It was one of the best moments of his life. He sat on the large dining chair, his legs swinging back and forth with his chin resting at the palms of his hands as his elbows were plopped on the table. His blue eyes were watching as his mother, a woman with long blonde hair that reached her back. She was drawing a figure on a piece of paper with a wooden pencil.
"Are you done yet?" the boy happily asked as the woman giggled.
"Now now sweetie, you can't rush these kind of things," she said , "If you rush, you're not putting your passion into it,"
"But I've been waiting for sooooo long," the boy whined as his mother sighed, but it wasn't with annoyance.
"Do you know why you're such a handsome boy?" his mother asked as she turned to him. The boy titled his head in confusion.
"Uhh… because a pretty woman like you made me!" he exclaimed as his mother laughed. She brought her head down and kissed his forehead.
"Well, you're not wrong, but making you also took me very long you know?"
"How long?" he asked, clearly not understanding what she meant.
"12 hours," she answered simply as the boy gave a look of horror.
"12 hours?" he gasped, "B-But that's like…like…" his brain scrambling for an answer, "a million episodes of Kingdom Hearts!" he exclaimed. His mother laughed sweetly at the mention at one of his favorite TV shows.
"Exactly," she said, playing along, "That's why, beautiful things take time," she resumed her drawing. Her eyes widened. "And that's why I can make this," she said as she held up her drawing; a caricature of him. His eyes practically became stars as he stared at it.
"Wow…." He spoke in awe, eyes not taking off of the drawing.
"Roxas….," she said as she held his cheek, "Roxas…. Roxas…"
Her voice was slowly trailing off to him. The boy burrowed his eyebrows.
"Sir…sir…sir…"
"Sir, please wake up,"
Roxas' consciousness got back to him as his eyes slowly opened. Blurry images came into sight as the first thing he saw was the face of a woman wearing a red flight attendant uniform, who was gently shaking his shoulder.
"Huh?" was all he could say his vision got sharper.
"Sir please wake up, the plane is about to land, please be sure to fasten you're your seatlbelt," the attendant gently said as she got up to attend to other passengers. Roxas arranged his seating position so that he could get into a more comfortable position. He sighed as his held his head.
"That dream again…" he said to himself silently. The memory of his mother drawing a picture of him flashed through his head. His eyes darted to the window next to him, and a grin slowly made itself up onto his face.
"Woahh…" he said as he saw a tall, silver buildings, combined with a green lush of forests down below from high above in the sky. He couldn't help but admire the view.
"Radiant City," he said. It was way much bigger than Twilight Town, his hometown. Just the thought of it made more memories flashing through his head as he slumped back into his seat. Sure, it was quite sad to leave Hayner, Pence and Olette behind but his father had already wanted him to move to Radiant City, the place where his now worked.
But yet, a new city to work in, means a new timetable to fit. Unfortunately, his father would not be picking him up form the airport but at least he has friends in the city to help pick him up. The thought of seeing Axel and Xion again after so long made him excited. Both were like a brother and siter figure to him. Not just them but at least he would be reunited with his other brother figure and cousin Sora, who had moved there from Destiny Islands. Soon he would join them all at Daybreak high, the high school that his father had enrolled him in.
Out of curiosity, he turned his phone on, Airplane mode was on of course, and checked the time. 4.30pm. Well, at least the time difference wasn't that much for him to handle. The signal of the speakers was heard.
"Passengers, this is your captain speaking, please get back to your seats and fasten your seatbelts we will be beginning to land shortly,"
"Here we come," Roxas said to himself. From outside, the white airplane started its descent into the airport of Radiant City. Soon, he would be able to reunite with his friends.
Or maybe not so soon.
"Dammit where are they?" he grumbled impatiently as his foot tapping got faster. He already had gotten his handcarry backpack as his large suitcase which was practically his wardrobe. The landing of the pane went smoothly, everyone was able to get out of the plane in a smooth line (save for some small arguments a lady had but that wasn't important) and he didn't have to wait that long at the luggage claim area since his was one of the few lucky luggages that came out first. And officer at the checkout area was very polite and managed to implant some of his effect on Roxas.
He was able to leave the airport smoothly and take one step into Radiant City. The first thing he did was to take that fresh city air that was completely new to him. He took out his phone and opened his chats application.
SEA SALT GANG
Hey guys I just landed, I'll be waiting in the airport .
And he sent that message almost an hour ago.
