Chapter 21: Over the Moon

"Roxas…I really, really like you. In fact, I think I may be in love with you."

Roxas stumbled back in shock. Did she really just say what he thought she said? 'N-No way…T-This can't b-be happening. W-We're just s-supposed to be f-friends!' They couldn't have a relationship. What if something went wrong? What if they broke up? That would ruin everything! But…his mind added somberly, 'You like her…a lot.'

'I do like her (maybe even love), but I can't just put my feelings above everything else.'

His mind, however, countered again, almost mocking in tone this time. 'Why not? It would make her happy, and isn't that important too?'

Roxas wanted to slap himself. He knew he shouldn't have kept giving in to her, pushing the boundaries of their friendship. It was like feeding a stray cat and expecting it never to return again, for its appetite to have disappeared altogether.

Maybe it seemed stupid for him to have such a mental conflict. After all, if he did decide to turn her down, their friendship would no longer exist. At least with an actual romantic relationship, there was still a chance of him saving her.

"Naminé," Roxas whispered aloud, unaware that the blonde girl could still hear him.

Naminé's grasp around his wrists tightened again before she let go with a bitter laugh trailing from her lips. Who was she kidding? "You're really not interested in me, are you? Not that I'm too surprised…You always were different." The last phrase left are lips, sounding hollow and slightly broken, but Naminé, still being the Queen, was able to compose herself quickly, only brushing away a few stray tears before turning her back on the object of her affections. "…I suppose, I should leave now while my dignity is still intact. Naminé paused, summoning as much ice as she could into her voice. "and…You can just forget that this ever happened."

The students watching the spectacle nearly tipped over in shock. Naminé, rejected? Was it truly possible?

"W-Wait!" Roxas stuttered. His heart was heavy in his chest, but beating inhumanly fast. Naminé held her façade in place, but turned around to face him. Roxas could feel her eyes on him, and a shiver ran down his spine at their coldness. 'I can't believe I'm really doing this…'

"Well?"

Roxas swallowed, but blindly reached for her hand. She almost pulled away once he grabbed hold of her wrist, but he tightened his grip and pulling her to him, managed to plant a soft, chaste kiss on her lips.

The blind boy was 99.9% sure that half the student population's cell phones were taking (Facebook worthy) pictures of the moment, but strangely he didn't feel self-conscious. The way their lips melded together was much too…perfect to care about anything.

When Roxas pulled back, he couldn't help but touch his lips with a small smile. It had definitely not been his first kiss, but it was probably the best. 'I wonder what Naminé thought…' Roxas' thoughts only drifted momentarily, however, as the consequences of his action finally sunk in. What if that had not been the right thing to do…?

"You…," Naminé breathed, her lips were curved into an almost childlike grin, "You kissed me!?" The icy mask she wore had shattered completely to the point where she was sure that her lips couldn't stretch any further across her face. He had kissed her. He had actually freaking kissed her. Naminé wasn't typically one to be shocked, but that really was unexpected. She was sure they're relationship was already over even before it even began.

Roxas chuckled nervously under his breath, unable to see the bright beam radiating from the blonde's face. "Are you mad?"

"Mad?" Naminé repeated incredulously, before bursting into a fit of giggles, "Why would I be mad? Unless…Unless this means we're not a couple now." Naminé suddenly whispered her voice soft and slightly wounded.

Still close to one another, Roxas' eyes flickered shut, and his voice became low and reassuring. "I think to be a couple; we'd have to go on a date first, right?"

"Well then," Naminé teased with a small smirk, "we'll have to remedy that, won't we?"

"How about the carnival next Saturday?" Roxas suggested. He hadn't been to a carnival in years, and it would be nice to go even if he couldn't actually see it.

Naminé agreed. "It's a date."

KHKHKHKHKH

For nearly a week now, Twilight High had a King, and Naminé's subjects even the ones that were 'far superior' to popularity food chain loved it. It was like they were next Prince William and Kate Middleton. Everyone wanted to know every aspect of their relationship. What was their song? Movie? Dish? Some overly arduous students even wanted to know what the duo's children would look like (if that's not slightly disturbing…).

