! Let's finish this wonderful week off with a bang! You've been with me for so long, I feel a great connection to all of you.
Now, take a look at Roxas and Xion and their double dates!
oooo
Over the last two years, Xion had met a lot of people—well, maybe not a lot of people, but she had certainly met some. She had met people who fought with swords and some who fought with magic. She had met regular people too, who didn't fight. There were people who worked with computers and people who worked in shops and there were even people who preformed shows for others. There were many, many different kinds of people. Almost as many kinds of people as there were kinds of worlds.
"Opera tickets?" Xion asked. "Your Majesty, I'm not sure if I'm the right person to bring…"
"Aw, Xion," King Mickey said, in his squeaky voice. "I told ya before, you can just call me Mickey. And I think you and Roxas would be great guests."
"Well…okay," Xion said. "But Roxas and I have never been to an opera before. I'm not even sure what an opera is."
"Oh," King Mickey chuckled. "It's like a play, only longer. A play and a concert mixed into one. Does that make sense?"
"Sure," Xion nodded. "I've seen both of those together…um…okay, I guess. So it's gonna be you and Queen Minnie, plus me and Roxas. Nobody else?"
"Nah," King Mickey shook his head. "Donald and Goofy always fall asleep when they watch opera. Last time, it took 'em less than twenty minutes. But I should let you know that you're gonna have to get dressed up for it…Queen Minnie will be able to help you."
xxxx
"There we go," Queen Minnie said, as she helped Xion stand up. "You look absolutely lovely."
"Lovely?" Xion said, as she struggled to balance in the high heels she'd been lent. "I don't know if that's the right word, your Majesty."
"Oh, I think so," Queen Minnie said. "And this color…black looks wonderful on you, Xion. You look as mysterious as the night sky."
"Thank you, Queen Minnie," Xion said, bowing her head. She would have bowed more deeply, but she didn't want to wrinkle the dress, and she wasn't very good at curtseying.
"Oh, haha, King Mickey is right," Queen Minnie tittered. "You're much too humble, Xion. Let's go, now. Roxas and King Mickey will be waiting for us."
Walking in heels sucked. Xion thought she was used to it, with all the time in the Organization and her own regular boots. But it was so hard to walk with heels…maybe it was the combination of heels and a dress. She wore borrowed sundresses when they visited the Islands and stayed overnight—but she usually spent those visits in sandals at the most. The trip to find King Mickey and Roxas was mercifully short. Roxas was…dressed very nicely…in a suit! He even wore a fancy coat and a tie!
"You look radiant," Roxas said, holding out his arm. Xion slipped her arm inside and leaned against his shoulder.
Queen Minnie and King Mickey led the way to the opera hall. They had a special booth in the upstairs balcony. They could see the whole stage and orchestra from here—there were lots and lots of people with musical instruments.
And then they began watching the opera. Xion couldn't understand any of the words the actors were singing, but the music was very nice. The opera was long though. Much longer than movie or even a concert would be. Xion's legs were getting very stiff when she turned her head and gasped.
Roxas had fallen asleep! It had been about four hours and Xion was pretty sleepy herself, but Roxas was tipping forward now. Oh no! He might fall out of the box…and then he could fall and get hurt. Or hurt someone else if he landed on them. No, no, no, no, no!
Just as Roxas leaned too far forward, Xion managed to reach out a hand to grab him by the back of his jacket. It worked! She'd stopped him…wait, why was he still moving? No!
The next thing Xion knew, she was dangling from the balcony, holding onto the rail with one hand and Roxas with the other. Oh, her arms hurt! She had to hold on though…hold on…hold on…her grip was slipping!
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
Thump!
Smash!
Bbbbrrr-waaaapphhh!
"Ooof," Roxas said. "Must have dozed off…Xion? Xion?"
"Owwwwwwww…"
oooo
The fallout from the opera incident wasn't bad, really. King Mickey and Queen Minnie didn't blame them at all. The conductor and the theatre players were good sports about it too. But by having to keep him from falling out of the box office, Xion had wound up getting both her shoulders dislocated. She'd ended up having to go to the doctor for two days—and then Axel had fussed over her for another week.