Initially, he decided to just wait for awhile since it was them that volunteered to pick him up after he said that his father would be too busy at work. And so, he waited. He waited as he watched people come and go at the airport, some greeting their loved ones and friends and some crying as they parted ways.
He tried calling Axel and Xion, but they never answered their phone. He tried calling his father, and still no reply (but he let it go since he knew his father is a busy man). He even tried calling Sora, but instead of no reply, he got the "USER IS BUSY" reply.
He thought about messaging them, but if they couldn't answer the call what hope would he have to expect a reply from them. He sighed as he pulled up the handle of his suitcase and opened the Maps application. He remembered the name of the neighborhood where his father's house was at and typed it in. After seeing that there was a search for Destiny Street, he set off.
And trusting the Maps application was a stupid thing to do. He was able to know where he was going for a while because of the map but all of a sudden, something went wrong and the map staring moving around. He tried turning his phone in different directions and in annoyance, decided to finally turn his phone off. He would rather just follow his gut and walk where his legs would take him. The sun's orange light soon caught his eyes.
"Wow it's getting late already," he said to himself as he realized that he had stopped next to a park. He looked up and saw the words "Radiant Garden".
"This is a beautiful looking park," he said as he checked the time. It wouldn't really hurt to visit a park now, would it? He walked pass the entrance and into the beautiful garden, his eyes landing on every green bush and trees. The flowers sprung and were positioned just right. Few birds were chirping along the branches of the trees, something he couldn't help but admire.
"Huh?" his brows burrowed a bit as his moving eyes saw someone sitting on a wooden bench. A girl with blonde hair that reached her back which split at her shoulder, some at the front and some at the back. He noticed that she her eyes were focused greatly on one thing, a sketchbook. An idea entered his mind, he would ask her for directions. He started walking towards her, watching her as the girl took out her phone and typed something, probably just to send a message.
He gulped as he tried to think of what to say. The last thing he wanted for the girl was for her to be weirded out by some stranger guy. He still double checked what he was wearing, just to make sure he didn't wear anything that stood out too much. His eyes widened as he saw the girl stand up, grabbing her bag in the process. Oh on, he was losing time. In the end, he did the next best thing.
Get her attention.
"Umm… excuse me," he said softly. The girl's body stiffened for a second when he spoke. She turned around, giving Roxas a good view of her blue eyes.
"Would you happen to know where Destiny Street is?" the boy asked.
But his words just flew in one ear and out of the other one but who could blame her? There was someone who was trying to talk to her, not to bully or to torment her, just talking.
And this someone just so happen to be a boy.
A boy with beautiful blue eyes and golden blonde hair that somehow managed to fit so well with his face. Her fingers started to tremble a bit and…. why was her face starting to feel warm.
"Umm, are you alright? You're face is getting a little…. red," the boy said, unsure whether or not if it was the right word. "W-Was it something I said?"
Naminé quickly replied by shaking a head and her hand in a wave manner, trying to let him know that it definitely wasn't his cute face that suddenly made her emebarrased.
"Well, umm, so do you?" he asked, referring to his previous question.
Naminé opened her mouth, wanting to answer his question but nothing came out. She mentally facepalmed herself for forgetting about herself. She looked back at her sketchbook and an idea formed into mind. Grabbing her pencil, she flipped to the back of her sketchbook and and wrote down on it while walking towards him.
The boy tilted his head in confusion as he watched the girl write. Was the place really that difficult that she had to draw up a map? Once she stood right in front of him, she showed him the page. But she also realized the height difference, he stood taller than her, and just looking up at him was more than enough to make her heart flutter.
The boy's eye's squinted as he read outloud.
"Continue walking down this path and take the second turn to the right at Twilight Street's sign, then left," he said as he repeated his words silently as a way to memorise them.
"Alright thanks," he said with a large smile that brought Naminé's face to a blushing red. Naminé simply smiled gave a slight bow. For some reason, double checking to make sure her white T-shirt weren't that wrinked.
Wait…. since when she has cared about her appearance.
The boy was about to turn around to walk out of the park when he suddenly stopped and turned back to her.
"By the way I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Roxas," he said. This time, Naminé tried very hard to not get lost in his smile. She flipped to a new page, writing down her name.
"Na…mi.. né, Naminé?" Roxas repeated, just to make sure he got her name right. The nodding of her head was enough to give him his answer.
