The play has arrived!

Also there is a poll at the end for the next two or three chapters.

Enjoy!

Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy © to Disney and Square Enix!

Final Fantasy © to Square Enix!

All OCs © to their respective creators!

Chapter 30: Showtime

"Thank you for letting us stay." Riku smiled.

"It was no trouble."

Naminé looked over at Isa. "We're staying here again next time, right?"

"Yeah," Axel grinned, "you and everyone will be here in about two weeks."

Two weeks?

Xion's eyes widened.

The play!

"H-how many people are coming?"

"A few. We'll have to set up for lots of guests that Friday."

"It'll be fine, Xion. You'll do great." Roxas placed a hand on her shoulder.

Yeah…

"It'll be fine…"

Two Weeks Later

"It's not fine!"

"Xion, you have to come out eventually?"

"No I don't!"

Isa sighed, glancing around at the guests that stood by, watching. "Xion, please come out. Or we will eventually have to come in."

"I locked the door magically!"

"And most of us currently here have Keyblades." Ven muttered.

Roxas walked outside and around to the window of Xion's room. He could see the girl huddled under blankets, the feet of multiple stuffed animals poking out. He tapped on the window.

Her head poked out, blinking at him.

He pointed at the window before summoning his Keyblade and unlocking the window. With a gentle push, he opened the window and peeked in. "Mind if I come in?"

"Please…"

Roxas hopped in the window, closing it behind him as he sat on the bed. "You'll do great. We all know it."

"Everyone out there is here for me. What if I mess up?"

"Then we'll still cheer. You're going to have the loudest cheering section in the theater at the end." He gave her a side hug. "I know you'll do amazing. But first you need to leave this room."

"Ok…"

Hopping off the bed, he took her hand and led her down and to the door. Xion summoned her Keyblade and opened it.

As the door swung open, Isa looked over at Roxas. "And you got in how?"

"Window. Xion said I could come in."

Aqua and Terra, glanced over at Axel with raised eyebrows, and Axel gave a slight nod.

A knock sounded on the door, and Xion tensed, hopping behind Roxas as Isa went to the door and opened it. "Hi, nice of you to come."

"Thank you for inviting us."

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Ansem the Wise, Ienzo, Even, Riku, and Naminé came inside.

"Wow." Ansem glanced around. "You've really cleaned the place up." His gaze drifted to Roxas and Xion. "It's nice to see you two again."

Roxas felt his stomach tense, but he smiled. The old man's eyes were soft and gentle. And he'd helped them a few times now. "Yeah. Nice to see you too."

"These are for you, Xion." The older man walked over and handed Xion a bouquet of flowers. "For good luck."

Her eyes looked up at him. "Th-thank you."

"Hiya Roxas! Hiya Xion!" Goofy walked over.

"Hello, Goofy."

Mickey came over as well. "We're so excited to see the show."

"We all are." Ienzo added. "It's nice to see the two of you growing in different areas and trying new things."

Aqua placed her hands on Xion's shoulders. "She's also a good cook and baker."

"Isa taught her well."

"Roxas," Axel handed him a rolled up paper, "why don't you show them what you've been up to?"

"Oh yeah!" Roxas grabbed the paper and held it out. Ansem grabbed it first. "I'm in the Journalism club at school."

Even peaked over, looking at the byline on the first page. "Interesting. I never would've taken you for a reporter."

"I like it. I started by taking photographs, and the other club members helped me learn to do interviews and write stories. It's like keeping memories."

"Photographs?"

"Yeah, come check it out." Roxas stepped away, pausing as Xion still grabbed his hand. He turned back with a smile. "I'll be right back."

"Ok…" The girl reluctantly let go.

Roxas led a few people to his room and pointed to his wall of photos. "I've been collecting them. And those books are scrapbooks."

"You make scrapbooks?"

Roxas pulled one down, opening it up. "It's not as cool looking as the ones Akira makes, but I'm getting better. I started by just putting pictures in there, but my friend Akira suggested I decorate them more."

"They're very nice." Ansem smiled as he picked up a book, turning to a page showing Roxas and some of his friends at school.

Xion looked up at the clock. "I need to go…"

"I can come with you." Roxas poked his head out. "Be right there." Putting away his books, he came out. "I'll be back later. Let's go."