Roxas helped out where he could there. He didn't even need to be asked by Axel to help out, he moved on instinct. Make sure Xion was as comfortable as possible—something that did come naturally to him, he was willing to admit. He fluffed Xion's pillows and made sure she wasn't putting too much pressure on her shoulders or arms. He brought her a blanket and books and her favorite stuffed animal. And he would sit with her and watch television or listen to her read or just…be with Xion. She was looking better every day—the color returning to her face and she was able to stay awake for most of the day. Helping Xion made Roxas feel better, since he had been the one to get her stuck like that in the first place.
Knock knock knock!
"I wonder who that could be," Xion said. "Axel's got work and he said that he'd pick up the pizzas straight from the parlor…and Hayner and Pence and Olette don't need to knock."
"I got this," Roxas nodded. He raised himself to his feet, patted Xion on the knee…or maybe her leg—it was hard to tell with the blanket covering her—and opened the door. "Who's there?"
"Down here, Roxas," a voice quacked. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."
Roxas looked down. Staring up at him was a large, white duck, wearing blue clothing. Donald Duck, the Court Magician. One of King Mickey's oldest friends, and one of Roxas's friends too.
"Oh, Donald!" Roxas said. "Is everything alright?"
"Oh, everything's fine," Donald said. "No Heartless attacks, no Nobodies, no monsters…the only trouble's been the boys with their go-kart…and Gladstone with his stupid luck…ah, never mind. Me and Daisy are gonna be going out in a few nights and we want you two to come with us."
"After the incident with King Mickey and Queen Minnie," Roxas said, lowering his voice, "I have to admit I'm a bit nervous about trying to go out with Xion again. I'm sorry Donald, but I don't think it's a very good idea."
"Eh, the King's always been one to try and go overboard when it means impressing Queen Minnie. Disaster was gonna happen sooner or later," Donald said. "But you don't have to worry about that now, Roxas. Just you and Xion and me and Daisy and a nice restaurant. We don't have to do anything but sit and eat. Let the girls talk about whatever. Just smile and nod and say we agree with them on whatever it is they're talking about. Easy, easy, easy and more easy."
"Well…" Roxas said, rubbing the back of his neck. "When you put it that way…it would be kind of nice just to sit and hear her talk. And not have to worry about cooking. But I'm not sure…"
"Why don't we see what Xion says?" Donald asked. "After all, she's the one who's been laid up this whole time."
Without waiting for an answer, Donald walked past Roxas, into the house. He padded over to the living room and Roxas walked back in after him.
"Donald wants to know if we want to go to dinner with him and Daisy on…what day was it?"
"Any day is good actually," Donald said. "So Xion, does that sound like somethin' you wanna do?"
Xion paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side. Roxas walked past Donald and sat down beside her. Almost without meaning to, Xion took his hand.
"I think that sounds like a very good idea," Xion said. "Just so long as it's a night where Axel can make his own dinner plans. I don't want him to feel left out."
It would be just like Xion to make sure that Axel wouldn't have to eat by himself, but Roxas wondered to himself whether Axel wouldn't leap at the opportunity to have the house to himself for a night. Knowing Axel…he'd probably end up eating an entire box of sea salt ice cream bars by himself.
"Alright then," Donald said, crossing his arms…wings…whatever. "That sounds good. I'll let Daisy know. It's a date!"
xxxx
When Roxas thought of eating dinner, he tended to think of the kitchen table at home—it was a round table, so everyone was equal. Or maybe eating in the living room on the couch. That was usually Axel's idea, when he'd brought home pizza or burgers. Something that was fun to eat that didn't have any dishes.
"A date at the single fanciest restaurant in town," Roxas muttered as he tried to avoid fiddling with his collar. "Donald, this isn't quite what I had in mind."
"It's not my idea either," Donald said. "It's what Daisy wants…does this tie look straight to you?"
"I guess?" Roxas said. "I don't know about ties…I don't usually wear ties. I wear zippers."
