Chapter 6
"Are you almost ready?" Riku asked, anxiously glancing out the window at the setting sun every few seconds.
"Yes," Namine laughed, perusing the extra flowers from the day and picking her favorites. "Just be patient. Sora and Kairi aren't going anywhere."
"I know, I just hate that Sora is cooped up all day." Riku sighed, going to Namine's side and looking over her shoulder. "What are you doing, anyway?"
"I thought Kairi might like some of these flowers." She told him, wrapping the unmatched, assorted bouquet in green plastic. "She seemed interested when I was telling her about them."
"Are you sure she understood any of it?" Riku asked with a soft chuckle.
Namine smiled, "Yes, I'm sure she did. She's been picking up our language faster than Sora has."
Riku hummed, looking back towards the door. "Can you blame him for it? He's got enough going on with his recovering, and-"
"Riku," Namine interrupted him with a fond smile. "I wasn't trying to say anything against him. He's been doing great. There's no need to get defensive on his behalf."
With a scoff, Riku crossed his arms, muttering under his breath, "I wasn't getting defensive."
"Uh-huh," she nodded, concealing her amused smirk as she grabbed a ribbon to tie over the stems of the flowers. "Alright, I'm ready."
"Finally," Riku breathed out in relief, hurrying towards the door before it opened as Sephiroth walked in.
Riku stumbled back, his body tensing just from seeing his brother enter the shop, until Namine's soft hand along his arm brought him back to reality. Sephiroth looked between them, his gaze landing on the bouquet of flowers in Namine's arms.
"Where are you two headed off to in such a hurry?" He asked, his tone accusatory as he brought his eyes back to Riku.
"Nowhere special," Riku averted his eyes, his jaw clenching when he noticed Sephiroth's huff of amusement at his obvious deflection.
"Is that so?" He asked in return, entirely unconvinced.
"We just thought we could donate these extra flowers." Namine spoke up, showing him the bouquet. "I'd rather that than throwing them away."
Sephiroth's brow quirked up, his smirk faltering at her words. Letting out a breath, he stepped aside, holding out his arm. "Very well."
Riku didn't cast him another glance as he hurried out of the shop with Namine in tow. The sun had nearly disappeared over the horizon, the golden glow covering the streets as stars began speckling the darkening sky. Namine kept her eyes downcast as she followed after Riku, holding the bouquet close to her chest.
"I can't believe I lied to him…" She muttered once they were out of town. "I've never lied to Sephiroth."
Riku stopped midstep, stumbling forward when Namine bumped into his back. "It's not like we had much of a choice."
"I… I know," she admitted, letting out a breath. "But…" Her voice trailed off.
"If he knew about Sora…" Riku swallowed, motioning back to town. "With all those pirates and lowlifes he hangs out with... who knows what he'd do?"
"He's trying his best, Riku." She brought her eyes up to his, only to see him scoff and look away. "A lot fell on him after Mom and Dad disappeared."
Riku winced from the mention of their parents, his hand tightening at his side. "It's not like it didn't affect us, too." He murmured.
"I know…" She whispered, looking down to the flowers in her arms. "And I know that neither of you handle stress well."
"What do you mean?" He asked, darting his eyes back to her.
"Oh Riku, you know what I mean," she looked back up at him. "Ever since Mom and Dad left, the two of you can hardly be in the same room together."
"Yeah, well maybe tell him that." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "He's the one always being an ass."
"Riku!" Namine scolded him for his language, making him smirk.
"It's true." He shrugged, motioning his head further down the path. "Come on. They're waiting for us.
Namine sighed as she watched Riku walk on ahead, before glancing over her shoulder. It felt as if someone was there, but when she looked, there was nothing but the empty path leading into town. Taking in a breath, she shook her head and followed after her brother.
The moon was out, its glow casting silver light over the beach and the worn lighthouse. Riku pushed open the door, grabbing the oil lamp he had placed inside a few days prior.
"Riku?" Sora's voice asked with a tinge of hope in his tone that made Riku's heart jump.
"Yeah, Sora, it's us!" Riku called back, quickening his pace and heading down the stairs to the lower pool.
"Welcome back!" Sora chimed, splashing his tail, even if his movement was still limited.
"Hey, good job," Riku grinned, dropping off his bag and sitting along the edge beside him. His legs dangled in the cool water as he lowered himself down. "You're really starting to pick it up."
Sora blinked, tilting his head to the side as he tried to decipher what Riku was saying.
"Oh, um," Riku reached into his bag, pulling out the worn book that had dried droplets of water littering the pages. Finding the word he was looking for, he held it out for Sora and pointed to it.
"Oh!" Sora realized, grabbing the book from Riku, soaking the pages with his hands. "Thank."
"It's thanks, or thank you." Kairi told him, coming up to the surface of the water.
Sora grumbled in his own language, waving her off as Namine knelt down, placing her flowers beside her.
"Hello, Kairi." She greeted warmly.