"Naminé," his eyes drifted to the air, "What a pretty name," he blurted out without thinking. His face remained still for a second until he realized what he just said. He turned back to Naminé who was now covering her face by holding her sketchbook with her shaking fingers.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean much when I said it," Poor choice of words. "I mean it Is a pretty name but that doesn't mean I…." his words suddenly trailed off. His brain betraying him by not giving a real explanation. Now it was his turn as his face slowly turned red. It was an amusing sight, two red faced teens trying so hard to not lose their cool.
Real smooth Roxas. He thought to himself.
He coughed. "Anyway well, it was nice to meet you Naminé," he said.
She nodded, as a way of saying 'No Problem'. Roxas turned around to walk to the park exit as Naminé watched. She then realized that she was also supposed to head home and so, her legs begun taking to the park exit, the same place where Roxas was heading.
Only when she realized that she was practically following Roxas, the awkwardness in the situation just increased tenfold. She tried her best to keep quiet, they just said their goodbyes and yet they were heading in the same direction. As they walked, Naminé's couldn't help but keep her eyes glued on the boy, taking in his full appearance. Wearing a black high collared vest with a short sleeved white jacket over it with double-colored pants. His left hand had a checkered wristband and two plain rings on the index and middle finger, a black and white ring. His hair was gently feathered down at the back of his head which almost bounced with each step he took. Before they knew it, they were already at the exit. Both turned to the left, walked a few steps, and stopped.
Wow.
"Oh, are you headed this way as well?" Roxas chuckled, finding the situation a little amusing.
Naminé slapped her forehead. How could she forget? Twilight Street was just behind Destiny Street. She never paid much attention to the directions to her neighbourhood since she had been living here for so long. Naminé nodded as she opened her sketchbook and wrote down more messages.
"Yeah, I actually live nearby to Destiny Street."
Roxas started to scratch his cheek. "Well since we're almost heading the same way, you mind if I walk you home. After all it is getting late," Roxas said as he stared up into sky. The orange hue was now darker and even a few sparkles which were visible. But because he was staring up, he didn't see Naminé's stiff figure.
D-Did he just ask if we could w-w-walk together?
Wow. First, he talked to her normally, and now she's being offered to walk with him. Was Lady Luck suddenly shining down on her today? Can this light just shine every day?
"I-I mean if you don't want to it's totally fine, after all, we're practically strangers," he laughed.
Nammié quickly started to shake her head and hands before Roxas would get any ideas. She flipped open her sketchbook and wrote down her message.
'No no, I don't mind' she wrote, at the same time, holding it up, probably trying to cover her blushing face.
"A-Alright then," he chuckled. "Let's go then," he said as he started walking forward with Namine following side by side.
What am I supposed to do? It was her first-time walking with a boy home, adding to that he was a complete stranger as well. But for some weird reason, she felt like she could trust him. It was like this weird aura that he emanated that removed all doubt and worry from her body.
It was either that or she was making a dumb mistake.
Roxas decided to break the silence by asking something that's been on his mind.
"So, you don't really speak?" he asked, trying to sound as nice as possible.
She stopped walking, holding her sketchbook closer to her chest. Of course, he would ask her, who wouldn't be curious at the fact you wrote what you wanted to say instead of just speaking like any regular person. Her face darkened.
"Wow guess little Naminé here is just a girl of a few words,"
"More like girl of no words,"
Larxene's words rang through her head like a horrible memory. Roxas saw the look on his face and regretted his words.
"I-I'm sorry, you don't have to explain," he said quickly.
Naminé saw his face full of concern and she felt like she was slowly melting away. She gave a slight nod as way to say thank you.
"So, you lived here your whole life?" Roxas asked, changing the subject.
Naminé flipped open her book.
'Yeah, born and raised in Radiant City, you just moved here?' she wrote.
"Bingo, I'm actually from Twilight Town but had to move here because of my dad's job," he explained as a look of confusion appeared on her face.
'You didn't come here with your dad?'
"Nahh my dad actually moved here last year while I stayed in Twilight Town with some relatives. He convinced me to move here so that I could be closer to him," he said.
A thought lingered in Naminé's mind, and she wrote it down.
'Just you and your dad? What about your mom?'
Only the moment she showed the message to Roxas, she noticed his face flinched for a split second.
"My Mom passed away when I was a kid, so it's just the both of us," he said calmly.
Her heart dropped and she immediately cancelled her message and quickly wrote a new one.
'I am so sorry for asking' she wrote, bowing down slightly as an apology, causing him to react fast.
"Woah woah, it's fine, really, it's been a long time, and anyone would've asked," he chuckled a bit.
