Always Be Waiting.

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.

Survival of the fittest.

Only the strong survive.

Which was why I have decided to make this my top priority: to make sure Riku and Naminé do not get romantically involved. I knew it was originally Axel's plan but unlike him I knew what had to be done.

When I called Axel about it he was enthused. He was glad I was finally beginning to look at things 'his way', and I had to admit that I kind of liked his point of view. The thought of beating Riku to get the girl was kind of...exhilarating.

After my brother and his family left Axel and I mapped our plan out, and the first objective was to get to know Riku better - through Naminé, of course. It was common sense to obtain information on the enemy. I had to practically milk out as much as possible from Naminé - without letting my jealously get the best of me.

Shouldn't be so hard...right?

"We didn't do much yesterday," She shrugged as she bounced Koji on her knee; it was Sunday now and we were babysitting my niece and nephew, "We just hung out over coffee and talked about artsy stuff. It was nice, though."

"Oh? Were you in that little café all afternoon?"

"No, no - we were at his place." My flaxen-haired companion replied nonchalantly, and I choked on my own saliva. Her head snapped in my direction, her eyes wide with alarm; Koji was giggling at me. "Are you okay?"

I thumped my chest with my fist a couple times to clear my air passageways. Miyo, who was on the floor nearby, shook her head as if she was disappointed in me. "Y-yeah, I'm alright. Uh-" I nervously ruffled my hair, "Y-you...you hung out at...his place? But you've only known him for...f-for how long? Barely a week!"

She stared at me. "So? It's not like we did anything naughty-" I flinched at her words but she didn't seem to notice, "-plus he had some of his artwork lying around so I got to see 'em up close and personal. It was pretty interesting."

"He sounds like a real art guru, eh?"

"Oh, he is. He wants to go back to school for his masters, and then he's gonna apply for a Ph.D. Doctor Riku Katutama…" She sighed dreamily, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, "That sounds so fitting, don't you think?"

So he was a bit of a nerd, too. "I suppose so. Is he into anything else other than just art? Sports, perhaps?" Maybe he mentioned Sora to her...but then again if he did she would've told me already.

"He says he plays in a soccer league every Sunday with a few friends, and he's into philosophy. He showed me his library; it's stacked with Plato and Aristotle and all of those big thinker-types." Naminé sighed again. "Isn't he so well-rounded?"

Man, this guy was perfect. I don't stand a chance… "He sure does. You got lucky, didn't you?"

She giggled and shrugged her puny shoulders. "I guess I did. I'm thankful for that chance encounter!" She must've read the disheartened expression on my face because she placed Koji on the floor and leaned in towards me, grazing my sleeve with her fingers. "I'm also thankful for you, Roxas."

I scoffed and leaned into my palm. "Why? I haven't done anything worth mentioning. I'm not into philosophy or Expressionism, and I don't play soccer every Sunday with my friends." I sounded like such a brat, but I couldn't help it. I wasn't even worthy of comparing myself with this guy. Maybe she really is better off…

"Why are you always comparing yourself to him?" Naminé's eyes narrowed, "That's unfair of you, you know. You can't make yourself look any worse than him like that - you know it's gonna make me feel bad!"

"It's not my fault," I shot back, "What else am I supposed to do when you talk about him? You're always placing the guy on a freaking pedestal, going on about how awesome he is and how you've never felt this way about someone before. What am I supposed to say? How am I supposed to react?" I glared at her. "Tell me, Naminé - how?"

"I…" Her voice was a little higher than usual, "I thought you said you didn't find my endless babbling about him annoying."

I rolled my eyes and turned away from her, resting my elbow on the armrest and leaning into my palm. "Yeah, well maybe I was being nice about it earlier."

I felt her tugging on my sleeve. "Roxas," She whimpered, "I don't want you to be mad at me. I'm sorry - I promise I won't be so annoying anymore. Please, look at me."

I had a feeling that if I turned around to look at her my soft side would re-emerge and I'd end up not following the plan Axel and I concocted. At least by staying angry it would only make me more determined to go through with it. I stood up and shook my head.

