Out Of Your Way.

I figured it would be awkward at work on Monday seeing as Naminé still wasn't talking to me. Every now in then I'd peek over the top of my computer to see if she was walking past my office or something, but I'd always come up empty.

As the week dragged on by there wasn't that much of a change. The only time I saw Naminé was in the morning, when I'd see her walk from the elevator to her office or Xemnas' office. Sometimes I'd see her during lunch but she looked like she was trying very hard to avoid me so I never attempted a conversation. Every time we met eyes she'd immediately look away as if nothing happened, and my heart would sink lower into my stomach.

It probably would've been easier to just walk up to her and tell her that I didn't hate her, but whenever I mustered enough courage to do it I'd think back to Riku and the things he said in the park and I'd feel insignificant and unimportant all over again.

I thought Naminé would at least have the courtesy to ask me about Salty. In case she forgot he was her cat too. She doesn't even know how bad he misses her, how loud he cries for her at night and how much I empathize with him.

"Still gettin' the silent treatment, eh?" Demyx, Axel and Larxene were lounging in my office during our lunch break on Wednesday. The dirty blond shrugged and placed his hands behind his head. "Women...I don't know why you guys bother."

Axel rolled his eyes. "As if being attracted to guys would be any better. I personally think everyone's equally irritating."

Demyx' cheeks were flushed a light pink. "I don't like guys in that way!"

Larxene snorted before digging into her Jamaican beef patty and a tupperware bowl full of pierogies and sour cream. "Then why do you think women are such a bother?"

The dirty blond crossed his arms. "Okay, maybe I just worded it out wrong. I just favour other things more than relationships."

"That's what I said before all of this crap happened," I muttered behind my laptop, "And now look."

Demyx grinned. "That's because you thought relationships weren't for you. I know they're not for me."

Larxene finished her food in a heartbeat and moved onto her next dish: sliced pineapples. "Or maybe it's because he's fully accepted the fact that no one would ever want to date a loser like him." When her and Axel burst out laughing Demyx began to throw a tantrum, and I watched it all unfold with slight interest.

"Hey," Axel's voice caught my attention and I turned to look at him, "I asked Riku to hang out this weekend."

My eyes widened. "And why exactly did you do such a thing?"

My redheaded friend shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Dunno. I figured since Naminé isn't talking to the both of you you'd have something to relate with."

I rolled my eyes. "I already told you I talked to him yesterday, and technically Naminé isn't mad at Ventus so we wouldn't really have anything to relate to anyway!"

"So why don't you try getting a hold of Naminé as Ventus, then?" Larxene suggested before stuffing her mouth with a pierogi, "I can't believe you've never thought of that in the first place."

"Because if I used my cell or my house phone Naminé would instantly recognize the number, obviously," I countered, "And I think she'd find it weird if a guy she hardly knew randomly called her up one day. If anything I'd be freaking her out - especially when she's not talking to her boyfriend. She'd probably think I'd be trying to move in on her or something."

"But isn't that what you're trying to do?" Demyx asked.

"Technically yes, but not as somebody else!"

"Ah, I think this hangout with Riku will do some good anyway,"Axel waved me off, "He probably needs some cheering up or something."

"You're not gonna try and get him drunk again, are you?" Larxene raised an eyebrow.

"No, no. We'll just try to stay on his good side."

My eyes dulled. "We've always been on his good side; it's not like we've done anything to piss him off."

"Yet." Axel pointed an index finger upward. "It's not like we've done anything to piss him off yet."

Demyx scratched his head. "So does that mean we're going to piss him off eventually?"

"Duh - I mean, our main goal is for Roxas to steal his girl. Of course he'll get pissed."

"I'm not going to steal her-" I protested, but Axel shot me a glare and cut me off.

"Really, Roxas? Then how else do you plan on getting Naminé? You had the opportunity when she got mad at Riku, but you went and screwed it up for yourself. Now we're back go square one."

I hung my head. "I didn't mean to scare her away. I can fix this, I know I can. I just have to talk to her and clear things up."

"You can do that right now, you know." Larxene pointed out, and I flushed.

"N-no, not now. I…I don't think now's the right time."