"Tell me somethin' I don't know," Donald muttered. "You and Sora are exactly the same that way…well, while we wait for the girls to come out of the powder room, let's look at these menus."
Roxas reached for one of the menus—it was written in a language that Roxas didn't understand. What was escargot? Would it taste good? There wasn't a picture to go with it. Roxas turned a page cautiously. The menu was very thick…there had to be something that sounded familiar. Roxas turned another page slowly and then felt something round fall into his lap. It was about the size of a Grandstander ball, dull gray and much heavier than it looked.
"Wak!" Donald quaked. "What was that? Oh no! Get rid of it, Roxas! Get rid of it!"
"Get rid of this?" Roxas asked, holding the ball up. "What is it, anyway?
"A bomb! A bomb! A bomb!" Donald said, leaping up out of his chair. "Throw it away! Throw it away! Now, now, now, now, now!"
Just as he said this, Roxas noticed a small bit of cord sticking out from one end of the ball—er, the bomb. At once, it sparked and a teeny, tiny fire began traveling down the cord.
"Gah!" Donald said, grabbing the bomb. "You're way too slow! I gotta get this outta here!"
He scurried around the table once, twice, three times, bouncing the bomb up and down in his hands. Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and sent out a tiny burst of ice. It incased the bomb and Donald sighed in relief.
"That was a close one," Donald said. "Good boy, Roxas!"
No sooner had he said this than all of ice broke away and the bomb's cord lit up again. Donald wailed and flung the bomb as hard as he could, out a nearby window.
"Phew…" Donald said, crawling back into his chair. "That was too close…I hope the others get back soon."
"Roxas?"
Xion and Daisy were walking towards them. Xion was taking slow, deliberate steps. She still wasn't used to wearing high-heeled shoes. But Xion looked positively radiant wearing a long purple dress.
"Xion!" Roxas said. He darted over to pull out a chair for Xion to sit down. As he did this, Daisy stared hard at Donald. "You look wonderful, Xion."
"Donald?" Daisy asked. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Uhhh…" Donald said. "No, I don't think so…oh, you have a smudge of lipstick on your lip, Daisy."
"Oh, Donald Duck!" Daisy huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "You really are something, aren't you?"
Eventually, Daisy took her seat and the four of them poured over the menus. A waiter came up to them a few minutes later and took their orders. Roxas ordered the escargot, Xion ordered tapenade, Daisy ordered something called tartare and Donald ordered…pizza.
"Seriously, Donald?" Daisy asked. "Pizza for your appetizer?"
"What?" Donald said. "I'm hungry! Can we order our main courses now too? I want spaghetti and soup and cheese and chocolate and…"
"Hmmph!" Daisy said. "Well, it just so happens that I want all of those things too…waiter!"
The waiter—who Roxas noticed resembled Goofy—had written everything down, gave everyone a nod, and then walked away.
Donald reclined in his chair. Roxas stood up straight. He could watch Xion more properly this way. She smiled shyly at him across the table. Roxas smiled back and this seemed to make Xion giggle. That made Roxas feel even better. Meanwhile, Daisy was staring at Donald very, very hard. After a long time, Roxas wasn't sure quite how long—it seemed very rude to check the clock on his Gummiphone—the waiter came back with a bunch of trays. The waiter lowered a tray down to Donald and lifted up the lid…
Three of the bombs were on top of a plate of spaghetti…all of them lit…and the cords were close to being burned up.
"WAK!"
"Oh no, not again!" Roxas said. "Xion, quick! Summon water!"
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion was pretty small, all things considered. Roxas had seen worse from a lot of Heartless with elemental powers. But it made all the dishes get sprayed everywhere. Red tomato sauce, blueberry tarts, green salads filled with oils and dressings…Roxas was covered before he even knew what was happening. He rubbed some oil out of his eyes—Xion was covered from head to toe in pesto sauce and chocolate mousse.
"BAAAAHHH—AAAHHH—AAAH!" Daisy shouted, leaping into the air. "Look at my dress! Look at my bow! Donald!"