Together, the teens walked out of the house.

As soon as they were gone…

"How long has THAT been a thing?"

"Since two weeks ago." Isa smirked.

Ienzo chuckled. "I wasn't expecting to see them again as a couple."

"It's been a trip." Axel laughed. "Especially since half the girls at their school have a crush on Roxas, and the guy playing opposite Xion has a crush on her."

"High school drama." Even rolled his eyes.

Ansem the Wise stared at the door. "I'm so happy for them. After all they've been through… they deserve to be happy."

"They do."

Donald crossed his arms. "Well, let's unpack and get going. We don't want to be late."

"No we don't."

"Places everyone!"

Xion took a deep breath as she peeked out from behind the curtains. From here she could see the section of thirteen people, fourteen including Jiminy somewhere over there, of her friends.

She could do this.

"You ready?" Auston gave her a grin.

"Yeah."

Roxas watched with a full heart as Xion stepped on stage.

And then she began to sing…

Her voice was perfect.

Crystal clear.

And as the play went on, her confidence grew, just like the character she played.

Ever so often he'd glance down at the others in their row.

All smiling.

And as Roxas said, when the show ended and the curtain call came, the moment Xion came forward to bow, their section lit up with cheers.

The loudest section of them all.

He could see Xion blushing from his seat, but she looked happy.

And that was all that mattered.

"Xion!" The girl came jogging out from backstage, throwing herself into a hug with Roxas. "You were so good!"

"That was awesome!"

"You're so talented!"

The girl laughed as they all surrounded her, showering her with compliments.

Isa pulled her into a hug as well. "You did amazing."

"Thank you, all of you!"

That night, Xion sat in the back garden, staring up at the clouds overhead.

"Can't sleep?" Roxas came out and sat with her.

"No, too much adrenaline. This was so amazing… I loved it so much. I was afraid, but now. I want to do it again!"

He grinned. "You can! They're having a spring play too, right?"

"Yes!" The girl looked over at him. "And it helped me really grasp emotion better. I could learn to channel it, and then learn what it felt like for real."

"I bet."

"And dancing and singing… they were so fun. And I'm glad Ms. Jessie cut out the stage kiss."

"The what?"

"The stage kiss. Sometimes, they have the main leads kiss at the end. Not a real kiss. The boy puts his hand between their mouths, so from a distance it looks real. We did talk about it, but I wasn't comfortable with it, so they cut it out and just made it a hug."

"You weren't comfortable with it? Even though it was fake?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "I don't know. It just felt off… not sure why." She giggled. "And even if it was fake, part of acting is acting like it's real, and I have no idea what a real kiss is even like."

"Me neither." Roxas chuckled. "Guess we're still a bit clueless in some areas."

"Guess so."

"Um," Roxas felt his face go beet-red as an idea popped into his head, "well…"

"What?"

"Would you… want to try?"

"Huh?"

"A kiss, I mean. I mean, we're not officially a couple I think, but I see Nico and Iunia do it sometimes."

He saw her face go red as well. "I… well, it couldn't hurt. Right?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah… let's try it."

From the second floor, another person couldn't sleep. Ansem the Wise looked out the window, watching as Roxas and Xion leaned in.

Their lips meeting for just a moment before they pulled back, faces red.

But smiling.

And tears began to well in his eyes.

After all he'd done to them… he could see them now.

Happy.

Discovering life anew.

And back in the garden, Roxas quickly stood up, holding out a hand to Xion. "We… better get inside."

"Y-yeah."

But as they went to their rooms, neither one could sleep that night.

"We need to meet up again!"

"Why don't we?" Mickey piped up. "Christmas is coming up. We should celebrate together."

"Where?"

"Eh, we can figure that out later."

Axel gasped. "Hey! When we figure out those plans, we can also celebrate Roxas's technical first birthday! It's 3 days before Christmas."

"Oh yeah!"

"That's a great idea!"

"Let's come up with a list and figure out where we'll celebrate then!"

"Great!"

Xion giggled as everyone chattered on excitedly.

These people were wonderful.

Her family and friends.

Yeah! The play!

And other things *smirks*

Also, where do you guys think would be a fun place to have their Christmas. I'll be taking a vote: Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, Destiny Islands, or Land of Departure?

Hope you enjoyed!