"Roxas," She sounded a bit more desperate now, and I wanted more than anything to turn around and look her in the eye but I had to keep my resolve, "Wait-" She grabbed my sleeve, and I had no choice.

I turned to face her, and my heart nearly broke at the crestfallen expression she was wearing. Her eyes were glazed over, and she was staring at the floor. "Naminé," I murmured, drawing her to me. She whimpered again as she pressed herself against me, clinging to my body for dear life. She sniveled and I felt the shoulder of my shirt getting wet; was she crying?

"Huh?" Koji's head was tilted to the side. "Nami?"

"See," I whispered against her hair, "This is why I can never be angry with you."

Naminé sniffled and nuzzled her head against my neck. "W-why?"

I smiled as I pulled her back onto the couch. She curled up against me and I held her close, wiping her tears away and brushing her bangs from her eyes. "Because I can't stay mad at you for long, and I always feel bad afterwards."

She giggled and snuggled closer against me. "Softie." She wrapped her arms around my neck and sighed. "You shoulda told me earlier, you know. Bottling things up is bad for you - see what happened? You blew up on me and now I feel horrible."

"I know, but…" I paused for a minute, "You...you're always so happy when you talk about him. So animated. I like it when you're happy, Naminé, and if that means I have to sit beside you for hours on end just to hear you ramble on about some guy I don't know then I'll put up with it. I'd rather see you happy than...than what you were just doing a few seconds ago."

"Bawling?"

"Yes." I squeezed her and nuzzled my cheek against her hair. Her scent wafted into my senses and I closed my eyes. I wanted to get used to this so badly.

Ugh, I was straying away from Axel's plan again…

But what could I do about it? I wanted Naminé to be happy, but at the same time I wanted to be happy too. A part of me wished she'd feel the same way so she would stop harking about Riku and we'd finally be together, but another part of me wished I'd let go of her so we can both move on with our lives.

I hated this. I hated being stuck in between. I hated being so indecisive. I hated being so goddamn emotional. I was never like this before Naminé came along. Before Naminé came along I had a great life. I was fine on my own. I didn't spend late nights wondering what she was up to. I didn't daydream about her pretty eyes or her soft hair during work. Things were so much better back then. I was free from all the emotional baggage, all the excess I was dealing with at the moment.

But when I looked down at the girl in my arms - who had somehow managed to fall asleep to the rhythmic banging of Koji's toys against the floor - my opinion changed again. I raised my hand to stroke her cheek, and she smiled softly and moved to lean into my palm. She mumbled a few sleep-ridden words before shifting around, pressing her body closer against mine and lowering her arms to my waist. She nuzzled her head against my chest and breathed deep; another small smile stretched across her lips and I absently slid my hands through her hair.

I thought about all of those things and I tried comparing them with the thoughts I had previously. What was better: a life without a broken heart, or a life with Naminé?

What did I really want?

A life with Naminé? My conscience teased, You know that's not gonna happen. She's probably dreaming about life with someone else right now - someone who's more compatible. If you keep telling yourself there's hope for you two you're just gonna spend the rest of your life waiting for something that'll never happen. Face it - you had your moment, and you let it slip through your damn fingers. Leave the pieces where they lie and move on with your life.

"Mm," The blonde in my arms stirred, clutching a part of my shirt with a pale fist, "Did I fall asleep?"

I chuckled. "Kinda. You were out for at least ten minutes."

"Ugh," She yawned and shook her head; her platinum-blonde tresses tickled my chin, "Crying makes me so tired afterwards." She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. "And it makes my eyes burn too - long after I finished crying!"

I smiled sheepishly. "Er, sorry. I've learned from my mistakes."

She smirked up at me and poked my nose. "You better! Huh, making a girl cry..." She scoffed mockingly, "How ungentlemanly."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, how was I supposed to-" A sharp jolt of pain shot up my leg and I twitched, "-OW!"

