Disclaimer: i do not own kingdom hearts.

yaay have fun reading! :D

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Chapter 6

The boy in the room seemed to be as shocked to see Lynn as she was to see him. His hair was an unusual color- not quite blonde, but much closer to light brown like graham crackers. It was arranged into small yet surprisingly numerous spikes. He was wearing two zip-up jackets: a plain black one under a slightly off-white one, the red underside of the collar turned up. The pants he was wearing were baggy, like the boys wore back home, but his were different in that there was a hip and upper leg part that was black, and snapped on about mid to upper thigh were khaki legs. His shoes were blue and black with red straps on them. Around his left wrist was a black and white checkered band- and in his hands were two variations of the same key-shaped weapon.

Lynn made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a squeak. She scooted backwards, trying to put distance between herself and this potential attacker, her primitive fear blocking out everything else.

"No, wait." The boy's voice made Lynn pause. It was so soft, so unexpected from a boy who looked so rough around the edges and who held two formidable weapons in his hands.

He took a slow, cautious step forward, "It's ok. I won't hurt you. You're all right now. The Heartless are gone." At those words, the blades in his hands disappeared in a soft but abrupt gathering of light. He stopped to watch them go, opening his hands to let the light swallow them. Other than that pause, he kept coming towards Lynn, slowly and deliberately.

He was directly in front of Lynn now. He crouched, looking into her eyes. Lynn was taken aback: they were the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They reminded her faintly of someone...

"Let me help you," he said, extending his arm to her. Lynn looked at his offered hand, then back to his eyes. She didn't know what it was, but she knew those eyes from somewhere and she trusted them. She placed her hand in his and he pulled her up. Lynn noted that he had a strong grip despite his thin appearance, but his hand was cold. After fighting those Heartless? Shouldn't his hand be sweating, at least?

Upon standing and letting go of the boy's hand, Lynn wobbled a little bit. Her legs were shaking, still not wanting to support her even though the danger was gone. The boy caught her before she fell, steadying her with his hand on her right arm, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lynn's voice was shaking, too, "Yeah. I think I'm okay." He slowly took his hand off of her arm in response, as if scared she would fall again.

"Thank you," she said after a pause, "for getting rid of the Heartless. What's your name?"

"Roxas. What's yours?"

"Lynn."

"No problem, Lynn. What are you doing here, anyway? It's too dangerous here for a girl like you."

Lynn blushed a little at the compliment, but it faded quickly. She was silent, then, "Making a big mistake." She bit her lip and looked at the floor, trying to make the image of her mother's face go away before she could start crying again.

After she composed herself, Lynn looked up and asked, "Why are you here?"

To her chagrin, Roxas actually looked confused. He looked around, narrowing his eyes as if trying to remember something. "I... I don't know. I feel like I've been here my whole life, but I don't remember anything else before this."

Lynn recognized his words. She had felt that way before, about her father. The only way she remembered him was angry and drunk or otherwise ungover and angry had no memory of him ever being a real father. Sometimes Lynn suspected that he didn't even know she was there.

But Mom knew. Mom always remembered her daughter, sending Lynn to her room whenever her father threatened to reach his seemingly ever low boiling point. Always came into her room when he was done raging, drying each others tears and nursing each others hurts, inside and out. Mom had taken care of Lynn just as much as Lynn took care of her. It surprised Lynn to realize just how much she depended on her mother.

Suddenly, Lynn needed her mother's touch, craved it with an urge so strong it nearly brought her to her knees again. She had been crying out for help all the time, but it had always been right there. Lynn now saw shamefully that she'd taken it for granted all along.

"What's wrong?" At the sound of Roxas' voice, Lynn snapped back to reality. To her surprise, Roxas reached up and touched her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb, wiping away tears. She hadn't realized she was crying. She looked up at his face. Those striking blue eyes were concerned. Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck and cried into the collar of his white jacket. Roxas almost stumbled backwards with the unexpected embrace, but after a second she felt his arms wrap around her waist and stroke her back.

"Shh," he said soothingly as Lynn's muffled sobs increased. He tightened his left arm around her and used his right to gently pull out her ponytail (the hair tie was loose anyway) and run his fingers through her hair. Lynn was both reminded of her mother, who often did the same thing, and touched that this perfect stranger, who didn't feel exactly like one, would comfort her in this way.

The tears stopped a lot sooner than Lynn expected. When she was finished, she spent another moment buried in Roxas' collar, wrapped up in the solace of his touch, gathering her energies to do what she had to do. She unwillingly pulled away from him and, looking him straight in his endless blue eyes that betrayed a strange emotion, said:

"I have to go home."