Hope you guys had a good New Year's! Here's another chapter! This one somehow ended up being longer than I had originally planned... idk how that happened but anywhoo! I hope you guys enjoy!
After completing his mission for the day, Roxas made his way up to the clock tower, ice cream in hand. Surely he expected to see his red-headed friend waiting for him there, but it was no surprise when his other friend was nowhere to be seen.
He was aware it wasn't the first time Xion hadn't shown up to the clock tower after work. He understood it was likely because she got caught up with something, or because she simply didn't feel like showing up. But this time, something was nagging at the back of his mind. Not necessarily because it's been a few days since they last hung out at their favorite spot, but because of what had happened when he finally spotted her in the Grey Area earlier that day.
It also hadn't been the first time Xion was reprimanded by Saïx. Roxas wasn't sure what he had against her; why he always made such negative remarks about her and treated her the way he did. Was it because he didn't have a heart? Then again, no one in the Organization had hearts to begin with, so it really didn't make any sense to him. All Roxas knew was that Saïx didn't… no, he shouldn't have the right to treat her so carelessly.
The boy angrily clenched his fists as he watched the scene in front of him. From what he managed to hear, Saïx refused to let her leave on a mission because she failed the task given to her in a previous mission. It didn't help that hearing him call her "useless" and "a mistake" made Roxas' blood boil and he wanted nothing more than to step in and tell him off.
Nevertheless, she was dismissed. With her head hung low, she walked right by Roxas without saying a word and made her way to her room.
"Roxas, get moving," Saïx said in his usual monotone voice. "You have a mission to complete."
"Yeah, I'm on it," he spat.
Saïx paid no attention to his tone and sent him off on a solo mission to eliminate the Heartless in one of the worlds.
Roxas sighed at the memory as he sat down next to Axel on the clock tower later that day.
"Heya, Roxas," Axel greeted, slightly waving the ice cream bar in his hand. "Xion not around?"
"No, haven't seen her since this morning," he looked down to his ice cream and sighed to himself, "I hope she's alright."
"Did something happen?"
"I guess you must have missed it but… Saïx said some things to her again. He didn't even let her go on a mission today," he paused, furrowing his brows. "I don't get it. What does he have against her?"
Axel glanced at his friend and shrugged. "Well, you know how he is. That guy doesn't like anyone."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he has to be so harsh all the time, especially to Xion. It hurts seeing her so upset."
"You know, for someone who doesn't have a heart, you sure have a lot of feelings stuck in there," he jokingly pointed to his chest, trying to lighten the mood a bit.
"I just really care about her…" Roxas glanced down before he continued, "Don't you care about her too?"
"Of course I do, Roxas," he said, lightly smacking the boy's back. "You guys are my best friends, remember?"
"Right," he nodded, giving Axel a faint smile.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it," he reassured, a smirk suddenly appearing on his face as he thought of an idea. "Tell you what, why don't you try cheering her up?"
Roxas thought about his suggestion for a moment, thinking of one thing that always brought a smile to her face. "Like… give her a seashell? She seems to really like those."
The red head shrugged lightly. "Well… yeah, you can do that if you'd like. But what do you think might make her really happy?"
Roxas then thought of the next thing that came to mind. "Eating ice cream…?"
Axel chuckled at his puzzled friend and shook his head. "You guys can share ice cream and seashells all you want. But what I'm trying say is to take her someplace new to unwind. Like for instance, you can take her to that Neverland world you and I were sent to a while back."
"Neverland? You mean…" He trailed off as he remembered the reason Axel brought it up in the first place. He felt kind of dumb for not realizing it sooner. "Oh yeah… I could finally show her how to fly there!"
"You got it," Axel nodded, taking a bite of his ice cream.
"You really think that will cheer her up?"
"I don't see why not. Regardless, I'm sure she'll appreciate whatever you do for her."
"I guess you're right…" He paused as he took a bite of his own treat. "I'll tell her to meet us here tomorrow then, so we can all go together after work."
"You two can go on without me."
Roxas looked over to the red head, slightly disappointed. "You're not gonna come with us?"
Axel noticed the look on the boy's face and scratched his head."Nah, I've got some things to take care of. I'll tag along some other time."
