Roxas walked out the door, slightly disturbed by the overpowering silence. He was in no doubt that he saw Namine crying… but why couldn't he hear her now? He faintly took notice of his mother downstairs and he went towards the stairs hesitantly. "Mom?" He called down to his mother from the top of the stairs, not quite sure if he wanted to descend them.
"What is it, honey?" He could hear the distraction in his mother's voice and suspected she was preparing some spreadsheets for her job as a secretary.
"Is Namine down there?" Roxas had a suspicion she wasn't, but he had to check and be sure. After all, it was a child's first instinct to go to their parents when they were miserable.
"No, dear." Roxas sat down on the top step and sighed, "Have you checked her room?" Roxas shook his head, knowing his mother couldn't see him. He didn't need to check her room… he was just there, and so was she. He stood up and checked his room, knowing before he even opened the door that she wasn't there. If she wasn't downstairs, all the left was the bathroom, and that door was wide open.
Inspiration shot through Roxas like a bolt of lightning, The bathroom! Roxas ran to the bathroom, looking to the small extension reserved for the washing machine, which was instead placed in the basement. There was a small door just around the corner, and Roxas could tell it was open. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled through the opening, ignoring any fears of the darkness that his childhood might have left behind. He kept crawling until he saw light, and stood up in a small room. It was really more of a cupboard than a room, but there was a window, and he could hear sounds of sniffles behind it. Wordlessly, Roxas walked to the window and brought his arms up to the pane and propped himself up and out the window; leaving him on the roof.
He stood up carefully and saw Namine, her face cupped in her hands to smother the sounds of her choking tears. "Namine?" His twin ignored him, and Roxas took a few tentative steps to where she was and sat down next to her, "Are you okay Namine?"
"N-no." Namie refused to bring her face out of the protective shell her hands provided, "I'm not okay Roxas." Her shoulders shook and Roxas instinctively placed his arm around her. Namine looked up quickly and shied away from the comfort, fresh tears welling up from the hurt look in Roxas's eyes. "How can it be okay?" Her lip quivered and she fought to keep her composure, "I'm a horrible person!" Namine brought her knees to her chest and started crying loudly.
"Namine," Roxas spoke in soothing tones, but refrained from touching her. "You're not a horrible person; you're an angel." He smiled encouragingly, but her head was still cradled in her arms, so he gave up the effort.
"More like the devil," Namine sobbed. "I know it's wrong, every day I remind myself it is!" Roxas gawked in shock; did Namine really go through the same thing he did all the time? "Even though I know it's wrong… I still want you to touch me. And… it feels good when you put your arms around me or hug me." She clutched at her hair, and Roxas brought her wrist down to keep her from pulling it out. "It's so sinful, but I can't stop myself. I'll always want you Roxas, and I'm going to Hell for it!" Namine screamed the last part at Roxas, and the identical sets of blue eyes stared at one another. "I can't keep from wanting to tempt you into the same punishment… I'm going to end up dragging you down with me." Helpless to do anything else, Namine clutched at Roxas shirt and leaned her head on his chest as her tears over took her.
Roxas wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair, "Namine, you didn't cause this. I fell for you just like you fell for me. Heaven or Hell be damned, I'd face it all twice for you." He could hear a choked gasp from Namine, and could feel depression asphyxiating her despite his words. He never knew that Namine not only went though the shame of wanting a sibling, but it was 10 times worse for her. She had the guilt of tempting him, the fear of going to Hell… all the things he refused to think about. "I love you Namine, and nothing will ever change that." Namine brought up her tear-stained face, remorse still obvious. "The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you." He placed a kiss on her forehead, and he could see pleasure and more guilt cloud in her eyes. "Until the day I die, I will always love you more than I could possible love anyone or anything else."
"Me too," Namine whispered, bringing her head down. "I may hate myself for it, but I love you." More sniffles came from the girl, but overall her crying was weak.
Roxas took her chin and forced her to look in his eyes, "Don't hate yourself for it Namine, people want to fall in love." He smiled at Namine, "Even if I burn in Hell for eternity, I could never regret loving you."