Axel groaned and smacked his forehead with the heel of his palm. "At this rate you'll never get the girl."

"Let's...let's just wait until we hang out with Riku, alright?" I sighed in exasperation, "I think Naminé needs more space to figure out stuff. I don't want to interfere or anything. She needs time to herself."

My best friend shook his head. "Well, if you say so."

When I got home I tended to Salty. He got bored easily, especially when I wasn't around to entertain him during the day so whenever I got home after work he got a little over-excited.

"Whoa!" The second I opened the door the small white cat seemed to have pounced out of nowhere and straight into my arms. I chuckled as he eagerly pressed his front paws on my chest to nuzzle his furry head against my cheek. "I'm happy to see you too, buddy. Are you hungry? C'mon, let's go get you something to eat."

As I prepared Salty's dinner I couldn't help but notice how the miniscule kitten kept pawing at my leg. I glared down at him. "I know you're hungry but you gotta wait a bit."

Huh, did he just shake his head?

I knelt down to his level. "Er, what is it? I thought you were hungry."

Salty nudged my shin with his forehead before walking out of the kitchen. I raised an eyebrow and raised a hand to my hair before shrugging my shoulders and following him down the hallway. "Where are we going…?"

He stopped in front of the door to my room, laid a miniature paw on it and glanced over his shoulder to blink up at me. He meowed, and the cuteness was enough to paralyze me.

"U-um, you want me to go inside…?" When he meowed again I nodded and pushed the door open. I walked inside slowly with one eyebrow raised; hm...everything looked normal…

Salty meowed a third time; he was sitting on my bed with his body facing my nightstand. Both of my eyebrows were raised when I noticed a semi-large jar sitting right underneath my lamp.

Wait, that meant someone broke into my house…

"Who was here?" I asked my cat as I sat next to him; when he mewled I rolled my eyes, "Right, I forgot I don't speak catinese." I picked up the jar and analyzed it; when I noticed what was inside I nearly dropped it.

The jar was full of paper cranes. They were folded in different sizes and different colours.

My head immediately snapped towards Salty, who was trying to reach for his ears. I scratched them and he calmed down somewhat. "Was...w-was Naminé here?" I managed to choke out.

That couldn't be possible. The jar wasn't here last night, and it wasn't here this morning before I left. The only time she could've brought the jar was when I was at work, but I saw her at the office today…

Unless she decided to come here during her lunch break…

I placed the jar on the mattress and lifted Salty up so we met at eye-level. "It was Naminé, wasn't it?" Salty blinked back at me. "It had to be her! No one else makes these paper cranes…"

But how could she have broken in?

I scratched my head as I picked both Salty and the jar up and walked back to the kitchen. I probably gave her one of my spare keys in the past; I vaguely remember doing that. That would be the only probable explanation. Naminé doesn't even look like she knows how to break in.

I mulled over the jar some more as Salty ate his dinner. If this really was from Naminé did that mean she knew about the small blue paper crane I took from her house that night? The thought made my face heat up.

Even so…

What did it all mean?

Salty's mewls interrupted my thoughts; he somehow appeared on the kitchen table. I narrowed my eyes at him. "What did I say about climbing on the-hey!"

He approached the edge of the table and deliberately tumbled onto my lap. I pushed my chair back in surprise and watched as he writhed around, trying to reach for one of my pockets. "What in the world are you doing?"

Salty managed to poke one of his paws into my pockets - the one that just happened to have my phone in it. I caught it right before it touched the floor.

"Geez," I glared at the cat, who was peering up at me with innocent blue-grey eyes, "What were you trying to do?"

He pawed at the keypad of my phone. Once he was done he withdrew his paw and continued to blink up at me with those large eyes of his.

Naminé was right: he was pretty smart for a baby - for a cat, actually.

"You want me to call her?" Salty nudged the hand that was holding my phone, and I grimaced. "I don't know...I don't think it's the perfect time to do that. She obviously doesn't wanna talk to me." Salty turned around to face the jar of paper cranes. "Okay, well...if she really wanted to talk to me she would've given me that jar in person!"

