This Most Assuredly Counts.

Axel's strange mood dragged on for the rest of the day. I was afraid he wouldn't be in the mood for Friday and he'd end up canceling his plans with Riku. The week stumbled on by and his negativity wasn't showing any signs of lifting.

As if their odd silence wasn't weird enough I noticed Larxene began to arrive late to work...and by late I meant two to three hours. What was even weirder was that Xemnas didn't seem to mind at all. Was she that desperate to avoid Axel?

Something wasn't right here.

"I'm pretty sure Axel wouldn't bail on us," Demyx shrugged as we ate lunch in my office on Friday, "He was so stoked on getting Riku wasted; I'm pretty sure he hasn't forgotten about that!"

"Plus the idea of spending an evening at a bar without Larxene might appeal to him," I shrugged as I picked at my Nutella sandwich, "So I guess I shouldn't be thinking about it so much."

"Hey guys," I looked up and gaped at Axel, who was smirking at us with his hands in his pockets, "Ready for tonight?"

Demyx and I exchanged glances. "Uh, yeah," Demyx eyed our redheaded friend suspiciously as he took the seat beside him, "But the question is: are you?"

"'Course I am," Axel chuckled, "Why wouldn't I be?"

I was afraid of answering his question, but Demyx beat me to it anyway. "'Cause you haven't been acting like yourself this entire week, that's why."

My male beset friend's cheeks reddened a little, and he raised a hand to rub the back of his head. "Eh, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it."

I decided to change the topic since Axel clearly didn't feel like talking about whatever was bothering him. "So...I have to take Naminé out the minute work is finished?"

"Yeah, 'cause Ven will be in your apartment getting ready and stuff," Axel jumped right onto my invitation, just like I expected him to, "So you'll have to think of something quick."

I sighed and shook my head. "Great."

"Hey, you've got it easy," Demyx exclaimed, "All you gotta do is take your girl out on a date! Axel, your brother and I are doing the dirty work for you!"

"I never asked you to."

"But we're doing it anyway," Axel added, "And I'm making sure Riku gets drunk tonight!"

"What was that?" Naminé just pushed the door open to my office, and my heart felt like it was going to jump right out of my ribcage. Demyx and Axel's eyes were wider than saucers. "Oh, hey guys."

"Heya Naminé," Axel waved as she moved to sit on the edge of my desk, "How's it goin'? Any plans for tonight? It's Friday - gotta party it up."

"I'm spending it with Roxas, actually," She smiled and turned her head towards me, and I nervously tugged on my collar, "I feel like I haven't spent enough time with him lately, and I feel bad."

"But you're together every Sunday, aren't you?" Demyx asked, as if he didn't already know.

"Yeah...but we're always with his niece and nephew. I want it to be Roxas-and-Naminé time, not Roxas-Naminé-Koji-and-Miyo time." She grinned childishly, and my dirty blond-haired friend flushed; I'm pretty sure I was flushing too.

"Oh, that's reasonable I guess." Axel chuckled; there was that obvious slyness in his voice that was most likely appointed to me.

She tilted her head to the side a little. "What about you, Axel? What do you have planned for tonight?"

Demyx looked like he was about to hyperventilate, but Axel kept his cool like always. "Nothing, really. Probably hanging around at home. Maybe watch a movie or two."

"You're not doing anything with Larxene?" My heart wanted to stop the minute I heard Naminé utter that name.

Axel's face flushed for a slight second, but he regained his composure soon afterward. "I think she's busy." He replied in a flat voice. Demyx and I exchanged glances again. "Anyways," He rose from his chair and pulled Demyx up with him, "We better head back to work. I'll see you around."

"Is something wrong with Axel and Larxene?" Naminé asked the minute my friends left my office.

I shrugged. "Trust me, I've been trying to find out." I leaned back in my chair. "So what do you want to do after work?"

She shrugged her small shoulders. "I figured we'd just go to your place and relax. I just want to spend time with you."

I blushed at her last sentence. "Um, why don't we change things up a bit and head to yours instead? I haven't been there in awhile."

She pressed a finger to her chin and glanced up at the ceiling. "Hm, that sounds like a good idea."

I was actually kind of excited. In all the months we've been friends I think I've only been to Naminé's house two or three times, and all two or three times I've only been in the foyer part - well, there was that one time I was in her room before her first date with Riku but I don't really count that. "Sounds like a plan."

