Finally! It's Chapter 4! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or The Little Mermaid

However, I do own Sakura :D

Paranoia

By: MonkeyGirlxoxo

Chapter #4

The night had been hectic; filled with smiles, laughter and even some cake throwing. However, all the fun came to an end at 9:15, when Naminé decided to leave. The artist had claimed that it was late, and in a matter of ten minutes she was saying goodbye to everyone. Roxas had walked her to the door and bid her farewell with a smile, causing the young woman to leave with a deep shade of red on her cheeks. Not long after Naminé left Haru let out a huge yawn. Hayner and Olette took that as their cue to leave, and after saying their goodbyes there were gone. By 10:00 the only guests left were Sora, Kairi and Sakura as Axel and Larxene decided to leave before they got too tipsy. Roxas insisted that his brother's family spent the night, the blond wasn't comfortable with Sora on the road after all the beers he had drank, and in 30 minutes everyone was in bed, exhausted from their long day.

Even though Roxas was tired, he wasn't able to fall asleep as he lay in his bed. His mind was on Naminé. He couldn't seem to understand what had caused her to break down earlier that day, and it was bothering him. He wanted to know what had upset her so badly so that he could get rid of the objet or stop acting that specific way, but no matter how hard he though he couldn't come to a conclusion.

~~~Kingdom Hearts~~~

The next morning Roxas woke up to the smell of pancakes. He went to the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth and then started down the hall. As Roxas passed the guest room he saw that Kairi and Sakura were still asleep, the small girl lying against her mother's chest. Roxas smiled and then continued down the hall until he stood in the kitchen. There he found Sora piling some fresh pancakes on a plate.

"Morning." Roxas greeted his brother. The blond sat down on one of the stools behind the island and watched over the counter as the brunette prepared breakfast.

"Hey." Sora called over his shoulder. He flipped one last pancake from the stove in the plate and then turned the stove off before turning around to look at Roxas. He placed the plate he was holding in front of his younger brother, the fork and knife lying across the side of the plate. Sora then walked to the fridge and took out the bottle of syrup from inside.

"Thanks." Roxas said earning a nod from the brunette. He opened the bottle and sprinkled his warm pancakes with the sugary liquid.

"Hey thanks for letting us stay the night." Sora said with a smile.

"No problem." Roxas replied as he stuffed another piece of pancake in his mouth. "So, what's the plan for today?"

His older brother shrugged, "I'm not too sure yet." Sora admitted, "I just know that after Kairi and Sakura eat we're gonna head home and freshen up. After that, the day's free."

"Wouldn't Sakura want to play with her new toys?" Roxas asked as he finished his breakfast.

"That's it!" Sora said with a snap of his fingers, "The presents! I knew I was forgetting something! Thanks man." Sora then passed though the kitchen into the living area.

Roxas got out of his seat and carried his empty pate to the sink. He turned the tap on and let the warm water pass over the dishes and his hands. The only other sound except from the pouring water was the stacking of objects from the living area, where Sora was putting all of Sakura's presents in one of their tote bags. The blond finished washing his dishes and was about to leave the kitchen to help his older brother when two redheads walked into the room. Sakura walked in front of her mother, taking quick light steps as she entered the kitchen. The small girl didn't look tired at all, as if the few hours of sleep she had received had completely energized her. Kairi on the other hand had bags under her blue eyes and Roxas couldn't help but think that her steps into the room looked forced.

"Uncle Roxie!" Sakura exclaimed as soon as her eyes landed on the young man. Her walk turned into a jog and her uncle picked her up in his arms.

"Good Morning." Roxas greeted his niece with a smile. He carried her to the stool where her breakfast sat and put her down in her seat. "Daddy made these fresh this morning for you." Roxas said. Sora had arranged her pancakes in the shape of a flower.

"Really!" Sakura asked in shock. "For me?"

Roxas nodded and then started to drizzle syrup over Sakura's breakfast.

"Wow." Sakura said in disbelief. After Kairi cut the pancakes into small pieces, Sakura began to eat.

"You look a bit tired." Roxas said to his sister in law. He positioned himself so that he was leaning against the island across from the two redheads.

Kairi got up from her seat and carried her empty plate to the sink. "Didn't sleep that well last night." She explained, "I'm not used to having Sakura with us, and so every time she kicked me in her sleep I woke up." She washed her plate and then dried her hands in the kitchen towel. "When we go home I'll just take a nap." Kairi said with a smile.