To the couple, however, none of this hype seemed to matter. They held hands in the hallway, sat next to one another in music class, practiced their piece, ate together—Naminé even grudgingly ate with Roxas' friends (he didn't want to ditch them again).

"Remember after school we're going to that café again," Naminé called over her shoulder as she began to walk towards her English class.

Roxas didn't look back, but replied in a voice loud enough for her to hear. "Yep! We can meet outside once school's over."

"Okay!"

'I can't believe people still think Naminé's mean…She's really sweet and—"

"Enjoying your honey moon?"

Roxas didn't turn around, but knew the figure that stepped from the shadows instantly. "Xion, what's up?"

The obsidian haired girl sighed. "Not too much. I mean not since my best friend got abducted by the Ice Queen…again."

"Hey, it's not like I don't see you ever. We…eat lunch together."

"With her," Xion grumbled irritably.

"Yes," Roxas admitted sheepishly, "with her, but—"

"You're turning into that guy again Roxas," Xion warned. She shot a glare at a curious bystander, prompting them to quickly leave.

Roxas sighed. "I don't mean to be…" Was he really losing track of things again? "In fact, why don't you come with us to the café after school today? I mean, I know you two don't like each other, but maybe hanging out a little would change things. She really has started to change—"

"Yeah," Xion interrupted with a snort, "around you. I still see her bullying kids around school (especially the 'fashion impaired' ones) you know. She hasn't changed in the least if you ask me."

Roxas smiled gently, "Then it's a good thing that I didn't, but Xion, you'll at least come with to the café, right? Just this once?"

Xion hated when he acted sweet like this. She always gave in. 'Though…maybe it won't be all bad. Raining on Naminé's parade is a favorite pastime of mine.' "Fine. Just this once," Xion conceded, attempting to hide her smile when she saw the happy grin stretch across the blind boy's features.

"Meet me outside once school's over then, okay?" Roxas instructed before clumsily barreling off to his next class, "Naminé can drive us both then."

Xion finally smirked as she called back. "Alright!" 'Oh, she's gonna love this.'

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Having to cart her ex-best friend and current rival to the downtown café was the least thing Naminé wanted to do that day. It was already bad enough when Roxas made her sit with the freak at lunch. She didn't want to be spending more time together, especially when this was supposed to be for her Roxas only. The worst, however, probably had to be Xion's overly helpful attitude. Helping Roxas out of the car and onto the sidewalk made her blond beloved seem like a child, and holding his hand? People would begin to think that they were the couple, and that was something Naminé would not tolerate.

When they entered the through the café's doors, Naminé hastily grasped her new boyfriend's arm and led him over to one of the round tables near a large glass window. She could see Xion raise an eyebrow, but refused to acknowledge the obsidian haired girl's presence until they were seated at the table with menus in their hands.

"Do you mind?" Naminé asked. Xion had been reading the entire menu aloud for the past five minutes, and it was getting really annoying. "I don't recall anyone asking you to narrate the menu."

Xion feigned innocence and covered up her true intentions with a sharp jab. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just trying to help since well…I didn't think you knew how to read."

"E-Excuse me!?" Naminé fumed, "I can so read!"

Xion shrugged. "My bad."

Sensing the growing tension, Roxas quickly interjected. "You said they had really good malts here, right Naminé? Do you think they could make a sea salt malt?"

"You and your sea salt," Naminé giggled, the time bomb of her anger effectively diffused. "I'm sure they have it. I mean sea salt ice cream is a staple here."

"True," Roxas replied, laughing until he briefly cringed. This time, both females looked to him in concern. Roxas held up a hand before putting the other in his pocket. "I'm alright." He said and pulled out a pair of dark aviator sunglasses. "I just have a bit of a headache, but I brought my prescription sunglasses with, so I'm all good."