"Oh… okay."
The two Nobodies sat in silence for the rest of the time as they watched the view in front of them while eating their ice cream. Once it started getting late, they decided to head back to the castle, eventually parting ways there.
Roxas was on his way to his room when his gaze fell upon Xion's door not far from his. He considered checking up on her to make sure she was alright. Though before he did so, he quickly slipped inside his own room and took one of the few seashells Xion had given him, tucking it in his pocket.
The blond then made his way back out and walked over to Xion's room, gently knocking on her door. "Xion? Are you there?"
The door opened and the first thing he spotted was Xion sitting on her bed, the bed sheets draped around her from head to toe.
"Xion…?"
She glanced up to Roxas before she quickly broke her gaze and brought her knees closer to her chest, pulling the sheets further down to hide her face. Roxas frowned at the sight. He took a step forward but stopped himself, wondering whether or not he should just let her be. He didn't want to push the wrong buttons again, after all.
"Err… sorry if I'm bothering you but…" He trailed off when he suddenly heard some incoherent mumbles coming from her. "Huh?"
She peeked up and attempted to speak clearer. "I said it's okay. You're not bothering me."
Roxas gave her a small, relieved smile and slowly approached her. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired."
He reluctantly scratched his head as he sat down next to her. "Sorry about what happened today…" Xion shifted slightly at the mention of that and he pursed his lips. "Hey, don't believe what Saïx tells you. I know you're not useless. You're a lot more than that… At least to me you are. And Axel, too."
She sat in silence until she turned to look at Roxas with hopeful eyes. "You really mean that?"
"Of course. We care about you, Xion."
Xion gazed down and sighed softly to herself, feeling a little more relaxed at his words. Slowly, she pulled the sheets away from her head, revealing a gentle smile forming on her face. "Thank you, Roxas."
He returned a smile of his own, not long before a chuckle escaped his lips when he noticed her hair was sticking out in different directions.
"What's so funny?" she wondered.
"Nothing," he shook his head. Before she questioned it any further, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out the seashell. "Here, I brought you this."
"A seashell," she grinned, gladly taking the tiny object and looking at it with glee.
"Thought it might cheer you up a bit."
Her smile gradually turned into a frown as a thought occurred to her. "Sorry for not showing up to the clock tower these past days."
"Don't worry about it," he shrugged. At the mention of that, he recalled the conversation he had with Axel earlier that day. "Actually, I was wondering if you'll be able to go tomorrow. There's something I wanna show you."
Xion considered it for a brief moment before she smiled softly at him. "I'll try to be there."
A small wave of relief washed over him as he stood up from the bed, his gaze still fixed on her. "I'm gonna get going now. Try to get some rest, okay?"
"Mmhmm, I'll see you tomorrow," she nodded as Roxas made his way over to the door. He turned around slightly to see Xion waving goodbye to him, followed by him returning the favor. And with that, he returned to his room, hoping the next day will make up for the rough one she had.
The following morning came around quickly. Roxas eventually exited his room and headed over to the Grey Area, immediately spotting a few of the Organization members sitting around. But there was no sign of Xion. Wherever she was, he only hoped she was feeling better.
Roxas snapped out of his brief thoughts when he saw Saïx approaching him with a piercing look. His expression never failed to make Roxas feel uneasy. "I've assigned another solo mission for you today. Be sure to make your preparations before you proceed."
He looked up at the older Nobody and knit his brows. "What about Xion?"
Saïx narrowed his eyes slightly. "That should be no concern of yours right now."
"Why can't you just give her another chance?" he pressed on, ignoring his remark.
"We've given Xion more than enough chances. The defective creature will only be getting in our way."
Suddenly, Roxas gritted his teeth and snapped, "Quit calling her that! She's not defective. We all make mistakes sometimes."
The blue-haired man seemed unfazed, his expression never changing. "Then I expect you and everyone else to work harder so we can prevent making any more mistakes."
"And you're not gonna let Xion try to work harder!?"
"That will be enough of this discussion, Roxas," he said coldly, "Now be on your way."
Roxas clenched his fists and grumbled in frustration as he stormed off to prepare himself for his mission. Meanwhile, Axel had just entered the room and strolled over to him.
