"Oh my god," was what came out of my mouth after hearing Roxas's confession.

Roxas sighed, crossing his arms. "Yeah..."

"I'm so sorry," I said, unsure of what else to say. "I hope this isn't making you feel uncomfortable or anything talking about this because of how personal this is, and I'm sorry for bringing it up."

He scrunched his forehead, frowning. "I'm not that uncomfortable about this because...I'm talking to you, probably the closest person in my life. Here's the part that's upsetting me: you're looking at me like everyone else did, disgusted and repulsed."

"I'm not...!" I tried to say, but Roxas interrupted me.

"Really?" He remained unconvinced. "Let me put in the way every kid in my high school heard it: the new guy who transferred in used to have sex with his mom all the time. He's a motherfucker, and you honestly can say you don't feel disgusted?"

Oh my god, I had the urge to wrap Roxas in my arms and hold onto him tightly. "Roxas, I'm not...it's just...it's the past."

"I wasn't really planning on telling anyone anytime soon, but...I don't want to lie to you if you come and ask me like that. I like what we have here, our relationship right now, and I've assumed that once you know you'll treat me differently and change the dynamic of this relationship," Roxas said, looking away.

"Our relationship isn't going to change," I told him, trying to believe it myself. "It's a thing of the past."

Roxas came closer to me, his expression unreadable. "I hope so."

I tried to reach for his hand to hold, wavering as I attempted to grip it. As I kept a loose hold on him, I knew he and I shared the same feeling at the moment: disappointment.

I greeted Olette at work, her extremely excited to see me after my short absence. The brunette hugged me tightly, asking if I was healthy enough to be working. I had one more antibiotic to take for today, and I would be good as new. Roxas had went back to living in his apartment, deciding I was healthy enough by now.

"Relax, I'm fine," I told her, smiling. "Did I miss anything big? How is the current project going?"

"You didn't miss much, and the project is going pretty good but we're not sure how to improve it so it can sell better," Olette explained, taking out some rough drafts.

I pointed to the second draft of the four. "This is actually pretty good, but I think if we used negative space, it would give a bit more focus on the object. It would be like saying, 'you have everything, but there's still something missing' and could prompt someone to buy it."

"It seems I made the right choice on the promotion," the brunette responded with a smile. "I'll be sure to bring that up when we go into discussion at four o' clock. Speaking of time, my boyfriend and his best friend are coming to visit today!"

"What's the occasion? Or is he just bringing something you forgot?"

Olette giggled and shook her head. "It's our three year anniversary, and we like to celebrate with random acts of love. I'll wake up to find a new bracelet on my wrist, he'll find a brand new mp3 player in his car, and things of that nature. After knowing Hayner for so long, I've come to figure out what he usually plans on doing and visiting me at work is one of them. But, the presentation always ends up being different."

"Wow, you guys sound like you're really in love after all this time. Don't you guys argue a lot, get physical, or something?" I asked, thinking of Sora and Kairi. "How do you manage to stay together?"

"We love each other," Olette blushed as she said this, looking down at the ground. "Sure, we had fights and maybe took a few breaks, but we always found our way back to each other through thick and thin. We decided to be honest with our feeling and everything else from here on out."

Honesty, eh? "What if him being honest really scares you, not just what he said to you, but the fact he was able to trust you with something so personal? And what about what he actually said? It feels...different. Scary different."

Olette smirked, apparently knowing what I meant. "Your boyfriend, right? Look, if he said something really big, you know he really trusts you. Don't let him think it was a mistake to tell you because if you guys really care about one another, it all works out."

"He's not my..." I started to say before balloons began to fall from the ceiling and a popular love song started playing. "What the...?"

Olette shared my confusion and looked up at the ceiling, only to find a bouquet of flowers falling into her arms. Instantly, she smiled and giggled softly to herself. The elevator next to us opened, revealing a young blond man wearing a vest with baggy camouflage-print pants who held a balloon in his hands.

"Too much?" the man asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked around.

Olette shook her head, trying to suppress her laughter. "A bit over the top, but it definitely beats last year when you just came, gave me a pack of gum, and left. I see definite improvement here." She then turned to me and pointed to the blond. "Naminé, this is Hayner, my awesome boyfriend."

Hayner extended his hand for a handshake. "Hey, I'm Hayner, and to be honest, I think you're hot."

Olette glared at the blond and elbowed him, Hayner groaning in pain. She crossed her arms, frowning. "What the hell was that?"

"We agreed on all honesty, and I thought I'd let you know that I find your friends attractive," Hayner said, rubbing his side. "But I still think you're the hottest girl I'll ever know in my entire life."

Her frown turned into a smile as she hugged him. "You are so lucky you're so cute."

I saw Roxas waiting for me at the front doors, staring into the sky. I expected to see him listening to his mp3 player, but the memory of it nearly hitting Larxene and smashing into pieces played back in my head on repeat. He was so amazing and incredible at that moment, despite scaring me slightly. When Roxas noticed me, he smiled and beckoned for me to follow him to the car.