Namine's face changed slowly, one in thought then moving to understanding. She moved her face closer to Roxas's in one fluid movement. When their lips were less than an inch apart, she whispered, "Me too." And then she pressed her soft lips to Roxas's own firm lips.
………….
Roxas went to school for once not dreading the day. Namine smiled sweetly next to him, the glow of a woman in love shining on her face like the sun. He smiled at her, wishing he could hold her and kiss her like anyone else. "I'll see you later," she murmured, smiling shyly at the brother she had known her entire life.
Roxas smiled and went over to Axel and Demyx, "Hey guys." He sat on the grass next to Axel, "Where're Larxene and Marluxia?" Axel and Demyx exchanged a knowing glance before turning to Roxas with mischief written all over their face. Rather than be annoyed, Roxas shook his head in amusement.
"Well, someone's chipper today!" Axel smirked at Roxas, "Who's the lucky lady?" Roxas's face heated up and Axel laughed, "What happened to not wanting a girlfriend?" He trapped Roxas in a headlock and noogied his head playfully.
Demyx watched the spectacle with amusement, "Wow, with a reaction like that, who wouldn't want a girlfriend?" He took a sip of his coffee, "So, is she anyone we know?"
"Uh, Axel?" All three of the teens stopped and looked up at their pink-haired friend, who seemed slightly amused. "Larxene's hiding in the bathroom." He rose an eyebow and Roxas had a sinking suspicion the flowery man was involved in her concealment.
Axel's face screwed up as he thought about Larxene, "Hiding… from what?" He suddenly went pale, "Is she preggo!?" Roxas rolled his eyes and shook Axel's arm off of him so he could breathe properly once more.
"No, she's not pregnant," Marluxia also rolled his eyes, "She's a virgin, remember?" He shook his head, "No, she's hiding because… well, maybe she should tell you." The curiosity was evident in Axel's face, and before Roxas could warn Axel about what happened to curious cats, he ran off in the direction of the restrooms.
Roxas sighed and followed his friend, hoping that they wouldn't end up dealing with some sexual harassment charges here. Fortunately, Axel didn't run into the girl's bathroom. He stood outside it yelling as loud as his lung capacity allowed. "LARXENE! WHY ARE YOU HIDING?!" Roxas smacked himself in the forehead, begging that no one thought this was some new sexual game of cat and mouse.
A girl walked out of the bathroom and glared at Axel, "Do you mind?" She flipped her hair and stormed back into the bathroom to fix her hair and make-up and hopefully, her attitude.
Of course, this did not deter Axel, only brick walls did that, and that's just because Axel tended to ram his head into them too hard. "Roxas, go and get Namine! She can tell us what's going on!" Axel turned excitedly to his best friend, whose reaction was a little less than enthusiastic.
"I am not submitting my sister to your plans," Roxas sighed, "Try a Plan B."
"LARXENE!" Roxas shook his head in annoyance. Either plan B seemed awfully familiar, or he was being ignored. "COME ON OUT!"
"AXEL!" Larxene's head popped out of the bathroom door, though she kept her body hidden, "You're making an idiot of yourself!" she growled, her face red.
"Why are you hiding, Larxene?" Demyx pushed Axel out of the way before he could screw up what could possibly be the only chance to talk to Larxene all day if she was really hiding. "You know zits don't scare us."
"One: screw you," Larxene glared at her mulleted friend. "Two: none of your business." She gave a sharp gasp as Roxas grabbed her arm and pulled her out into the open to get everything over with. What he saw amazed him.
Larxene usually wore jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt with some sarcastic remark printed across the bust. Today… well, to be frank, she wasn't. Instead, she was dressed like (God forbid!) a girl. She was wearing a tight black tank-top with a heart made out of pink sequins on the right side of her waist. A light-blue denim skirt fit snugly against her thighs, a small slit in the back giving her legs movement. Black high-heeled boots went up her legs, stopping just beneath her knees. There two bright pink bracelets on either wrist, a pink choker around her throat, pink earrings dangling from her earlobes, and pink blush applied to match her lipstick. Then again… that could have been a natural blush from her apparent embarrassment. "Marluxia made me," she spat, throwing a glare at her pink-haired friend before storming back into the bathroom.