Xion raised an eyebrow dubiously. "Prescription—"

"Sunglasses?" Naminé finished. "Since when do you have those?"

Truthfully? He had asked his mom to buy a pair for him to use yesterday after school as a way to further hide his blindness (his eyes did wander occasionally). He knew it probably looked stupid to be wearing sunglasses indoors, but if he could make good use of this—well, why not? As long as he wasn't carrying his symbol of blindness cane, it didn't look too strange, especially if he made an effort to explain his sudden need for the dark shades.

"I've always had them," Roxas lied smoothly, "but it's been awhile since I've had one of these headaches."

Naminé placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure a malt is really the best thing then? I mean won't the ice cream make your headache worse?"

"You'd think~" Xion added with a knowing smile. 'Clever. I'm surprised you didn't think of this sooner.'

Roxas shook his head. "No. It actually feels nice, and um…not everyone gets headaches from ice cream you know…"

"If you insist," Naminé sighed. She leaned her head on his shoulder, prompting Xion to inwardly gag, and outwardly call for the attention of the waiter—she needed someone to save her from watching them be all 'couple-y.'

Once they had ordered and received their treats (everyone decided to get a malt which surprised Xion since well she didn't think Naminé and calories mixed), the table was relatively silent. With Roxas absorbed in his treat, it only left the two girls to talk—something that obviously wasn't going to happen given their past and current circumstances.

Ten minutes into the consumption of their deserts, however, Naminé broke the silence with a giggle. Xion herself didn't understand the source of her amusement until she followed the direction of Naminé's vanilla tinged spoon. She too then began laughing.

Roxas swallowed another spoonful of his sea salt malt and frowned. "What?"

Xion, who was using a straw for her chocolate malt, nearly snorted into her dessert. "Nothing…"

More giggles.

"What?"

Naminé shook her head, but silently took a napkin from the aluminum dispenser and wiped several sea salt smudges from the blond boy's face. "You just had a bit of," Naminé paused to giggle again, "sea salt ice cream on your face."

Roxas' face grew bright red. 'Smooth Roxas, reaaaal smooth.' "Haha whoops!" He chuckled nervously while inwardly berating himself for looking so stupid.

"I was surprised you didn't notice," Xion commented with a smirk, "though…you were quite entranced by your malt."

"…"

"I thought it was cute," Naminé comforted, surprising even herself by the display of kindness. With any other boy, she would have mocked him, labeled him unkindly…but he could never stop eliciting different responses from her, could he?

Roxas pouted, but soon smiled as he went to finish his dessert.

Xion didn't touch hers again, but watched her old childhood friend intently.

KHKHKHKHKHKH

Tifa Lockheart waited outside the door of the Leonheart's—and now her ex-husband's—home patiently. Her ruby eyes wandered across the garden her childhood friend, Riona, had made and silently appreciated the care put into it. Sure, no one did a better garden than her, but still...

'Certainly better than I could do…' That's not to say that Tifa had no skills of her own. Unlike her ex-husband's new wife, Tifa was a master at martial arts. She had her own dojo and everything (she and Cloud used to live there when they were still married). The raven haired beauty was a completely independent, hard-working single-mom who refused to bow down to the feminine stereotypes of the contemporary age. She had tons of friends, great customers, a loving, albeit troublemaking, son, and…for whatever reason she still never felt completely whole after the divorce.

Maybe it had been foolish to rush in, but they were high school sweethearts, childhood friends. Everyone supported them. Hell, Cloud's parents still preferred her over Aerith, but he still cheated on her—for a whole year—with her best friend and got her pregnant (her Vanitas are barely over a year apart). AND just to add more salt on her already bleeding wounds, he married her too.

'Ugh…why am even thinking about this now. Just get your business over with and leave.' Tifa rung the doorbell again.

A moment later Aerith answered the door with a flour dusted but smiling face. "Tifa, hey. I didn't expect to see you here, did you come to apologize—"

"No," Tifa interrupted coldly, "I came here to see Cloud. Is he home?"