"How was work?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Really sweet, actually, with Hayner coming to Olette and all. There was balloons and music, and it was just really sweet to watch," I answered, thinking about the happy couple. "Her friend, Pence, came later with cake too."

Roxas stifled a laugh. "That kind of sounds over the top. And I'm guessing now you want your special guy to do that and even more once you find him?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, lightly elbowing Roxas. Automatically, after realizing what I did, I said quickly, "S-sorry about that! I'm so sorry!"

Roxas stopped in his tracks, looking at me with a confused expression. "...you're apologizing?"

Crap. "I'm sorry for apolo..." My voice trailed off once I noticed Roxas's disappointed expression.

"Let's just go home, and I see you tomorrow."

I screwed up.

Kairi looked around the crowded dim-lit room, trying to find Selphie. The two had gone clubbing, only to lose each other shortly after entering. The pounding music and the bright lights began to give Kairi a headache, prompting her to find a seat. In the club, she noticed that many of the singles were up dancing while most of the couples sat down together. Sitting alone made her feel out of place with all the couples around her.

"Kairi?" a male voice called out.

She turned, recognizing the voice too well, and saw the man she had dated in the past. His silver hair was longer now, and she noticed he seemed to be taller.

"Riku!" Kairi exclaimed, surprised to see her college boyfriend. She remembered their previous relationship, almost marrying the man before realizing she wasn't ready yet. "What are you doing here?"

Riku smiled and shrugged. "Decided to take the wife out for a night out and we ended up going here tonight."

"Wife? You...got married after all," Kairi said, a bit shocked. "Congratulations to the both of you for staying together and...going through with the wedding. I hope you two are very happy together."

Riku chuckled. "What about you? Have you been seeing anyone lately or anything like that?"

She shook her head. "No one at the moment. I recently broke up with Sora, and it's kind of hard to just jump back into single life, you know?"

"Sora, meaning you guys finally went out?" He asked, eyes wide. "I always had a feeling you had feelings for him, and watching Sora made it obvious he was in love with you. In college, you were a lot more quiet than before in high school."

"Oh, be quiet...the relationship didn't turn out too well anyway – fight after fight, yelling, trying to push him out a window..."

Riku looked Kairi in the eye, catching her by surprise. "You know, thinking back, our relationship wasn't perfect either, and I realized why we didn't make it through."

"We weren't the right people for one another?" Kairi proposed.

"That, and the fact we didn't try with all might to make it work. We gave up way too easily, and when you give up, either they're not the one or you're just too afraid to move forward when you should. You know how I realized I wanted to marry you? You were the only good thing going on in my life, and I thought I should marry you. How did I realize I wanted to marry my wife? No matter what, we always came back to each other and when she wasn't with me, I didn't feel as happy – like she was missing puzzle piece. I was willing to work my butt off to keep her in my life and seeing her smile always seemed to cheer me up, and I knew that she's the one," Riku said, appearing to be thinking back. "If you still love Sora and everything just feels more right when he's around, I'd say give it one more chance."

Kairi was stunned by Riku's words, thanking him for his time. As she left the club, deciding Selphie would have to find her own ride home, she wondered who he ended up marrying. Thinking about marriage, she soon realized that there was an apartment complex close by to the club – Sora's apartment.

"Always came back to one another, huh?" the redhead smiled.

She climbed the stairs and retraced the steps she used to take so often, reaching his door finally. The brunet was surprised to see his ex-girlfriend at this hour, him being dressed in his pajamas. Neither one of them said anything for while, just letting the silence speak for itself.

"...you want to give this another try?" Sora asked, his expression not changing. As Kairi nodded, he responded, "Do you think we can make it through this time? Things...got really intense and...are we even ready?"

Kairi replied with a kiss on the lips.

I sat at home alone in the dark, dialing Kairi's number to try to find some guidance on what to do. Roxas hasn't talked to me since earlier at work, and I was worried I had completely messed up our friendship. As her phone rang a few times, I leaned against the wall. Once she picked up, I told her about what had happened.

"Naminé, why are you talking to me when you could be talking to Roxas right now? Don't you hate being misunderstood?"

"I do," I responded quietly, not liking Kairi's tone of voice.

"Then why are you still talking to me? Go over to Roxas's place and clear up the misunderstanding right away!" The volume of Kairi's voice rose. "I didn't tell you Roxas's past because I wanted you to run away from him like this. I wanted you two to talk it out because Roxas still seems very traumatized by what happened, I want you to tell him how you feel and be there for him."

I bit my bottom lip, looking outside at the car through the window with thoughts of seeing Roxas in my head. "Thank you, Kairi."

Reaching Roxas's apartment fifteen minutes later, I couldn't help but think of that one dragon story Roxas told me, where two people went out to hunt a dragon who would never come out of his cave until the hunters befriended the beast. When I reached Roxas's door, I knocked hard, trying to get him to hear me. I pressed my ear against the door to listen in, hearing footsteps drawing near. They stopped abruptly, not making a sound after that.

"Roxas?" I called out, my voice becoming weak. "Can I come in?"

No answer.

"Will you please listen to me?"