Her eyes lit up, and I smiled. "Can we make dinner from scratch and watch a bunch of movies?" She asked eagerly, and I laughed at her childish demeanor. She was so cute.

The dinner part sounded fun, but for some reason the 'bunch of movies' part sounded really girly to me. Regardless, I was willing to do anything with her. "Anything you want." I chuckled, and I laughed some more when her grin widened.

"Yay," She sang, "Now I'm really excited." She swung her legs impatiently, like how a child would. "I wish work would end sooner…"

I shook my head in amusement. "Well, why don't you busy yourself with something? It'll make time go faster. Before you know it we'll be on the way to your house."

She hopped off my desk, her smile even bigger than before. "Good plan. I guess I'll come back after work?"

"Like always." I waved as she closed the glass door behind her. I sighed and ruffled my hair before returning to my laptop. In all honesty I was probably just as excited as Naminé - maybe even more than her - but at the same time I was worried for my friends and brother. When I had a bad feeling about something it always comes true, and I definitely had a bad feeling about tonight.

I didn't see Axel or Demyx for the rest of the day but Ven did give me a quick call to tell me he was at my place just before work ended.

"So," I could hear him rummaging through my cabinets, "I gotta use this hair dye? Are you sure it washes out?"

"It does," I assured him as I stuffed my papers into my briefcase, "But you gotta really scrub if you want all of it to come out."

"Doesn't sound so bad," I could picture him shrugging, "And the hat and glasses are pretty cool...but these jeans...man…"

I chortled sadly. "I know exactly how you feel. Don't worry, after awhile you kinda get used to it."

Ven sighed. "I'll take your word for it."

I heard my door swing open and when I spotted my blonde companion beaming in my direction I cringed inwardly. "Uh, hey, I have to go now. Call me if anything, alright?"

"Okay, see you later tonight - and good luck with your girl!" He hung up just as Naminé approached my desk, and I sighed in relief.

"Sora?" Her head was tilted to the side.

"Yeah," I mumbled as I pretended to be busy with my briefcase, "Just wanted to ask me something, that's all." I flipped the silver latches closed on my briefcase and glanced up at my 'girl', who was still smiling. "So, are we ready to go?"

She glanced at my work-appropriate attire. "Are you sure you don't wanna head home first to change?"

My hand shot up to my hair. "Y-yeah, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

She raised a platinum eyebrow. "There's no rush, you know. We have the entire evening."

"I know," I replied hastily as I ushered her out of my office, "But...er, I just...I really don't want to go home."

She briefly glanced over her shoulder to raise another eyebrow at me. "And why is that?"

"Because...there's a big mess and I don't want to worry about cleaning it up right now…" My eyes shifted left and right, "And I'd rather leave that to the weekend because today is our day and not my apartment's day."

She sighed. "Fine, if you're not gonna tell me then I won't heckle you further."

My chest deflated in relief. I don't know whether she's too nice to call me out on my horrible lying or she's really oblivious...but I wasn't complaining.

We drove back to her house in our separate cars, and I parked by the curb as usual. The sun was slowly sinking into the sky and it was oddly chilly for this time of year. I wondered if that was a bad omen or something.

"Wait in the kitchen," Naminé ordered the minute we stepped inside, "I'm gonna get changed."

"Alright." I ruffled my hair and continued down the narrow hallway into her small but cozy kitchen: the tiles on the wall by the stove were a light, creamy brown and the tiles on the floor were the same colour. The countertops were a warm beige and the table and chairs were made of worn wood. It gave a very homey-type of feel.

I noticed a few odd-shaped pieces of paper sitting on the counter next to the microwave, and out of curiosity I approached it. When I was close enough I realized that they were paper cranes, all folded in different colours and sizes. I picked the smallest one up - it was teetering on the tip of my pinky finger and the colour reminded me of my favourite ice cream - and squinted at it. How did she manage to-

"All done." I spun around and spotted Naminé standing by the doorway in a very loose pair of grey pajama pants and an even looser white t-shirt with a faded high school athletic team logo on the front. She padded towards me. "So, what do you want for dinner?"

I was still eyeing her outfit. "Okay, those definitely aren't your clothes."

She blinked up at me. "Obviously not. They're Riku's."