Aerith frowned but peeked around the corner. "Cloud?" She called.

"Someone looking for Cloud?" Riona asked from the kitchen, but before Aerith could answer, Riona spotted the dark haired woman and happily chirped a greeting. Tifa waved back, and Aerith couldn't help but feel completely out of place. In fact, the brunette was more than relieved when she saw her husband's spiky head peer around the corner curiously.

"Oh, Cloud. You're here," Aerith said before quickly wrapping an arm around her husband's. The motion was instinctive, but Aerith didn't realize the frown it set on her former friend's face.

Cloud nodded, and looked to Tifa with a raised eyebrow. "You're not the type to apologize."

"I'm not here to apologize," Tifa repeated as her eyes narrowed, "I'm here to give you this." Tifa reached into her coat pocket and handed the blond man a clean vanilla envelop.

Cloud blinked and chuckled uneasily. "You wrote me a letter?"

"No," Tifa said flatly. 'Just tell them. You went to all this trouble, now just tell them.' "It's a letter of notification. I'm suing you for emotional distress and neglect regarding Vanitas. The court date is set for the 21st this month so I hope you have a good lawyer by then."

It took a moment for the information to sink in.

"Y-You're suing me!?" Cloud sputtered.

"But Tifa," Aerith interjected, "It's not Cloud's fault—"

Tifa snarled. "You're right. It's both your faults. My Vani would have been completely fine if his father hadn't cheated on me. He wouldn't have any reason to lash out, and we'd still be a happy family now."

"How many times do I have to say that I'm sorry?!" Cloud angrily exclaimed, "I've paid child support, I've kept up with birthdays and holidays, I've done everything I can to be a good father to him, but—"

"Nothing! You have always played favorites Cloud, and I hardly remember a time when you set aside time to spend with Vanitas other than his birthday or Christmas. It's always been about your family with her!" Tifa nearly screamed the last part, and the elderly couple next door briefly glanced over before quickly turning their attention back to their dog.

Cloud clenched his jaw, but was unable to say a word as his wife released his arm and narrowed her jade eyes dangerously at his ex-wife. Never had he seen such fury in her eyes.

"M-My husband is a g-good father, and a good m-man," Aerith defended with a shaking voice. She was intimidated by the raven haired woman, but she couldn't always just cry and wait for the storm to end. She had to protect her family. "A-And I know what we did was wrong. We could have done things the right way, but…I can't change the past, and truthfully, even if I could, I wouldn't because, just like you, I love my children and wouldn't give them up for anything." Aerith paused, taking a deep breath. "I am sorry Tifa."

Tifa looked away briefly, her ruby eyes closed. She couldn't break, not now. It was their fault she was losing her little boy. She had to protect her son.

"I'll see you in court."

KHKHKHKHKH

Being at the local arcade with Hayner and Pence again felt so strange to Olette. It had been months since she had even been together with her best friends, but she was still glad Roxas convinced her to talk things out. At first she had refused. The last thing she needed was Naminé's unrelenting fury.

However, the longer they talked, the more Olette found herself wanting to be back with her friends. Things couldn't be the exact same, but they could at least start hanging out together again.

"I can't believe Naminé let you hang out with us," Hayner said, his hands wrapped tightly around the racecar steering wheel as he yanked it left and right. Olette watched with amusement as his face continued to grow with intensity.

"She doesn't know I'm here," Olette confessed before focusing her jade eyes back on her own game.

Pence, who was playing the same racecar game beside Hayner, furrowed his brow, but didn't dare remove his eyes from the screen. "So…she isn't okay with this?"

Olette didn't answer for a moment. What could she say? Naminé was so occupied with Roxas that it didn't matter if she had sought her Queen's approval. "What she doesn't know," Olette softly whispered, "won't hurt her…"

A moment passed in silence, and the brunette was sure no one heard her until Hayner spoke up.