Kairi spun to face her, a warmth filling her cheeks as she wordlessly nodded and smiled. She swam towards the edge, looking over the plastic wrapped bouquet. Pointing to it, she looked up to Namine and asked, "Is flowers?"
Namine giggled, nodding, "Yes, flowers." She untied the ribbon and plastic, showing her the array of colors and grinning at Kairi's widened eyes. "Do you like them?"
Kairi opened her mouth to respond, before Sora splashed into the water, showering Namine and the flowers with salty sea. Kairi glared over at him, but he ignored her stare as he swam over to the edge, grabbing a stem of a soaked flower.
Sora oohed and ahhed over them, picking up one after another, telling Kairi about them in their language as she sighed and agreed with him.
Namine grabbed the occasional flower from the bouquet, silently working at braiding the stems together as Sora talked. Riku's laugh brought up her gaze, finding him completely entranced by Sora. He seemed to be loving the excitement, even though she knew him to usually prefer silence. She smiled to herself, before bringing her gaze to Kairi, who was watching her movements intently.
Holding up her half made creation, she showed her, getting a smile and excited nod in response. Namine continued, using more than half the flowers that were no longer being grabbed by Sora, who was instead placing the stems into Riku's hair. Kairi came to her side, her arms along the edge of the pool with her head resting against them as she watched.
Everything was warm, relaxing, a stark difference to the tense air back in the shop. Namine's smile grew whenever she would hear Riku chuckle or laugh and made sure to glance up to see what antics he was up to with Sora. The two of them had gotten along better than anyone Namine had ever seen with Riku. It was as if Riku was under a spell when he was around Sora, and she was sure Riku would say the same if she confronted him about it. But considering he was only like this when Sora was around, she highly doubted that was actually the case.
"What is it?" Kairi's question brought Namine's attention to her.
"A flower crown." Namine held up the finished product of half wilted flowers of various sizes and colors. She sighed, "Usually they end up much prettier."
Kairi carefully reached up, grasping the crown as if it were a rare treasure. "Flower… crown?" She repeated with a slow tone, glancing back up at Namine for reassurance.
Namine nodded, mimicking the motions of placing something on her head. "You wear it."
"Crown," Kairi repeated again, copying Namine's movements to place the crown on her head.
"It fits perfectly," Namine's smile warmed, reaching forward to readjust the crown.
Kairi flinched - still getting used to fully trusting them - but with a shaky breath, she remained still. She reached up to trace her fingertips along the petals when Namine was done.
"Beautiful," Namine told her.
"Bee-u-ti-full?" Kairi repeated, getting a soft laugh from Namine.
"Very close," Namine assured her.
A sudden creak to the door caught all of their attention, Namine and Riku's eyes darting to each other.
"I'll go check," Namine stood up, Sora and Kairi falling completely silent as they watched Namine head up the stairs.
"No, Nams, I should check," Riku jumped up, hurrying after her.
They exchanged a glance as they reached the door, Namine pushing it open first to peek out. "I don't see anyone…" She whispered, stepping aside to allow Riku to push the door further. "Maybe it was just the wind."
"Yeah, except that there hasn't been a gust that strong since we left the shop." He told her. Letting out a breath, he shut the door. "We must have been being too loud."
"Or someone followed us," she tangled her hands in her hair that was hanging loose over her shoulder. "I thought I felt someone watching us on the way here."
"Shit," Riku sighed, getting another look from Namine about his language.
"What should we do?" She asked.
He looked back to Sora and Kairi. "I should stay here… in case anything happens."
"Are you sure?" She stepped forward, placing her hand along his arm. "Riku, you don't have anything to stay the night. What about blankets, pillows? You can't stay by the water all night, you'll get sick."
"Sora has to stay here by himself," he pointed out, looking back at her. "Kairi can't be here every night."
"He also can sleep in the water." She reminded him, worry still plain in her eyes.
Riku let out a harsh breath, "I don't know what you want me to say, Namine. I can't just leave him here after that. What if we come back tomorrow and something's happened? He's trapped down there and helpless if anyone finds him."
Namine drifted her eyes towards Sora and Kairi, who were whispering worriedly to each other as they waited for them.
"What about Sephiroth…?" She asked, "He'll be waiting for us at home."
"I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "All I know is that I can't leave Sora here by himself."
"Riku…" She shook her head, turning away and pacing. "I don't like you staying here."
"Well…" he shrugged, a soft laugh escaping him, "it's not like you really have much say in it."
Namine chuckled as she looked back at him. "Is that your way of saying you're staying no matter what?"
"Pretty much," he smirked, his expression faltering as Namine hung her head forward with a sigh. "Look, Nams," he went to her, his hands along her arms. "It's fine. I can take care of myself."
"You're right…" She admitted, placing her hand over his. "Just… be careful?"
"Always," he smirked again, "Thank you."
She returned a strained smile, letting out a breath. "I'll have to lie to Sephiroth again."
"I know," he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry."
"It's alright," she shrugged with a bitter laugh. "What's one more lie, right?"