"Morning, Roxas," he waved, only to be glared at by his friend. "Sheesh, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."
The red head glanced over to Saïx before looking back to Roxas, crossing his arms. "Let me guess, Saïx has something to do with this?" Roxas let out an exasperated sigh as Axel put a hand on the blond's shoulder. "I'll try to talk to him."
Roxas managed to relax at the mention of that. "You will?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just go ahead and do your mission."
He gave Axel a weak smile as he finished up his preparations and took off to complete his mission for the day.
"That takes care of that," Roxas said as he dismissed the Keyblade from his hand. He grinned to himself as he thought about seeing Xion that day. He couldn't wait to go to a new world with her.
As soon as he finished, Roxas hurried back through the Corridor of Darkness and eventually ended up at his next destination; the one and only Twilight Town. From there, the boy then eagerly ran over to the tower. As he approached the building, he immediately spotted a figure sitting on the ledge. Roxas beamed at the sight and quickly headed over to the stairs leading to the top.
After what seemed like forever racing up all those steps, he finally turned the corner and saw his friend waiting there for him. "Xion! You're… you're here…" he spoke in between breaths, giving her a toothy grin.
Xion noticed his condition and laughed to herself. "Did you just run up here?"
"I did…" Once his breathing was almost back to normal, he walked over to the girl and sat next to her. "I'm just glad you made it."
Xion couldn't help but give Roxas a cheerful smile. "So how was your mission?"
"It was a breeze," he said confidently, "I just had to eliminate some Heartless in Agrabah."
"That's good," she nodded.
"How'd you spend your day? Saïx didn't give you a hard time, did he?" He slightly furrowed his brows as he thought back to their dispute earlier that day.
"No, not necessarily," she shook her head, her smile never leaving her face. "I'm actually gonna be sent on missions again starting tomorrow."
Roxas' face suddenly lit up. "You are?"
"Mmhmm, Saïx spoke to me about that today. I just told him I will do my best."
"That's great, Xion!" he beamed at her. He wondered if Axel somehow managed to convince Saïx to finally let her go. He made a mental note to thank him later.
She nodded happily before she briefly turned to look in the opposite direction. "Do you know if Axel is coming?"
"Right, about that… he said he had something he had to take care of. So… I guess not?"
"Oh... well, I figured we should wait, in case you wanted to show him whatever it is you wanted to show me as well. But since he's not coming—"
"Actually, it's just for you," Roxas interrupted, sheepishly scratching his head.
"Oh…" Xion let his statement sink in for a moment before an avid smile crept to her face. She shuffled closer to Roxas as she eagerly stared at him with her big, blue eyes. "Okay… what did you want to show me then?"
Roxas acknowledged how close she was to him but he went along with it, grinning in return. "Just a little something. Err… it's not here though. We have to go there first."
She curiously stared at the blond as he stood up from his spot, Xion doing the same after a few moments. "Where to?"
"Well uh… it's a surprise! C'mon." Roxas then took her hand and began to lead her back down the clock tower.
The two Nobodies stepped out of the dark corridor and ended up on a small, grassy island surrounded by a large body of water. By the time they arrived to the world, Roxas noticed they made it just before the sun began to set.
Meanwhile, Xion looked around her new surroundings in awe. "Wow... what is this place?"
"Neverland," he said as he watched her radiant expression.
"The sunset here looks pretty," she grinned, her eyes never leaving the view of the sun's rays reflecting off the sea ahead of them. It reminded her of Destiny Islands.
"Yeah. I've been here a few times already, but this is the first time I'm seeing it like this." He wanted to keep watching the view but he had to remind himself the reason they went there. Regardless, he still needed some of that magic dust to fly… and so far, he saw no sign of the pixie that made it all possible.
Xion noticed his gaze darted all over the place and she looked at him questionably. "Is there something wrong, Roxas?"
"No, I'm just… looking for something…" He paused and glanced at her to rephrase himself. "Well, someone actually."
"Who?" As if on cue, a small, glowing figure suddenly appeared in front of Xion's face, causing her to squeak and jump in surprise.