"WHAT?" I would've crushed the tiny paper crane in my hand if I didn't forget last-minute that I was holding it, "How-"

"I was at his house one night," She replied casually as she gently pushed me aside; she knelt in front of one of the drawers and pulled out a pot and pan, "And it started raining really hard so he didn't want me to drive home. I ended up spending the night at his place...and the morning after I was too lazy to change back so he let me have these."

Axel's words from earlier echoed clearly in my head as I tried to listen to her explanation:

"Isn't she still a virgin - that is, if Riku didn't secretly deflower her without us knowing?"

Gah, what does it matter? That's her business and not mine...why does it matter? I'm not a virgin...it doesn't matter! It's not like we'll ever-

Okay, I'm thinking too far. Ugh.

"Oh, okay," I managed to find my voice albeit the fact that I was still clearly shocked, "I was wondering why your clothes looked at least sixteen sizes too big."

She giggled before skipping over to her pantry. "House clothes are meant to be sixteen sizes too big. They're comfier that way."

I mussed up my hair as she scoured her shelves. I unconsciously slipped the paper crane into my pocket. "Y-yeah, you're right."

We ended up having pasta for dinner; Naminé had a special recipe for the sauce (she made sure I wasn't looking while she mixed the ingredients - actually even before that she made sure I wasn't looking when she brought the ingredients out) that tasted fantastic, and she even brought out a fancy bottle of wine. Dinner was nothing special; we chatted casually and everything, but I hoped I didn't say anything stupid because I honestly wasn't paying complete attention to our conversation. Firstly, I was worried about Axel, Demyx and Ven and secondly I couldn't get the image of Riku and Naminé sleeping together in the same bed out of my head.

This was going to give me a headache.

"Hey, Roxas?" Naminé was waving a small hand in front of my face, "Yoohoo…"

I blinked a few times. "Huh? Oh, sorry…" I rumpled my hair and stood up, gathering my plate and glass in my hands, "I was thinking about something."

She washed the dishes and I dried them. "You really need to stop all this spacing out. You've been doing it a lot lately."

Guilt twisted my insides and I frowned. "I know...I'm sorry. I can't help it. There's...there's just a lot going through my head."

"Well," She said as she led me out of the kitchen and into the television room: again it was small but cozy with homely colours and decor, "You must have a billion things to think about because sometimes I think you zone out into another dimension. I bet if I blew an air horn right beside you, you wouldn't even notice!"

I plopped down on the plush loveseat and buried my face in my hands. She wasn't really making me feel any better about this. "Ugh, I know…"

I felt the other half of the couch depress as Naminé sat down beside me. She pried my hands away from my face. "Y'know, it would help if you talked about it."

There was no point in lying to her. "I know, and I really do want to talk about it but…" I looked away, "I can't. I don't think I can."

"Roxas…" I felt her hands on the sides of my face and my pulse quickened; she forced me to look straight into her eyes, which were beseeching and sad and just downright heartwrenching, "You can tell me anything, you know that."

I pulled away from her grasp. This was so hard. "Not this time. Sorry."

The hurt strewn across her face was unbearable, but I knew I couldn't give in. She bit her bottom lip and for a second I thought she was going to cry, but luckily she didn't. If she did I probably would've caved right then and there. "Well...I guess I have no choice but to respect your decision," She smiled, though I could sense a hint of sadness behind her expression, "But at the same time I want you to not worry about...whatever you're worrying about so much, okay?" Her face fell for a moment, and my chest ached for her, "'Cause...I don't like seeing you being all spacey and stuff. I don't like it when you're sad."

This guilt was going to kill me. "Alright, I'll try my best to be happy for you." When she looked up at me I grinned for her. "I don't like it when you're sad either, and if me being sad makes you sad then...er, I'll try to not be sad."

Her expression brightened again, and I felt my shoulders get lighter. "Good." She bounced off the couch and knelt over her pile of movies by the television. "So...what do you want to watch first?"

I shrugged and loosened my tie a bit. I completely forgot I was wearing one in the first place; maybe that's why I felt like I was choking up. "It doesn't matter, really."

She smirked. "I'm gonna make you regret saying that." She returned to the couch with her arms laden with different DVDs. "This should be enough for tonight."

My eyes widened as I scanned through her choices. "Why are they all romance dramas - Korean romance dramas? You said we were gonna watch movies!"