Naminé immediately lifted herself off of me, sitting up and staring back at me with wide eyes. "What the heck just happened? Did I-"

Childish giggling emerged from the foot of the couch; Miyo was laughing behind her hand. Her brother was standing beside her with his face screwed up in anger.

Naminé raised an eyebrow and lifted Koji onto her lap. "Did you just kick your uncle in the shin?"

Koji momentarily crawled out of Naminé's arms to punch me in the stomach; it happened so fast I didn't even have time to defend myself. I groaned and doubled over; that kid was stronger than he looked. "W-what did I d-do?" I wheezed; Miyo was laughing louder now, and I thought I heard my blonde companion stifle a giggle or two. Traitor.

My nephew protectively pressed himself against Naminé, glaring at me as he rested his cheek against her shoulder. "You hurt Nami." He spat as his violet eyes narrowed even more.

"Huh? No I-"

"Uncle Roxy made Nami cry!" Koji protested.

"Yeah." Miyo agreed as she crawled onto the couch to sit beside Naminé.

My supposed best friend was blinking back at me as if nothing was going on. She finally shrugged. "Well, you heard 'em."

"You're not going to listen to a couple of two-year-olds, are you?" I sighed. My leg was still throbbing; I was probably going to get a bruise later on.

"But they're stating the truth, Roxas - you did make me cry." She pointed out, and her two little friends nodded in fierce agreement.

I threw my hands up in defeat. "Okay, then what do you suppose I do to make up for it?" This was so dumb. She always sided with them, and never with me!

Miyo pressed her index finger to her chin and looked up at the ceiling. "Hm…" Her expression brightened and she grinned at me. "Kiss it better!"

My eyes widened and my ears grew uncomfortably warm. "W-what?"

Koji clapped his hands together. "Like Mommy and Daddy."

Naminé's face was unreadable; she was blinking at me again, like she was waiting for me to answer. I gulped. "Uh…" I watched my nephew crawl out of her arms so he could sit beside his twin sister. He motioned for me to move forward, and my heart accelerated. "Wait just a minute-"

Naminé still wasn't saying anything. Why was she being so...not emotional? A two-year-old just told me to kiss her!

"Kiss, kiss!" Miyo chanted eagerly, thumping her tiny fists against her thighs.

As soon as I opened my mouth to protest again the doorbell rang. Bless my brother and his wife.

"Hey Roxas - uh, why do you look so red?" Sora raised an eyebrow at me as I walked him to the television room.

"R-red? I look red?" I laughed nervously and tugged at my shirt collar. "I must have the heat turned on too high - I'm sweating bullets!"

"Is he okay?" Kairi asked as she circled the couch.

"I hope so." Naminé giggled; she had somehow returned to normal. "He wasn't like that ten minutes before."

"Oh? Why?" My brother asked as he scooped Miyo up in his arms; he didn't forget to slip me a sly grin.

"Nothing!" I growled, and everyone laughed at me - even the kids.

"I'll get it out of you eventually." Sora winked as he opened the door. "See you guys next week."

I was rolling my eyes as I locked the door. When I turned around Naminé was chortling behind her hand like some kind of giddy schoolgirl. I raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny? You just let a couple of two-year-olds bully me - you always let them bully me!"

She grinned and stepped towards me. "That's because it's entertaining."

I crossed my arms. "Some friend you are." When she reached for my hands, I stared at her. "So…" I tried to ignore how perfectly our fingers fit together, "Uh, what do you suppose we do now?"

She frowned. "I actually have to head home - I've got loads of work to do for tomorrow." She squeezed my hands, and I gulped. She had no idea what she was doing to me.

Why was she even doing it anyway? This wasn't how best friends were supposed to behave towards each other!

"Alright," I quickly withdrew my hands from hers and moved towards the door, "I guess I'll take you home now."

It was a bit of an awkward drive to her place; Naminé spent most, if not the entire duration of the drive with her hands folded on her lap and her head turned towards the window. I was gripping the steering wheel so tight I thought the skin on my knuckles was going to split open.