Salty's ears flattened against his head and he hissed menacingly at me. I rolled my eyes. "Oh, c'mon…"

I messed up my hair and stared down at my phone. Naminé's name was glaring back at me, and a lump formed in my throat. I stared back at the jar of paper cranes and the lump quadrupled in size. I don't know why, but I felt like this wasn't the best way to confront Naminé about this. There had to be a better way…

I stood up so quickly I almost knocked over my chair. Unfortunately I forgot Salty was sitting on my lap, but he was quick enough to leap onto the floor so he wouldn't crash. "Sorry." I apologized sheepishly as Salty angrily pawed at my leg. When he saw me take my keys out of my pocket his ears pricked upwards and he sat attentively on his hind legs.

"I figured this would be a better approach," I shrugged as I tucked the jar under my arm and made my way towards the front door; Salty was casually padding beside me, "I mean, what do I have to lose?" I briefly knelt to his level and affectionately ruffled his fur. "Thanks, buddy. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay? Be a good boy while I'm gone." I tapped his pink nose lightly before bustling out of my apartment.

The elevator ride seemed longer than usual. When I finally stepped out into the parking garage I stopped for a moment; the sound of rain pelting the outdoors caught my attention, and uneasiness began to fill my stomach. Rain...this wasn't a good sign…

I really don't know how I became so superstitious.

I hastily clambered into my car and shoved the key into the ignition. Why I was rushing, I had no idea. I speedily backed out of my parking space and quickly made my way onto the road.

The pavement was slick with rain, and it was storming so bad I could hardly see an inch in front of my windshield. I set my wipers to the fastest speed possible but it was still difficult to see. Because of the heavy rain there was traffic everywhere I went, and it only made me more impatient. It was going to make this fifteen-minute drive turn into an hour-long drive…

Fifteen minutes after leaving the parking garage I ended up wedged between cars. I really had no choice but to wait until it was my turn to move, so I shifted my gear to neutral and turned up the radio. I doubted I was going to be able to move for a long time, anyway. I should've brought Salty with me…

Missing someone was such a strange feeling - well, it was strange to me at least. I've only been away from Naminé for a week and my craving for her was so bad that I couldn't sleep at night.

Everything I did oddly reminded me of her. The food I ate reminded me of the times we would make dinner together after work, and the music I listened to would remind me of the time we would dance in my television room. Salty was just a living, breathing reminder of her so whenever I saw him I'd miss her a little bit more.

Sometimes I'd imagine touching her. Sometimes I'd pretend her hair was brushing against my cheek. Sometimes I swear I could smell that rainy scent on her skin.

I think I'm going crazy.

I wondered if she was going to be willing to talk to me now. I mean, if this jar really did come from Naminé that had to mean she wanted to talk, right? And this jar must've come from her because she was the only person I knew who could fold paper cranes.

But what did the paper cranes even mean in the first place…?

The car from behind honked obnoxiously, and I jumped in my seat. I shook my head and shifted my gear, letting the car inch forward a bit before hitting the gas.

I was over-thinking again, wasn't I?

But who wouldn't over-think this? I mean, I just came home from work to find a jar of paper cranes sitting on my nightstand! Obviously it would be something to worry about!

I smacked my forehead with my palm before turning a corner. I hated arguing with myself.

I was coming up on Naminé's street now. My heart was thumping nervously against my ribcage as I slowed down a bit. It was a little hard to distinguish her house through the endless sheets of rain.

There was a lone figure standing on her lawn with no umbrella, and I raised an eyebrow. I parked not too far away from Naminé's house and squinted at the figure, and when I realized it was Riku my eyes grew wide and my hands lost feeling.

How long had he been standing there? He looked completely drenched.

He must've been really desperate to get Naminé to forgive him. I frowned and raked my fingers through my hair as I watched him through my window. Thank God my windows were tinted.

Judging by his slightly slumped posture he must've been standing there for awhile. His back was turned towards me so I couldn't see his face, but I could see that his arms were limp by his sides and his knees were slightly bent as if he was growing tired of standing. I felt sort of bad for him.