Her eyes narrowed as she snatched the DVDs away from me. "Hey, they're as good as any movie - maybe even better - and I need to catch up! Watch, after three episodes you're gonna get addicted."

I rolled my eyes and leaned into my palm. "Right." I watched her as she popped one disc into the player, and when the menu popped up and the cheesy music started to play I groaned. "This is so girly…"

She bounded back to my side and pulled on the blanket that was thrown over the backrest of the couch. She spread it out so that it covered the both of us evenly. "Do you want hot chocolate? I'm craving hot chocolate." She paused for a minute, tapping her chin with her index finger. "And Nutella." She raced out of the room, and I sighed. This girl never stays still when she's hungry - and she gets hungry a lot. I swear we just ate dinner not even ten minutes ago...

I could hear her moving around in the kitchen and I took the opportunity to remove my tie and roll up my sleeves. I still couldn't believe I was this close to telling her everything. I was beginning to wonder what would've happened if I did. What would she do? How would she react? Would she burst into tears and demand me to leave? Would she tearily confess that she felt the same way all along? Would she start to cry and tell me that she's confused, and that she doesn't want to see me right now? Would she shove me off the couch and tell me she never wants to speak to me again with angry tears glistening in her eyes?

Why was she crying in every scenario...?

"Back," She returned with a tray of two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and two plates with toast - smeared with Nutella of course. I thanked her quietly as I took my share. "Okay, are you ready for the awesomeness that is, er," She squinted at the DVD case, "Sunset Love Story?"

Just the name of the damn thing made me cringe. "No…"

She grinned from ear to ear. "Great! Time to watch the first episode." She pressed 'play' on the remote and I groaned in defeat.

I honestly didn't see how this was so intriguing. I tried paying attention to the first couple of episodes but the cheesiness was just too much for me. Naminé, on the other hand, was engorged in it: she was leaning forward to the point where I thought she was going to fall off the couch, and she reacted towards the smallest things. Sometimes she would start tearing up, and I'd have no idea why. Do all girls act like this when they watch sappy romance stuff?

Maybe I would've been able to pay attention if I understood Korean, because I thought reading subtitles while trying to watch the actual episode was too much of a hassle.

Once the credits of the thirteenth episode finished rolling I expected the next one to start playing, but the screen went black instead; the DVD must've been finished. "Finally," I breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Hey, can we watch a real movie now?" When I got no response I turned towards my shorter companion, "Hey, Nami-"

My heart melted when I spotted Naminé leaning against the armrest, fast asleep. Her empty mug and plate sat by the floor, and I moved them away just in case. I leaned towards her and brushed the hair from her eyes, and I smiled when a small smile curved on the corners of her lips. I gave her my share of the blanket and I laughed quietly when she snuggled against it. She was such a baby.

Her bangs slipped into her eyes again and I moved to tuck her hair behind her ear, but she must've misinterpreted me because the moment I was close to her she reached out and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me towards her. My eyes widened as she squished my cheek against hers, and I tried wriggling out of her grip but it was no use.

"Ugh," I felt really uncomfortable lying on top of her, so I rolled to the side and held her close to me so she wouldn't fall off the couch. She hummed happily and pressed herself against my body, nuzzling her head against my neck and tightening her arms around me even more. I felt my face heating up and I forced a lump down my throat; great, just great…

Well, at least she was keeping me warm - and wasn't I supposed to be enjoying this? I thought this was what I wanted. I thought this was why my friends and brother were at the bar right now, trying to get Riku drunk.

Maybe she thought I was Riku, or something. There couldn't be any other explanation. I mean, she wouldn't be dreaming of sleeping with me or anything - at least not this closely. I don't think she'd look so happy either.

But I guess I could always pretend.

I gave up and rested my chin atop her head, closing my eyes and listening to her breathe. I rubbed her back slowly and I smiled as she relaxed into my embrace, cuddling against me some more. I don't know why, but I began to hum a song. I always figured that being sung to sleep was sort of romantic, and I figured that was the kind of thing she liked. Maybe Riku sings her to sleep. I don't know. I don't really want to know.

And of course, right at that moment my luck decided to take yet another turn for the worse: my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I was pretty sure Naminé could feel it because the minute it began to ring she stirred a little.