"Ah phooey…"
oooo
Ah, the glory of a bedroom. It was nice and cold in his bedroom. Roxas nodded to himself. It wasn't stuffy or crowded or filled with dynamite or sticky food that stained everything. Nothing but him and his skateboard and his video game player and his stash of sea salt ice cream. And his tiki head tissue dispenser. Here Roxas could spend his days in peace…
Or he would be able to spend them in peace if Sora didn't barge in for the third time—in as many hours, ready with an idea for an adventure for Roxas to go on.
"Whatever it is," Roxas shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea. Nothing goes right for me and Xion when we leave the house."
"So that's why you're barricaded in your room?" Sora asked. "Roxas, I don't think this is going to work in the long run. You gotta leave sometime."
"Sure it's gonna work," Roxas said. "I have everything I need—my bed, my clothes, my ice cream."
"What happens when you run out of ice cream?"
"Er…" Roxas thought. That was a good point.
"And what happens when you need to go to the bathroom? It's all the way across the hall! And what about food besides ice cream?" Sora began counting on his fingers. "There's pizza and tacos and bear claws and sandwiches and…"
"You've made your point," Roxas said flatly. "And now I'm getting really hungry. I'm not changing my mind."
"Why not?!"
"Every single time Xion and I try to go out together," Roxas said, shaking his head. "It ends badly! You're not listening! It took her like twelve cycles in the washing machine to get her dress fixed. And my eyebrows got singed almost all the way off."
"Yeah," Sora said, "But this is gonna be different! You and Xion can come to the beach with me and Kairi! A double date on the beach! You and Xion love the beach!"
That was true. Roxas did love the beach. The sound of the waves against the shore, the tides themselves…the sand and the water and the sun…the palm trees and the groves. The .
"But what if something goes wrong?" Roxas shook his head yet again. "I don't want to risk any more trouble."
"Roxas, c'mon," Sora said. "You and Xion have just had a little bad luck is all. Come to the beach with Kairi and me, pleeeeeeeease?"
"Whether I say yes or not," Roxas said. "Let me guess, Kairi's already talked Xion into this, hasn't she?"
"Maybe…"
xxxx
The weather was incredible. Brilliantly warm, but with a breeze that kept the humidity down. Roxas had to admit that Sora had been right. The idea of a beach date with Xion—shared with Sora and Kairi—was turning into a great idea. Xion had always been one to love the beach. It had been what they'd always wanted to do in the Organization. Go to the beach together. And they'd been…loads of times, actually. There was nothing Roxas liked better than a beach trip.
"We're here!" Kairi giggled. "At last!"
With a squeal of laughter, Kairi leaned against the short wall so she could pull off her boots. A moment later, she grabbed Xion's hand.
"You too, Xion," Kairi nodded. "Shoes off."
Xion smiled as Kairi tightened her grip on Xion's wrist. Flashing a grin towards Roxas, Xion let Kairi unbuckle her boots
"Don't you worry," Sora said. "Just watch me and do what I do."
With a wink and a nod at Roxas, Sora walked over to Kairi and took her hand. Kairi giggled and placed her other hand on top of Sora's.
"My dear princess," Sora said, puffing out his chest and making his voice much deeper than it normally was. "Would you care to join me for a stroll, my fairest maiden? We can look out upon the shore and search for the shells of the sea."
"Ooh," Kairi giggled. Making her own voice as deep as she could, she continued Sora's game. "That would be a most pleasurable endeavor, my knight."
Roxas looked over at Xion. She looked…pretty confused. That summed up how Roxas felt about it. Sora and Kairi kept talking to each other in old-fashioned voices. Sora had told Roxas to imitate him…but Roxas wasn't sure he was willing to go quite that far.
"Xion, wanna look for sea shells?"
Xion loved sea shells. She loved collecting them. She loved holding them. She loved putting them up to her ear to listen to the ocean—Even had said that any sort of vessel cupped to an ear would produce the same effect, but Roxas could tell that for Xion, sea shells were special.
"I'd love to," Xion said. "Lead the way…my knight."