Roxas grinned at the pixie's presence. "Oh, there you are! I was hoping you'd show up."
Once Xion composed herself, she examined the fairy, who had been curiously staring back at the raven-haired girl. "Sorry about that," she said to the pixie, laughing softly. "And who are you?"
Roxas took a few steps forward and introduced the small creature to his friend. "That's Tinker Bell. She helped me get around this place."
"It's nice to meet you Tinker Bell. I'm Xion," she smiled as the pixie seemed to show interest in the girl.
"Huh, she seems to like you. I can't say the same thing about Axel though," he chuckled, recalling the memory of the red head mistaking her for a bug at first glance.
"Axel knows her too?"
"Yeah, we came here on a mission once."
"Lucky," she pouted, "I wish I can be sent here. I can see why you wanted to show it to me."
An eager grin immediately formed on Roxas' face. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet!"
"Huh?" Before she was able to question it any further, Roxas tried to get Tinker Bell's attention.
"Hey, can you do the thing?" He asked, hoping the fairy understood what he was getting at.
Luckily Tinker Bell seemed to catch on right away as she immediately zipped around Roxas and sprinkled her pixie dust on him before she made her way over to Xion and did the same for her.
Xion watched in fascination as the glowing dust fell on them, even though she wasn't quite sure what it was for. It was at that moment that Xion was caught off guard when she saw Roxas unexpectedly hovering above the ground.
"Ta-daaah!"
Her eyes widened as she let out a small gasp. "Roxas! Y-You're flying!"
He beamed at her reaction and nodded, "Yeah! Remember when I told you Axel and I flew?"
Xion nodded as she continued to stare up at the blond in astonishment. Now that she thought of it, she wasn't sure why she didn't remember that any sooner.
"I've been wanting to show it to you. Go on, try it out! Just think 'I can fly' and… well, you'll see."
The girl snapped out of her daze and laughed softly to herself. "That's it…? Okay, I'll try…" Xion took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she tried to focus on that specific thought.
I can fly… I can fly… I can…
Before she knew it, Xion felt weightless. Her eyes snapped open and she saw her feet were no longer touching the ground. She couldn't believe it. She was actually flying!
"I did it! I can fly! I can- whoa!" she fell forward, almost crashing into Roxas. She managed to grasp onto his arms as she tried to balance herself in mid-air.
"Whoa, easy there!" Roxas laughed, nearly fumbling with her grip.
She giggled sheepishly, "I guess it's harder than it looks."
"Nah, you'll get the hang of it in no time. Here, I'll help you out." He took her hand as he briefly glanced over to Tinker Bell, flashing her a small smile of appreciation. The tiny creature waved to the two of them before she zoomed off. And with that, they proceeded to slowly glide across the island.
Xion suddenly felt her stomach flip as they reached past the edge of the cliff; the sea was now just below their feet. She tightened her grip on Roxas' hand out of instinct.
Roxas glanced over to her and chuckled softly, "It's okay, Xion." His reassuring look calmed her down and with that, she slightly loosened the grip from his hand.
"Sorry," she apologized with a timid smile. "Let's keep going."
He nodded and continued to guide her through the open area, eventually picking up the pace. Meanwhile, Xion tried to take everything in; the beautiful scenery, the breeze gently hitting her face, and the fact that she had been soaring above it all. Despite the fluttery feeling she felt in her stomach, she couldn't help but smile widely as they flew in the sky full of orange hues.
They soon came to a stop in mid-air as Roxas turned around to check up on her; the first thing he noticed was how blissful she looked at that moment. He smiled cheerfully at that.
"Having fun?"
She shyly glanced at him and nodded, slowly letting go of his hand. "I think I can fly on my own now."
"Are you sure?"
"Mmhmm."
The two Nobodies quietly hovered freely in place, almost unaware they were just floating there doing nothing other than staring at each other.
Roxas was the first one to break the silence. "Uhh… hey, why don't we play a game? Wanna race?"
"Hmm, sure!" Xion quickly nodded as she floated right in front of him, nearly closing the space between the two. Before Roxas was able to question her, a playful smile formed on her lips. "Just as long as I can get a head start!" Suddenly, she reached over his shoulders and abruptly pulled the coat's hood over his face, immediately flying away after that.