"You don't want to leave them yet, do you?" Hayner asked. Bitterness was easily evident in his voice, and Olette flinched, refusing to say anything.

KHKHKHKHKH

Pushing up his glasses, Ventus lightly grazed his pencil across the blank sheet of paper. Each letter that was formed slowly filled the narrow blue lines in neat grey cursive handwriting. It was a tedious task, but whenever the blond boy was handed a worksheet (as opposed to an assignment that would be typed), he couldn't help but form each letter perfectly. His mother attributed it to his perfectionist nature, but Ventus didn't agree. He wasn't able to do anything perfectly, he just did things to the best of his abilities.

"Ventus," His mother called, snapping the blond out of his thoughts, "dinner's ready!"

"Okay!" He set the pencil back down on the coffee table, and padded into the dining room. His father was already at the table sipping his usual cup of black coffee while avidly speaking into his phone. 'Another business call I'm sure,' Ven thought to himself before pulling out a mahogany chair. Its legs screamed softly against the freshly glossed cherry wood floors, reminding the boy of screeching tires. Behind him loomed his mother's china cabinet filled to the brim with delicately painted plates, elegantly posed ballerinas, and an array of other shimmering crystal objects.

"I made beef stew for you boys tonight," Mrs. Sato chirped happily. In her gloved hands was a large oval shaped pot, the top of which had visible beads of steam running across its clear surface. Mr. Sato made no reply as he continued his conversation, but Ven offered his gratitude, watching his mother set their meal on the table.

They waited a moment for Mr. Sato to finish his business call, and said grace before finally digging into the stew.

"This tastes great honey," Mr. Sato complimented. He ate another spoonful of the broth to prove his point. Mrs. Sato giggled happily and thanked her husband.

Ven smiled, but couldn't bring himself to eat much. His mother's cooking was great, and just his parents in general were great, but Ven couldn't help but think…

"Something wrong Venny?" Mrs. Sato asked, using the boy's pet name.

Ven shook his head. "Nothing's wrong Mom. I'm just not super hungry right now since I had a big lunch earlier today."

"The cafeteria food really that good?" Mr. Sato joked with a chuckle.

Ven lightly rolled his eyes, lifting himself from the chair to bring his relatively full soup bowl to the sink. "It was pizza day today Dad, but um…I'm just gonna head upstairs for a little while if that's okay. I need to start on a paper for Friday anyway."

"Alright," his mother conceded with a weary smile, "you can always heat some up later when you're hungry."

"Kay."

KHKHKHKHKH

Sometimes, Ven felt bad for sneaking into his parents' room. It felt wrong, like he was invading their privacy.

'But…' Ven thought as he pulled a small cardboard box from the closet shelf, 'I have a right to look at this. It's for me after all…'

The blond quietly snuck himself further into the closet until he was sure no one would find him. The light was already on since he had already flipped the switch coming in, and with it being a walk-in closet, Ven felt no need to scrunch his body up in a corner. He simply sat down with outstretched legs, and started sifting through the box's contents. Old photos, opened and unopened letters, various birthday and Christmas cards. 'All from them… from my birth parents.'

Gingerly, Ven picked up an old Christmas card from nearly ten years ago. It was slightly ripped and faded now, but Ven could still easily make out the smiling faces, the traditional seasons greeting printed on the paper and the subtle addition of his name written in ink at the bottom.

'I wish we could all meet again,' Ven mused sadly, 'It would be so easy too. I mean with Roxas here…I could just ask to come over to his house. I wouldn't even need to explain anything because our parents would do it for me.'

The thought brought a fleeting smile to Ven's lips. It would be so easy, but…

'I just can't do that to my parents. It would devastate them, and…and they've already done so much for me. I'm sure someday though that we'll all-,'

BUZZ…BUZZ…BUZZ…

Ven furrowed his brows, carefully setting the old Christmas card back inside the box before pulling out his vibrating cell phone. His caller ID showed that it was Aqua. Ven's heart nearly stopped as he recalled his twin's words.