Roxas took her hand. Xion's hand was smaller than his own and fit into it perfectly. She giggled as they walked down to the water, digging her toes into the sand. The sun shined on the backs of their necks. Roxas breathed in the salty sea air. This was definitely something he could get used to.
The sand nearer the ocean was firmer and Roxas watched as Xion laughed as they made deeper footprints into the sand. She kicked a bare foot at the water and then bent down to pick up a sea shell.
"Thassala shell," Xion said. "My favorite…"
"It's pretty," Roxas said, as he watched Xion run her fingers . "Almost as pretty as you are."
Xion blushed bright red and Roxas felt his own ears begin to burn. He hadn't wanted to embarrass her. But the truth was the truth: Xion was very pretty.
"Thank you…"
oooo
"Alright, Kairi, my dearest princess," Sora said. "Would thee object to a castle for thou dwelling?"
"I don't think those are the right words," Kairi said. "But I would love a castle, Sora. Roxas, I think Xion would enjoy one as well."
"Er, sure," Xion said, "I can use my sea shells to decorate…but I didn't bring a pail. Sorry…"
"No apologies!" Kairi said, taking Xion's hand. "Besides, it won't be you doing the castle building anyway."
"You two lie down," Sora said. "I think there's a couple of old pails and shovels in the shack. C'mon, Roxas…"
As they took off running, Kairi tugged Xion down so they were lying in the sand. Xion felt grains begin to brush into her hair. She felt sorry for Kairi—sand took forever to scrub out and Kairi's hair was much longer than hers.
"Having fun?" Kairi whispered.
"It's been great," Xion said. She closed her eyes and listened to the waves crashing against the shore. The sun radiated warmth. "Really, Kairi…thank you. This was a wonderful idea."
She and Kairi sank into a companionable silence. A light breeze blew gently, tickling their bare feet. Xion giggled. Even the wind could tickle her. Kairi reached out a hand and placed it over Xion's. She squeezed Xion's fingers gently.
"So if we're not building the castle," Xion asked. "What's gonna happen to us?"
"You're gonna be the castle."
Sora and Roxas were back. Xion kept her eyes shut as Sora instructed Roxas how to pour sand over her—to lay a foundation for the castle. Xion giggled to herself. She'd been buried plenty of times on trips to the beach, but Sora's theatrics on how he and Roxas had to "build sturdy castles for our princesses" was pretty funny.
It didn't take very long, or at least Xion didn't think that it took very long, but she had almost reached a stage of half-sleep from the sun and the breeze when she heard Sora say that he and Roxas had finished construction of the castle. Xion opened her eyes…oh! They had built a sand castle on top of them…and it was a big one! There were towers and walls and her sea shells had been used for decoration. Xion was impressed.
"Good job, Roxas!"
"And now," Sora said, in his big, puffed-out voice. "We have to do one more thing, Roxas. The princesses have been given shelter in this castle. Now, we must make them laugh."
"Isn't that a fairy tale?" Roxas asked. "It sounds familiar…"
"I don't know," Sora said. "But it matters not, my dear Roxas. There are two princesses who need to be made to laugh. Now, are your fingers ready?"
Xion was buried at such an angle, that she didn't get a good look at what was happening. But when Kairi began laughing, she got a pretty good idea what was about to happen. Her toes curled into fists, but then she felt calloused fingers brushing against her soles. Xion bit the insides of her cheeks, trying to will herself to keep from laughing.
It was a fruitless battle. The fingers danced gently against her soles, back and forth and up and down. Defenseless, Xion burst into a fit of giggles that only grew louder as the fingers continued to tickle her. All efforts to keep a straight face failed and as Xion's concentration ebbed away, Roxas tickled her all the more fiercely. It was as if a thousand bolts of lighting coursed through her soles and up her legs and then her belly. At one point, there was a reprieve and Xion and Kairi tried to catch their breaths. It didn't last long though—Roxas and Sora resumed tickling, but by now Xion was too worn out to even think.
"What did I tell you?" Sora said. "The laughter of a princess is the most precious sound in all the worlds."