No answer. This dragon apparently was planning to stay in his cave forever and ever.

"I can't see you, but I know you're there, listening to me like...some stalker, right? This isn't a time to really joke though," I said to the door. "Roxas, I'm not disgusted with you. Okay, the fact your mom did those kind of things to you is...disturbing, but that's all in the past. Just the fact that you were so hurt and violated like that scares me. I want to say the next part to your face, Roxas, so please open the door."

The door didn't budge, to my dismay. I continued to talk in hope he would come out. "Roxas, I've always thought you were amazing, okay? You seemed like some awesome person who came in and saved the day and managed to put a smile on my face. You help me out so much that I feel guilty I haven't done anything for you. I guess I kind of put you on a pedestal after all this time. Sure, there were times when I saw you at your weaker moments, but I pushed those out of my head to keep that image of you. Now that you've told me about what happened, I can't help think of that broken kid in high school who had been traumatized for life. The image was shattered."

I could faintly hear Roxas's footsteps, as if he was leaving and had enough of me. "I'm not done! Although that image is shattered, I realized I like this Roxas more! I like you even more than I already did!" I paused, in disbelief I had admitted that out loud. The sound of the footsteps stopped. "I don't think you're disgusting or worthless because of what you were apart of. In fact, I can understand how you felt slightly. Remember Marluxia? What I meant by we were using each other was that I used him to get over how lonely I felt after my parents death and he used me for sex. I know it's not exactly the same because I had my gain too, but I would always wake up feeling disgusted with myself and disappointed, thinking tomorrow is going to be the last time but never having the courage to say something to anyone. What you went through must have been really scary, but that's what makes you a real person, one with fears and not some idealistic image. Really, I find it admirable that you've come a long way to the point where you seem to be the most sane man in our group. Roxas, whether you've realized it or not, you have accepted us and are letting us in. You react less if we accidentally touch you, and you wash your hands less when we touch you. You're starting to feel safe with us. Although you are still very traumatized, you're getting better, and I really like that about you. I really like you..."

"...apple pie," was what I heard from the other side of the door.

"What?"

The door opened and revealed Roxas, tears beginning to run down his face. The image before me shocked me and I tried to reach my hand to him, only to be tackled and embraced so tightly I thought I was going to die. His body pressed against mine so quickly I fell back, almost falling on the ground. He buried his face into my shoulder, soaking my shirt with his salty, hot tears. I was in a such a state of shock that it took a while to process into my head. Roxas was hugging me.

"I said the word," I heard him whisper quietly.

Once it finally hit me, I felt a smile form on my face. "I thought we agreed on 'the banana king has returned' that day..."

"That was stupid to being with," Roxas said, laughing softly. His voice become quieter. "I push you away sometimes because it's so overwhelmingly warm and...I think of her, and she's literally touched me everywhere...I don't want to push you away, but..."

I returned the hug, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm right here, Roxas. I'm not her."

"I know."

"I'm right here."

Kairi and Sora looked at me expectantly, apparently waiting for for more of the story. To my surprise, Roxas was right that Sora and Kairi would make up in seven days instead of eight. We three sat in the living room at the house, sipping coffee.

"You honestly want me to believe that nothing else happened between you and Roxas earlier today?" Kairi asked, her eyes wide.

I nodded. "How is that hard to believe? I told Roxas that knowing his secret doesn't disgust me, and we hugged. After that, we had dinner in his apartment, and I went home."

"No!" Sora yelled sharply. "I refuse to believe that's all that happened, Naminé, because Roxas hugged you. To him and his no touching rule, that must be like having sex! You had sex with Roxas."

"I have to agree with Sora here," Kairi said in a very serious tone, nodding.

I could feel my cheeks burning up. "Roxas and I didn't have sex!"

Sora took a sip out of his cup before saying, "So what is your relationship with Roxas now? You guys are really close now to the point where you guys act like a standard couple without kissing or sex, so can we get this whole will-they-won't-they thing over with?"

"Sora and I want to record the first kiss you guys share," Kairi beamed. "Knowing you guys, kisses probably won't happen often, so we have to record one when we have the chance.

Or you could not record it all, creepers.

"Well, I don't really...know what our relationship is right now either," I said nervously. "I accidentally let it slip that I like him, and he responded with a hug..."

Kairi clapped her hands. "Then they're a couple!"

"No, as Roxas's best friend, I can safely say Roxas's thinking is very different and that doesn't have to mean they're a couple," Sora said, crossing his arms.

"How much more obvious can it get than that, Sora?" the redhead asked, rolling her eyes. "Hugging is probably equivalent to sex in Roxas world. Roxas doesn't seem to be a friends with benefits kind of guy."

Sora then pointed straight at me, causing me to jump up slightly. "You have to define the relationship by tomorrow!"

Define the relationship?

A/N: And we're approaching the end soon. Most of the drama has been covered already so expect mostly lighthearted chapters? Who did Riku marry? Don't expect an answer because I don't even know. I usually like shipping him with Xion, but she's bit old for him in this story so you can use your imagination for that.

I actually can't think of anything else to say right now, so see ya next time folks?