It seemed like forever had passed when I finally pulled up by the front of her house. She slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and turned towards me with one hand tugging on the little piece of hair that stuck out somewhat at the back of her head. "Today was...interesting." She gave me a contrite smile.

"Yeah, it was." I ruffled my hair and shifted my eyes to the dashboard. "Uh-" I had no idea what I was going to say next because right then Naminé leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

The skin her lips had touched felt like it had been set on fire; I rubbed the spot, completely dumbfounded. Her shy giggling sort of brought me back to reality, and I turned to face her; she was already out of the car. Before closing the door, however, she poked her head inside. "Now you owe me one."

I forced myself to find my voice. "O-owe you what…?"

"An unexpected kiss, duh." She shook her head. "Snap out of it, Roxas." She laughed again. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Uh, okay." I sounded so stupid. I waved as she closed the door, and I watched her skip up the short path to her quaint little townhouse. She waved at me one more time before closing the door behind her, and once she was gone I started my engine in a daze.

It was just a kiss on the cheek. Why was I freaking out? I had been kissed on the cheek a billion times.

"Now you owe me one." Great. I had no idea how I was going to accomplish this.

When I got home, the first thing I did was call Axel. I had to tell him what I learned today so we could decide if it was safe to move forward with our plan.

"Huh, he seems like he knows everything," My male best friend chuckled bitterly as I moved around my kitchen, "You're up against some pretty stiff competition here, Roxas."

"Don't remind me," I muttered as I seasoned the steak, "I have to hear about him every time I see her now. It's getting really annoying."

"Well, get used to it - and pay attention too! We need to know as much about him as possible!"

"I know, I know," I ruffled my hair as I started up the stove, "Axel...d'you really think this is a good idea?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, man? First you say you didn't wanna do this, then you say you think you should, then you say you don't again, then you do...and now you don't again! Y'know what, I don't care anymore. I don't care if you think this is right or not - I am doing this. I'm gonna do it regardless of what you think!" Axel went on and on and on, and I pretended to pay attention as I made myself some dinner. I 'yeah-ed', 'of course-ed' and 'uh huh-ed' my entire way though his little rant.

"So what is it gonna be, Roxas? Are you in or are you not?"

I sighed and flipped the steak over. "I know I keep changing my mind...it's because whenever I see her and she's talking about him she always looks so happy, so alive. I don't want to ruin that for her...but at the same time I know I'm gonna have to if I want her to be with me." I shook my head. "Ugh, I sound so selfish."

"That's how love is sometimes, man," My redheaded best friend said sadly, "You gotta claim what's yours."

"How do I know if she's really mine or not?" I asked miserably.

"Well, the fact that you've never been interested in a girl before is one hint. The fact that making her happy is what's most important to you is another. The-"

"Alright, alright," I sighed as I brought my cooked food over to the table, "I get it. So…" I sat down and grabbed my knife and fork, "I guess we're still on for Friday?"

"And Saturday. You can't forget about Saturday."

"Axel, we can't spy on them two days in a row! It'll be too obvious!"

"Not if we don't get caught, stupid." I rolled my eyes, even though I knew he couldn't see me. "We'll be slick, don't worry. All we gotta do is dress up like a bunch of artsy fartsy types and look interested when we go to the art gallery - it'll be a cinch!"

I admired my friend's ambition, but sometimes he could be a little unrealistic. "I think it's gonna take more than just a disguise to fool people." I stabbed at the steak with my fork - I think I overcooked it.

"Trust me, Roxas, we'll be fine. With Larxene and Demyx to back us up, how are we gonna fail?"

"That sounds very encouraging."

"It should be. Anyway, Larxene's forcing me to take her out for dinner tonight so I gotta run. I'll see you tomorrow morning!" The line went flat, and I continued to eat my dinner in solitude.

I had a real bad feeling about this weekend, but at the same time I knew I had to do this. Riku and Naminé...they couldn't be together. I wouldn't allow it.

I stared at the empty seat across from me. For some reason I was craving Nutella now.

--

A/N: Chapter Inspiration: Shiver by Coldplay.