"Hehehehe…hahahahahahahahahahaah…hehehhehehehe…."
"You were right," Roxas said as he ran his fingers against Xion's toes. "Xion's laugh is the prettiest sound in the universe. But I think they've had enough. It's not fun if they're not laughing."
"A true respite then," Sora said. He stood up with Roxas standing up a moment after him. Xion inhaled as deeply as she could as her vision cleared. The sandcastle had collapsed from their squirming. "There is but one more thing to do…Roxas, you must kiss your princess."
Xion felt her face begin to burn and it wasn't just because she'd been tickled senseless for the last…however long it'd been (it had felt like an eternity, but Xion doubted it had been more than a few minutes). She hadn't actually kissed Roxas yet.
"Er…Sora…"
"What?" Sora asked. "Roxas, are you telling me that you need pointers for that?"
"Hey! It hasn't even been two years for us!" Roxas protested. "How long did you take to kiss Kairi?"
"He still hasn't," Kairi whispered. Xion's eyes widened, but she didn't think the boys had heard Kairi's remark.
"Look, I'll show you," Sora said. "You cup your lips like this, you bend over the princess and you do this…"
MMmpwaah!
Xion felt something pressing against her lips. Her eyes widened as she realized all she could see now was brown hair. Brown…not blond….
"Gah!"
"Sora!"
"Eeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww!" Xion squealed. "Sora, why did you do that?"
"Gah! It was an accident…uh….Riku did it!"
Sora turned to run and Roxas charged after him. Xion and Kairi were still buried, so there was little they could do but watch Roxas chase Sora. Once, twice, three times Sora ran around the entire play island, before he tripped over Kairi and Xion.
"Ooof…."
"Sora! Are you alright?"
"I'm beginning to think that Roxas had the right idea about never leaving his room…"
oooo
"Sorry, Xion."
"You don't have anything to apologize for," Xion said. "So Sora was my first kiss. It was an accident, Roxas. You didn't do anything wrong. It didn't even hurt when Sora tripped over me and Kairi."
"Yeah, but…" Roxas shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. The street was deserted. Which made sense, since it was probably really early in the morning—there were "timezone" differences between Destiny Islands and Twilight Town. As it was, the paperboy hadn't even started his route yet. "I still feel bad. Everywhere we go, there seems to be trouble. And it seems to be my fault."
"The opera?" Xion asked. "Roxas, you fell asleep after four hours. I don't think that's all that bad…King Mickey says that Donald and Goofy fell asleep after twenty minutes the last time they went to see one of those shows. And you can't blame yourself for those bomb thingies in the restaurant. And again…I don't blame you for what happened at the beach. I had a lot of fun."
"Fun?"
"Sea shell searching, getting buried in the sand so you could build a sandcastle," Xion began counting off on her fingers. "Holding your hand…I even liked it when you tickled me…I like it when you make me laugh."
"Yeah, but…" Roxas repeated. Before he could say anything else, Xion pressed her fingers to his lips.
"I don't care," Xion said. "Kairi and Sora and Axel all say I apologize too much. Well, now I'm saying you apologize too much. You're my best friend, Roxas. You're more than my best friend. I want to be with you. No matter what crazy bad thing happens. Better or worse…forever and ever and ever."
"Xion…thank you."
"You're welcome," Xion smiled and it was so radiant, it was brighter than the sun on any world. "But now there's something I want to do…Sora took my first kiss, even if it was by accident. But you can still have yours…hold still…"
Xion stood up on tiptoe, pulling Roxas towards her. Roxas felt her lips press against his chin.
"Gah!" Xion cried. "I missed."
"Hehehe," Roxas grinned. "I guess you're right, Xion. I want to be with you, too. No matter what crazy bad thing happens."
A/N: And that's a wrap! Happy Rokushi 2021 everyone!
It's been a journey writing these fics. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
And if you find yourself in need of more Rokushi, head on over to the Rokushi Discord: /invite/tmrxgBB
Thank you for reading, my dearest readers! Leave a comment if you're so inclined! I appreciate each and every one of you!