"H-Hello?" Ven answered with a stutter.

"Ven!" the blue haired female beamed in response, 'I'm so glad you answered right away. I was afraid I'd have to call back later, and well…you know my skills with phones (even if I have special apps to help me)."

Ven laughed nervously, trying to ignore the growing knot in the pit of his stomach. Something was definitely up. Aqua sounded much happier than usual. "Well, no worries. I picked up. But…um, you certainly sound chipper, any reason or just because?"

There was an unsettling silence on the other end before Aqua soprano voice finally burst. "Terra finally confessed to me!"

"W-What!?" Ven nearly choked as his heart shattered. "When did this h-happen? I mean…you like Terra?"

Aqua, unaware of her best friend's inner turmoil, chirped back. "Uh-huh. For quite a while actually. I just never was able really say anything since, you know, we all always hung out together. But yeah, he confessed today after school. It was so cute! He even invited me to the carnival this Saturday for our first date, isn't that sweet?"

"Yeah…"

At her best friend's lack of enthusiasm, the blind girl's tone became gentler. "Hey, this won't change anything between all of us, okay? I mean just because Terra and I are dating doesn't mean that we'll forget about you. We're a team."

"I know," Ven said as he coated his voice with false cheer.

"Good," Aqua said, "and you know, you should totally come to the carnival too. Terra and I will be there, Sora and Kairi will be there, Roxas and Naminé will be there. It would be fun if you—"

"I actually have a student council meeting," Ven interjected with unintentional ice in his voice. He didn't mean to snap at her, but he couldn't talk anymore, not while his heart was fragmented.

Aqua's voice dimmed on the other line. "Oh…Well, okay then. If you change your mind, just call." Ven only managed to mutter a quick thank you before the line went dead.

"So stupid!" Ventus exclaimed miserably. Now, he would have to apologize for his behavior. 'And…I'll have to deal with them being a couple too…'

KHKHKHKHKHKH

"So this is your house, huh?" Kairi asked as she and Sora came through the door. It was strange since she had never been over to his house before, but at the same time, it also meant that their relationship was growing.

"Yep," Sora replied, "this is it."

Kairi's violet eyes flickered to and fro, admiring the house's cozy foyer. She had definitely seen luxury at Naminé's house, but somehow, this was much better. "It must be great living here. I mean, everything's so comfortable. My house is so plain and boring."

"Eh, it's alright," Sora shrugged before gently taking Kairi's coat to hang in the closet. "It's a little cramped right now, but not bad."

"Oh yeah, Roxas and his family are living with you now too, aren't they?" Kairi asked, her eyes wide not only at this revelation, but at the realization that she had not been a very good spy over the past some weeks. Sure, she had obtained some basic information to relay to Naminé, but nothing since her and Sora had started dating. 'Though since she's been dating Roxas, Naminé hadn't asked me anything so…maybe I can just focus on my own relationship…'

Sora nodded. "At least till his family gets financially stable which will hopefully be soon. I mean…," Sora shook his head quickly, "I really like having him here. We've always been close, but it's just a little tense with our parents."

"Tense?" Kairi prompted while she followed Sora into the kitchen.

Sora rubbed the back of his head. How should he put this? "My parents hate Roxas' dad because he cheated on his first wife, who is a friend of my parents, and essentially 'tainted' my aunt by getting her pregnant (she was also in a relationship at the time)." The words left Sora's mouth quickly, but Kairi still caught them and her expression made no attempt to hide the shock.

"Wow. Never saw that one coming."

Sora chuckled uneasily. "I don't think anyone did, but I still love my aunt and uncle. They're good people…"

"No one related to Roxas can bad in my opinion, especially with how nice he is to Naminé. I mean, that takes skills," Kairi said the last part jokingly and even Sora couldn't help but lose some of the tension in his body and laugh.

"So," Sora grinned, "even you think she's that bad?"

Kairi's lips twitched, but she didn't answer.

KHKHKHKHKH

"We're supposed to use three table spoons…right?"