"Wha—hey!" Roxas pouted as he quickly pushed the hood off of his head and went after her. The air was suddenly filled with their laughs; her angelic laugh being something he could listen to all day.
Roxas wanted nothing more than for all of this to last forever.
By the time they finished enjoying themselves, the sun had almost disappeared from the horizon. But neither of them wanted to leave just yet. Instead, they decided to sit peacefully on the same grassy cliff they had been to previously as they watched the stars slowly appearing in the twilight sky.
"It's so beautiful," Xion said softly, admiring the sight before her. "We don't get to see the stars like this very often."
"Yeah," Roxas nodded in agreement, his gaze fixed on the sky as well.
The girl turned to look at him with a sincere smile. "Thank you for bringing me here, Roxas. I had an amazing time. I… I really needed it."
He met her gaze and couldn't resist smiling back. "Anything to cheer you up. I just don't like seeing you upset, you know?"
Xion's shoulders dropped slightly at his words. "I'm sorry."
"What for? It's not your fault."
She glanced down, folding her hands in her lap. "I just don't want you worrying about me all the time."
"I told you already, Xion. I care about you. I'm always willing to do whatever it takes to help you feel better." His gaze fell down to her hands and he reached out, placing one of his hands on her own. "It's okay."
"You really don't have to go through all that trouble, Roxas…" she paused as a small smile gradually returned to her lips, "But I appreciate everything you've done for me so far."
Roxas simply shrugged before a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That's what friends are for, right?"
She nodded, "And I'm glad to have you as my friend. You're sweet."
Roxas' face reddened slightly at her compliment. He suddenly pulled his hand back and chuckled softly as he tried to compose himself, his gaze eventually falling back on her. "Heh, I'm glad you think so."
They smiled warmly at each other, neither of them breaking eye contact . It was strange— even though Roxas didn't have a heart, he couldn't help but notice the warmth he felt on the inside whenever he was with Xion. It was something he couldn't quite explain but oddly enough, he didn't want the feeling to go away.
It wasn't long before Xion noticed the proximity between them and suddenly, she felt a fluttery sensation in the pit of her stomach— almost like she had still been flying. She abruptly broke their gaze as she glanced down thoughtfully.
"Roxas? Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
She momentarily fiddled with her fingers as she went on. "Does your stomach feel funny when you're flying up in the air?"
Roxas didn't say anything as he pondered her question. It was kind of out of nowhere, that was for sure, but he supposed it made some sense. Even after he's gotten used to flying, he couldn't help but feel the same sensation every time. "Now that you mention it… yeah, it does. Why? Did it feel that way for you?"
"Mmhmm…" she fell silent for a moment before she continued. "It's just… I feel like that again right now. Do you feel like that too…?"
He slightly pursed his lips, now wondering if the warmth he felt on the inside when he was with her was actually just his stomach acting up. He sheepishly laughed at the thought. "Yeah… kind of weird, huh? I sometimes feel like that whenever I'm around you," he added, before realizing she might take that the wrong way. "Err… not that it's a bad thing… I think. I don't really know why I feel like that, to be honest."
Xion giggled softly, her eyes falling back on his. "I think I know what you mean."
"You do?" He gave her a timid smile, acknowledging the warmth on his cheeks again.
Xion nodded slowly, her own cheeks flushing at their closeness. Suddenly, as if it were out of instinct, she leaned in close to his face and pressed her lips against his warm cheek. But she immediately caught herself and quickly pulled away, realizing what she did… except she didn't know what she did, let alone why she did it.
As if things weren't already confusing enough for Roxas, he noticed whatever Xion did made his stomach stir even more. They both looked at each other wide-eyed as he brought his hand to his flushed cheek almost at the same time she brushed her gloved fingers over her lips.
The two Nobodies continued to share a baffled gaze but Xion couldn't contain herself much longer and eventually broke into a fit of laughter. Roxas let out a nervous chuckle at her random outburst and soon joined her, his laughter gradually becoming more relaxed. He wasn't sure what had just happened or why they were laughing, but he didn't care anymore. So long as she looked happy. And that's really all that mattered to him.