"Mommy!" Sakura called from her seat at the island. "Mommy, I'm finished!" She cried happily.

"Good job, sweetie." Kairi said in a warm tone, "Can you bring the plate for me please?"

Sakura nodded and then jumped off her stool. Roxas handed her the plate from on top of the island and after thanking her uncle she gave it to her mother. Kairi washed the plate and utensils and then the three entered the living room.

"Sora, honey," Kairi said when she saw her husband. "Are you ready to go?"

The brunette was sitting on the couch, looking through the contents of one of Sakura's bags. "I can't find the present Roxas gave Sakura." He stated. He put the bag down and then turned to look at his wife, "I've searched this room upside down. Where could it be?"

"It's probably outside on the patio." Roxas suggested.

Kairi nodded, "Roxas is right." She confirmed, "Sakura opened her presents outside. We must have forgotten to bring it inside." Roxas' sister in law sighed, "I'll go get it."

"You stay here, I'll get it." Roxas volunteered with a smile. The blond didn't want to give Kairi more work, especially when she had those bags under her eyes. With that said, the twenty one year old started towards the patio doors.

As soon as Roxas opened the doors a cool blast of the morning breeze hit him and he took in a huge breath of fresh air. He walked towards the bench where he had sat with his neighbour the night before and sure enough the Ariel doll was on the seat. Roxas picked up the boxed toy and then turned around to go back inside. However, before he started towards the door something over the fence caught his eyes. Instead of going back inside his house, Roxas ventured deeper into his back yard. When he was close enough, the young man realized his neighbour was down on her knees working on something in her yard.

"Good morning, neighbour!" Roxas greeted her with a playful tone.

Naminé recognized his voice immediately, but he had still startled her, making the young woman jump from her position in the grass.

"Sorry!" Roxas said quickly, "I didn't mean to startle you." He used his free hand to scratch the back of his head, "Sorry."

Naminé looked at him over the fence and smiled, "Good morning." She said kindly with a small nod of her head. With that the artist turned back to her project.

Roxas' eyes wandered as well, and soon he realized that Naminé was planting flowers. "You garden?" He asked.

Naminé turned to look at the young man again, "No." She informed him, "Just objects for my paintings."

"I see." Roxas said nodding. That's right. Roxas thought. She's an artist. "I'm sure that the paintings will be great." He said aloud.

His comment made the young woman blush, "Thank you, that's very nice." She said. Her eyes drifted from Roxas' face down to the doll he was holding, "Isn't that the doll you gave your niece yesterday?"

Roxas looked down at the doll, "Yeah," He started, "Sora, Kairi and Sakura spent the night. They're getting ready to go now, but they couldn't find this. Sakura left it on the bench we were sitting on."

"I see." Naminé echoed Roxas' words from a few moments before. The bench where I was crying, she added to herself.

However, the same memory was running through Roxas' head. He then focused his gaze on the young woman's blue eyes. It was then he noticed they were a bit red and puffy. Was she crying again this morning? He worried.

Naminé felt his eyes on her and she suddenly felt embarrassed. She turned back to her flowers once more, allowing her blonde strands to cover her face.

"Well, I should probably get back and give this to Sakura." Roxas said, "I'll see you later, Miss Kibou."

The woman on the other side of the fence looked up quickly to smile at him, "Goodbye Roxas." She said kindly.

The twenty one year old smiled back at her and then turned around to go back inside. Naminé watched him walk to his house and when she heard his patio door close, she sighed. You're getting better at this Naminé, she thought to herself. It had been a while since the artist was able to have a conversation with someone, but ever since she had started talking to Roxas; speaking felt less scary, and every time the two blondes shared a conversation she would talk a bit more. Naminé smiled to herself and then continued to work on plating her white roses. "Thank you, Roxas." She whispered.

~~~Kingdom Hearts~~~

"Sorry I took so long, guys." Roxas said as he entered the living area. "I was talking to Miss Kibou."

Sora and Kairi, who were sitting on the couch, both looked up to watch Roxas. The second part of his greeting had interest both of them and they were waiting for him to continue. Roxas ignored their stares and approached Sakura. The small red head was sitting at his coffee table with her tea set.

"Here you go, dearest." Roxas said giving her the doll.