Naminé was a bit caught off guard by his reaction. How could he still pull off such a smile talking about something like that? Was he really able to overcome his mother's death just like that after years of bearing the pain? Seeing him smile like that, it made her think about how she would've reacted talking about something like that.
She couldn't even bring herself to think when he asked about her inability to speak.
"So, you draw a lot?" Roxas asked, snapping Naminé out of her thoughts. She responded by nodding, motioning towards her sketchbook that she was holding so close to her heart.
"How long have you been doing it?" he asked with a hint of curiosity.
Naminé held a finger to her lips. How long has she been drawing? To her, it was practically her whole life, she could remember just playing around with crayons as a kid, eventually moving onto sketching, then coloring, shading and so on. She opened her book and wrote down her answer.
'Honestly I don't remember' she held up her book. Roxas reacted by suddenly bursting into laughter. She didn't realise his laughing also had an effect on her, but instead of laughing she slowly smiled. She suddenly felt her heartbeat as her face got red.
W-Why is my chest feeling like this? I barely know him!
But what if I got to know him?
But wouldn't it be weird for him as well? I'm a stranger just as much as he is!
She felt like her head was going to split, as if different parts of it was shouting at her, telling her what she should do and what she shouldn't do.
"Ohh, I think this is your stop," Roxas said.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Roxas had stopped walking. In front of him, was a sign pole.
TWILIGHT STREET TO THE RIGHT
DESTINY STREET AHEAD
"Ah well, I think this is your stop," Roxas said as Namine noticed the familiar street and houses in her neighborhood. She nodded sadly; disappointment was filling her. Why did her parents choose a house that wasn't in Destiny Street?
"I think I can manage myself from here, my dad already sent me the house number so I should be able to find it myself, but thanks for bringing me here," he smiled brightly.
Oh, how she wish she could stare at it without looking like a stalker.
Naminé flipped open her book and wrote down a new message.
'You're welcome' For some reason, she found herself smiling brightly just like how Roxas smiled. He brought his finger up to scratch his cheek again.
"Uhm….well, I'm not too sure how to put this to words without sounding a like a complete idiot.." he said as Naminé tilted his head in confusion.
"Well, you look.. pretty, when you smile that," he said as he laughed a bit.
All of a sudden, redness filled Naminé's face as if it was her natural skin colour. She swore smoke was slowly coming out of her head from the gears cranking in her brain, trying to take in what Roxas had just said.
I…look pretty?
"Well, hope I'll see you around, See ya!" he said as he turned around and started to run to his street, leaving Naminé to stand there like a doofus and she would've stayed there as still as a rock if it wasn't for her phone's ringtone, courtesy of her mother calling her.
Dinner was finally over, the curry chicken her mother had cooked was delicious and the atmosphere overall felt normal as always, with the exception of the "We were so worried" reaction she got from her parents. But after a few "I won't do it again"'s, she was no longer in trouble.
She shut the door to her room and immediately faceplanted onto the bed. Normally she would've done this being tired of the day with having barely energy left, especially when she had a long day at school dealing with Larxene.
But today, she felt…. Different. As if she was full of energy and was ready to more things. She didn't care what, she just wanted to get rid of that warm feeling in her chest. Face still on the bed, she slowly turned to the side where her sketchbook is open. The drawing of the sunset she had made earlier was finished and she left it open for the paint markers to dry a bit. But thinking of the sunset, led to another image of a certain boy.
Roxas.
Naminé face flushed red at the thought of it. His smile, his cool, relaxing voice and the way how his blue orbs shone in the light. Was he actually a prince from a faraway kingdom that had escape the life of royalty? Or maybe he was trying to find a bride to take the throne with him?
Suddenly the image of her standing beside him in a long white dress with a veil over her head, holding a bouquet of flowers flashed before her mind.
Okay maybe this is ridiculous. One might think it's impressive how red Naminé's face can get.
But not just his voice, eyes or his smile. He was the first person in a long time, who actually had spoken to her without any venom in his voice, without any hints of hate or arrogance present in his tone. He was…. nice. He definitely wouldn't be easily forgotten. Her only regret was not talking with him more.
And he called me pretty…. She thought to herself.
First he could speak to her as if she was a normal person, and he complimented her… twice.
He also said my name was also pretty.
Naminé went to sleep that night, hugging her pillow as close as she could, dreaming that it was rather the certain golden blonde boy she met earlier and not a cloth stuffed with cotton inside, forever grateful to her parents for giving her her name.