Kairi stopped whipping the eggs long enough to hastily snatch the salt shaker from her boyfriend's hands. "No. It says two tea spoons. Didn't you read the instructions?"

"…No."

Kairi sighed. It probably wasn't the best idea to bake anything, let alone homemade cookies, with Sora, but the flame haired girl thought that it would be a fun, inexpensive activity—a good substitute for the movies which practically cost an arm and leg nowadays. "Let me see the book," Kairi ordered tiredly. Sulkily, Sora handed her the book, and Kairi's violet eyes scanned its contents until she found what she was looking for. "Aha! See? Two tea spoons of salt and then just a—Naminé!?"

Kairi almost dropped the book at the sight of her blonde haired monarch. Naminé, holding an empty glass, raised an eyebrow. There was a trace of a smile on her lips as if she were trying to fight amusement. "What are you two doing?"

"B-Baking," Kairi stuttered, "what are you doing here?"

"Yeah. I thought you and Roxas already practiced your piece yesterday."

"You do realize we're together now, right?" Naminé asked with a small laugh. The word felt foreign on her tongue, but she savored its flavor, wanting to repeat it again and again.

"Well yeah…but…" Sora trailed off uncertainly and looked to his girlfriend. Kairi, however, had already faded back into one of Naminé's court as she too offered a small giggle. One that clearly apologized for the silly thought.

"Nothing," Naminé finished with a borderline smirk, "People who date tend to do other things too, like right now, we're watching a movie."

Sora snorted incredulously. "Watching a movie?"

"Yes," Naminé huffed. She didn't appreciate the brunette's laughter. "In fact, I just came in here—" The blonde paused to set the glass in the sink. "to do this. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going."

Neither teen said a word as she left, but after a few minutes, Kairi looked to Sora with a curious expression. "So, what was so funny about Roxas watching a movie?"

Sora visibly paled. He couldn't just lie to his girlfriend, but Roxas was his cousin. 'Would it really be so bad if I just told her? I mean Kairi wouldn't go blab to Naminé, would she?'

"What?" Kairi prompted.

"If I tell you something," Sora began slowly, "would you promise me that you wouldn't tell Naminé?"

Kairi furrowed her brows as a sickening numbness started to infect her body. Whatever this was, it was big. "What is it about?" When Sora didn't respond right away, Kairi's eyes widened. "It's about Roxas, isn't it?! H-He's not in a g-gang or s-something is h-he!?"

"No!" Sora hissed, gesturing for the redhead to be quiet. "It's nothing like that, but if I tell you, you have to promise me Kairi that you won't breathe a word of it to anyone, especially Naminé."

After a moment, Kairi finally gave a shaky answer. "O-Okay."

Sora inhaled deeply, but took Kairi's hand, leading her outside before quietly whispering into her ear…

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A/N: Chapter 21 is now complete. Feels a little weird now that we're only 7-8 chapters away from the end. As always, I hope the chapter was enjoyable, and I'm sorry that updates suck. I'm sure any of you college folk out there understand what I mean when I say: College leaves no time for anything but homework.

Story wise: I thought it was nice to finally have Roxas admit his feelings. The next few chapters will be in this sort of honey moon phase of their relationship. Chapter 23, specifically, will be all about the carnival. Also, what do you think about Ven knowing the truth, Kairi's discovery, and Olette's dual identity?

Lastly, I can't explain to you all how awesome it's been reading your feedback. I'm 250% grateful that you guys have taken the time to read, review, favorite, and follow. It means a ton, especially since I haven't been feeling the best in regards to this story. I was seriously amazed when I reached 330 because I didn't think it would happen i.e. you guys are awesome.

Review Goal: 350? I have no clue at this point. Honestly, at the VERY end of the story, I think it would be really nice to hit 500 reviews which may seem really far off, but I've always wanted to have a story like that. However, as always, a writer writes for their audience and personal enjoyment above everything else, so I keep trucking regardless of goals met.