"Thank you!" Sakura replied with a grin. She took the box from her uncle and looked through the clear plastic front at the Ariel doll inside, excitement washing over her face.

"You can open that when we go home, okay honey?" Sora said recognizing the look on his daughter's face.

"Daddy's right." Kairi added, "Right now you need to pack up your tea set."

"Okay." Sakura said placing the doll on the ground next to her. She then started to pick up her plastic plates and cups before throwing them into the bag placed by Roxas' feet.

"So, Roxas," Kairi said as he started to help his niece pack up her tea set. "You talked to Naminé this morning?"

"Yup." He answered. Roxas was expecting this; his brother and sister in law were the teasing type.

"What did you two talk about?" Sora asked.

"I asked her what she was gardening and-"

"She gardens?" Kairi questioned.

"No, she said that she was going to use the flowered as objects for her paintings-"

"So, she's artistic?" Sora stated.

Roxas nodded. He then picked up the bag and headed towards the front foyer.

"She seems nice." Kairi said as she entered the foyer holding a bag. The Ariel doll lay at the top of the pile inside the tote bag.

"Very sweet." Sora added walking in with their last bag and Sakura.

"Who, Daddy?" Sakura asked looking at her father.

"Uncle Roxas' neighbour, Miss Kibou." Sora explained.

Sakura turned to her uncle, "Is she the pretty blonde lady, Uncle Roxie?"

"Yes, that's her." Roxas nodded.

Sora looked at his younger brother and raised an eyebrow, "You don't deny that she's pretty?"

Kairi giggled because of her husband's behaviour and she pecked him lightly on the cheek.

Roxas crossed his arms, "Well she's very pretty." He said in defence, but as soon as the words left his lips Roxas knew he made a mistake.

"She's very pretty, huh?" Sora said.

"Sounds like there's an attraction." Kairi added in a sing song voice.

"Guys," Roxas said, " You know I'm not interested in a relationship right now."

"Exactly." Kairi said as she picked up the bag from before. "Not right now."

"But when you do become interested," Sora said opening the front door for his wife, "You'll probably end up with that pretty neighbour of yours."

"Sora!" Roxas said as his face flushing pink.

However, before he could continue the brunette picked up his daughter and bag. "Come on, Sakura!" Sora said playfully, "We gotta go before Uncle Roxas tries to jump Daddy!" Sora then ran out the front door calling a farewell over his shoulder.

Roxas walked to the front door and watched his brother's family enter their yellow Camaro. When the car pulled out of his driveway and started to drive away Roxas closed the door letting out a low sigh. "I'm not interested." He told himself as he walked into the living area. The blond put on the TV and sat down on his couch. The pictures on the screen didn't interest him, and so Roxas turned the TV off and started to focus on the blank screen. He couldn't stop thinking about what Sora and Kairi said. Did they really expect him to fall for his neighbour? He did admit that he thought she was pretty, but was Kairi right? Did that mean there was an attraction? Roxas shook his head from the thought. He was only interested in Miss Kibou as a friend, nothing more. He just wanted to help make her feel more welcome to Twilight Town because that's what friends do.

He got up from the couch and started to walk towards the patio doors. When he stepped outside the cool breeze greeted him once more, and Roxas felt himself start to relax. His eyes drifted to look over the fence and he took a few steps deeper into his backyard. The artist was no longer in her yard, but the small flowers that she had been planting caught Roxas' eye. He inched a bit closer to the fence until he could see the white roses clearly. Their small petals danced in the wind and Roxas was able to get a small sniff of its pleasant aroma.

"A friend." Roxas told himself, "She's my friend."

~~~Kingdom Hearts~~~

Naminé stood by her window, holding a glass of cold water in her hands. She was on a five minutes break and was about to go back outside and continue her gardening when she saw Roxas approach the fence. She placed her glass down on a nearby counter and watched him though the window.

What's he doing here? Naminé thought, Is he looking for me? Just the thought made the woman blush.

"She's my friend." Naminé heard his say through her open back door.

The artist placed a hand on the window. "Friend." She repeated with a smile, "I'm his friend."

So, I hope you all like this chapter. :D

I know it's been a really long time since I've updated this, and I'm really sorry. I wasn't able to work on this, but in the last few days I dedicated myself to finishing this chapter, and here it is. :)

I've already started to work on the next chapter, but it may still take a while to update, so please everyone bear with me.

Thanks for reading, and please review!