I kinda wanted to invite him to sit in my car but I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to be against him and not supporting him...then again I still felt bad...I mean, he would've probably invited me to his car if I was in his situation. Riku was just perfect like that.

My eyes wandered to the jar of paper cranes sitting beside me, and my eyes widened again. Wait a minute, wasn't I supposed to be standing out there with him, or something? I wanted to get Naminé to talk to me too…

That punk beat me to it!

I groaned in aggravation and threw my head back against my seat. Riku was always two steps ahead of me. How was I going to win Naminé over like this?

I heard muffled voices, and my attention reverted back to Riku. Naminé was standing by her front door, still protected from the rain. She was shouting at him, and judging by the way he was bent over Riku was shouting too. They were arguing.

Hm, this was interesting. If only I knew what they were saying…

I rolled down my window just a crack, but it was raining so hard it was nearly impossible to make out their voices. It all sounded like gibberish and distortion to me. I rolled up my window and shook my head. Guess I had no choice but to watch without sound.

Naminé must've been really angry, because after a good five or so minutes of arguing she stepped out into the rain; she probably did that without thinking properly. I was surprised she didn't recognize my car parked just down the road a little, but maybe the rain was so thick it made it hard to see properly.

She walked all the way to where Riku was, on her front lawn. In seconds she was just as wet as he was. They were so absorbed in their argument that they didn't even seem to realize their faces were literally just inches away from each other. They seemed to just be spewing words at each other since their mouths were moving so quickly. Every once in awhile Riku would spread his arms out, and Naminé would make a bunch of hand gestures. It was kind of amusing to watch.

It made me think back to Sunday when Riku told me that they fought a lot. Were their fights always this intense, this passionate? If they were, wasn't that a bad thing? I mean, I knew a fight every now and then meant your relationship was healthy but if it was often...well…

All of a sudden they just stopped. I raised an eyebrow as I watched them stop bickering. It happened so quickly; it was the strangest thing I've ever seen. They both straightened up slowly and stared into each other's eyes. They sort of just stood there, frozen and rigid, Naminé staring up and Riku staring down. They stood there for a long time...maybe ten or fifteen minutes. I'm pretty sure they weren't talking because I didn't see their mouths moving.

Riku was the one to move first. He just sort of threw his arms around her and pulled her in, and she immediately reacted by grabbing the back of his head. They locked lips while clinging to each other for dear life. The rain continued to fall on them, soaking them even more. After what seemed like an eternity they broke apart and pressed their foreheads against each other. They were laughing now.

Couples…

Riku wound one arm around Naminé's shoulders and she placed her arm around his waist, and they made their way inside her house together. Once the door closed a wave of an emotion I couldn't describe swept over me. I felt like I just failed a big test and learned that the world was going to end at the same time.

Without thinking I reached for the jar and stepped out of my car. I gradually made me way over to Naminé's doorstep - there was no rush since I knew for sure she wasn't going to talk to me now - and gently placed the jar on the concrete ground. I swiped my bangs from my eyes and made my way back to my car, not caring how wet I got.

When I was back inside I was so wet my hair was flat and smooth against my forehead. I brushed it back a bit so it stood up a little, and I restarted my car. My head was completely empty the entire drive home.

When I got back Salty was waiting for me by the front door. I sort of expected him to. "Hey buddy," I picked him up and petted his head, and he purred and pawed at my wet dress shirt. "Yeah, it's raining pretty bad outside."

He blinked up at me. He wanted to know what happened.

"Er, yeah," I mussed up my damp hair as I walked towards my room, "Didn't go as well as I planned. Riku got there before I did...and I'm assuming she's too busy to talk to me right now. I guess this means they made up, hm?"

I changed into drier clothes and made my way to the kitchen. I wasn't really hungry, but I might as well eat something for the sake of something to do.

I usually hated feeling depressed and rejected and whatever else I felt whenever I knew Riku was with Naminé, but what I hated even more was when I didn't feel anything at all.

That was me right now. I seemed incapable of feeling anything at the moment, and I detested it.

I wanted to feel something. Anything to remind me that I was human.

It was human to be hurt from all of this, wasn't it?

A/N: Chapter Inspiration: The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot by Brand New.