I grunted as I managed to push myself out of her arms and hop over her to the floor. I swiped my hand through my hair and knelt down to give her a quick kiss on the forehead before dashing out of the room to answer my phone. I guess that was the unexpected kiss I owed her back...but then again it might not count since she wasn't conscious to experience it.

"Hello?" I huffed as I entered the kitchen; I moved to the table and sat down.

"Rox?" It was my brother, and he sounded frantic.

My heart began to hammer. "What is it?" I remembered to keep my voice low just in case.

"Er...the plan didn't exactly turn out as well as we hoped."

I knew it. "Um, exactly how did it not turn out…?"

"Roxas?" I heard Axel screaming in the background from the other line, "Ven, are you talking avec ROXAS?" Why was he yelling…?

Oh. Wait.

"Did you hear that?" Ven asked exasperatingly, "If you did, that should be enough to explain why."

"He got drunk instead." I answered flatly, and when my brother didn't reply I repressed the urge to break out into a cussing fit. "What the hell happened?"

"Um, well everything started out okay at first - like, we were having a few drinks with Riku and everything and it was all going well," I could hear Axel's slurred words in the background and Demyx anxiously trying to calm him down, "But Axel kinda just kept going...and going...and going…" Ven paused for a minute, "Demyx told me he hasn't been in the mood lately…"

I knew Larxene had something to do about this. "Ugh, I think I might know why. Where's Riku?"

"He wanted to stay and help us out be we insisted that we had everything under control - plus he needed to leave early 'cause of some art thingy tomorrow...and his date with Naminé." I cringed at the last part. "He seemed pretty intent on not getting wasted tonight."

Makes sense - why would he get drunk when he knew he had plans the next day? Maybe Axel just wasn't convincing enough...or he was just too depressed about whatever he's arguing with Larxene to actually focus on his plan. "Alright, where are you guys right now?"

"We're still here - we're trying to get Axel to the car, but he won't listen to us. I think you're the only one who can talk some sense into him, Roxas. Sorry to cut your date short…"

"No, no," I shook my head even though I felt a tad disappointed, "She's asleep anyways. I'll head over."

"Asleep? What did-"

"Nothing!" I hissed, "God, are any of you capable of thinking cleanly for once?" I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Okay, hold tight. I'm coming." I shoved my phone into my pocket and rose from my chair so quickly I almost knocked it over.

I don't care if I had to squeeze it out of him - I was going to confront Axel about this once and for all.

I stormed down the hallway and grabbed my jacket that was hanging over the banister. As I straightened my tie I heard soft footsteps hesitantly heading towards me, and I turned to see Naminé staring at me through confused half-open eyes. "Roxas…?"

"Naminé," I rushed over to her and gently pressed my hands on her tiny shoulders, "I'm sorry, but I have to go. There's...there's been an emergency."

Her eyes immediately widened. "An emergency? What happened? Did-"

"It's nothing you should worry about," I assured her, "But I have to get there as quickly as I can. I'm really sorry - I'll make it up to you, okay? Pick any day and we'll watch all the dumb, cheesy dramas you want."

She grabbed the lapels of my jacket and glared at me for a second before throwing her eyes to the floor. "B-but," She bit her lip, "I...how am I gonna know you'll be okay?"

I sucked in a breath and moved my hands to her face; I gently tilted her head upwards so I could look straight into her eyes. "I'll call you the minute I get home."

"Minute?" Her eyes narrowed again, "You mean second - the second you get home." She shook her head. "Actually...the millisecond you get home!"

I laughed and pulled her into a hug. My chest hurt a little when I felt her cling to me for dear life, as if this was the last time we were going to see each other. I'm only going to help my stupid drunk friend, for goodness sake. "I will, I promise." I squeezed her one last time before finally letting go and opening her front door. I forgot to look back.

Axel is an idiot, I thought bitterly as I stabbed my key into the ignition, He was always an idiot.

When I stopped at a red light I unconsciously dipped my hand into my pocket. When I pulled my hand out I found the tiny blue paper crane sitting right in the centre of my palm, uncrushed and in the exact same perfect shape from when I took it from Naminé's kitchen counter.

Strange.

A/N: Chapter Inspiration: Look After You by The Fray.

The song I imagined Roxas humming was Mayday Parade's I Swear, This Time I Mean It.