Axel was completely speechless, "Wow…" Roxas turned to his friend, smirking at the amazed expression on his face. "Larxene…" Axel started pounding on the bathroom door and yelling again, "YOU HAVE GREAT LEGS LARX! WHY DON'T YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?" Roxas felt a strong urge to smash his head into a wall somewhere. Instead, he grabbed Axel and dragged him away from the bathrooms, which of course did not keep the redhead from yelling things as loudly as he could to Larxene.
………….
"So," Zexion leaned back against the whiteboard covered with scribbled theorems and equations, "She returned your feelings?" Like always, it was virtually impossible to tell Zexion's opinion on this matter of incest, but Roxas nodded anyways. "What of the fear of society's repercussions?" His eye bore into Roxas's, demanding a proper answer.
Roxas sighed and took a seat atop his desk, despite the rules to only sit in the chairs. "I don't know," he admitted, scratching at the back of his head awkwardly. "I have a feeling Mom and Dad wouldn't be thrilled about this," he added dryly.
Zexion nodded, "In other words, you're going to keep this relationship a complete secret?" Roxas reluctantly nodded in agreement, knowing it was best. At the same time though, a part of him wanted to yell out to the world that the one he loved returned his feelings. Luckily, he had more self-control than that. Zexion spoke again, "While I see the wisdom in hiding your relationship from those who will judge it, secrets are rarely a good thing." Zexion sighed, walking over to his desk. He pulled out his books for the next period, not saying any more on the subject.
Roxas sighed, "I'm not ashamed of my feelings anymore, so I don't care if people know I love Namine. But…" He thought of his innocent sister; untouched by the corruption of the world. She was so sensitive, and so pure. She didn't deserve all the crap people would give her. "I don't want people to hurt her because of our relationship. I'd rather end it than let it come to that." Zexion remained as indifferent as ever in appearance, but Roxas could see the sympathy in his gaze.
………….
"ROXY!" Mentioned blonde flinched at the shrill voice calling his name and weighed the options of running away or staying. Knowing that his life would be very miserable if he had to run from Angel his entire life, Roxas groaned and instead turned to face her. The red-haired girl smiled flirtatiously at her crush, "Sooooooo," she fluttered her mascara-stained eyelashes, "Did Namine give you my message?" She put a hand on Roxas's shoulder, causing the latter to roll his eyes.
"Yes," his voice was cold, but Roxas was careful to not let his fury at this girl's use of his sister show. "I'm not interested. At all." Angel's mask of sultry intentions fell for a second, showing her displeasure. "By the way, don't use my sister for your schemes; she's a bystander in all this."
"A bystander?" Angel sweetly asked, her face far too innocent to trust. "I suppose that is true," she sighed, clasping her hands behind her back. She sweetly turned away from Roxas and slowly sauntered to the other wall. "I mean, you may be closer to her than most siblings, but she's still not even a factor." Roxas bristled, not liking the direction this conversation was taking. As though sensing his reaction, Angel turned back with a smile that made pure sugar covered in sprinkles and syrup seem sour. Roxas scowled, his eyes narrowing.
Angel smirked at Roxas, "You know, now that I think about it, you're a lot closer than any pair of siblings I ever met before." Her gaze narrowed maliciously, and Roxas recalled the stories of witches he heard as a child, "It's almost sickening to watch the two of you together. At least, to me it is. Other people don't seem to notice." Angel pressed her form against Roxas, who was too stunned with the anxiety coursing through his veins like liquid ice to stop her. "I'm sure if people realized how… fond of each other you are, Namine would get a lot more attention than she does now."
Roxas paled, staring at the girl rubbing against him like a cat in heat. "So, I'll see you Saturday at 8, alright?" Angel smugly winked and skipped off, leaving Roxas frozen on the spot. He wondered when Angel stopped being so brainless, or if she had secretly been smart this whole time.
"Roxas?" He turned quickly at the sound of his sister's voice, giving her a look that said it all. Namine bit her lip, resisting the urge to go to her brother's arms for comfort, "What are we going to do?" Roxas didn't know. But he was going to figure it out.