Chapter 17

A small café had just opened in Twilight Town, but was proving to be hugely popular to those who knew where it was nestled amongst the back-alleys. Naminé and Riku had been lucky enough to be able to grab some seats inside, and were licking the sea-salt ice-cream they had just bought. It had been a week since their encounter with Axel. Due to Naminé's injuries, Diz had postponed her encounter with Roxas, something Riku thought to be the only upside to her condition. It gave him more time to come up with another strategy. However, he didn't have that much time. Naminé was healing fast, and it would only be a matter of days before Diz would bring up the fight again. He had to think of something soon, or it might mean that she would be coming back with more than just burn wounds.

This, however, was the last thing on Riku's mind. It was sunny, and Naminé was had been allowed to leave the mansion as long as he would take care of her. Being honest, Riku thought that he was in need of a break. Everything had gotten so, so serious recently, and all he wanted to do was forget about things, even if it was only for a little while.

"You know," he said. "I don't think I'll ever get sick of this stuff."

"Me neither," she replied, biting into the bottom corner of the ice-cream to avoid it spilling all over her clothes.

"I never brought some back to the others the last time," she said suddenly.

"Oh yeah," he said, "That was the time when we first met Axel. I guess we had other things to worry about then." He gave her a small, understanding, half-smile, which she returned wordlessly.

"I'll go buy some more. Might as well get Diz one too."

"Do you actually think he'll like it?" he asked incredulously.

"No," she replied. "Personally, I think he'll hate it, but I don't want him to feel left out."

"You're unbelievable," he sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.

"I...guess I'll take that as a compliment," she said with a smile.

Riku noticed a group of people walking towards them, and tapped Naminé lightly on the arm. She turned as he gestured behind her.

"Hi guys!" she said with a wave. Noticing her frantic hand-movements, they walked over to their table.

"Hey, it's Namiku!" Hayner said cheerfully.

"N-Namiku?" Riku stammered.

"Yeah, you see I took the first two syllables of Naminé and the last one of your name and-"

"I get the reference," Riku said flatly. Hayner, Pence, Olette and Naminé laughed together good-naturedly.

"Well, I have to give the credit to Pence, here," Hayner said, slapping his friend on the back. "He just has a gift when it comes to nicknames, and since the two of you are always together, we might as well just call you the one thing!"

"Thanks, Pence," Riku said.

"Hey, Naminé," Olette said, pulling up a chair beside her. "What happened to your arm? It looks really bad, are you okay?"

"I...um," she muttered, trying to hide the burnt appendage behind her back so that the trio couldn't see it. "It was just an accident, that's all. I'm fine, really."

"How did it happen?" Pence asked, his face a picture of concern. Hayner nodded in agreement.

"It was silly, really," she replied.

"Yeah," Riku said, jumping in. "Our cooker broke and so we decided to try cooking outside on an open fire."

"Really stupid, we know," Naminé agreed.

"Yeah, we even got these flimsy little sticks to hold the pot up, and you can imagine how that was going to turn out."

"I had just boiled a pot of water on it," Naminé continued, "and when I went to lift it off the stick I forgot how heavy it actually was and flew forward into the fire. Thankfully, my arm got the worst of it."

Naminé and Riku looked at each other, both knowing they left out the part about the burns stretching across her stomach.

"Nami, you've got to be more careful," Olette admonished. "You could have been really hurt!"

"Thanks, Mom," she replied with a grin, which broke the tension around the table.

"Well, we're actually heading to the train station," Hayner said. "Do you want to come with us?"

Riku looked towards the clock tower, and cringed at seeing what time it was.

"No, we'd better be going home soon," he replied. "But thanks for the offer."

"We'll hang out next time," Naminé assured them.

"Okay then," Olette said. "No more falling into fires, Nami, okay?"

Naminé laughed. "Go on, get going!"

"Bye," they all chorused, before walking away. The pair waited until the trio had turned the corner before heaving a sigh of relief.

"Our cooker broke?" Naminé said in disbelief. "Couldn't you have picked something better than our cooker breaking down?"

"Hey, they bought it, didn't they?" he argued. "And I didn't see you coming up with anything great yourself!"

"Fine, fine," she replied, defeated. "I'll go get the ice-cream now, okay? I'll meet you outside in two minutes."

Riku nodded and walked outside. He couldn't help but think about her, and what a close call that had been a week ago. It was hard to believe that he had almost lost her. Even though she was alright, she had been severely lucky.

And then he had gone and given her that hug....

The dynamic in their friendship had changed, and Riku knew that Naminé had noticed as well. He was surprised that she hadn't said anything, but as he had gotten to know her more and more, he had realised that she hated confrontation. It was why she took all that abuse from Diz all the time without a word, it was why she had waited so long to call him on his behaviour towards her over the last month, and it was why she hadn't told him that she was a nobody. No, if Riku wanted to talk about this change between them, he would have to bring it up himself.

He had acted so out of character the night before. All he knew was after he had spoken to Sora he needed to see her, and when he did, an urge he had never even imagined about had come over him. It was so strong, it awoke an instinct more powerful than his intelligence and common sense. Naminé over-rode every feeling of rationality he could ever muster, blocking out any conflicting action that involved staying away from her, and though it was a scary feeling, he absolutely loved it. He didn't know how many times she had brought him to the edge of madness, but with her there to keep him company on the journey, he felt that each treacherous slip towards such an insanity was nothing but euphoric.

Riku knew it know; why he acted so differently when she was around, why he left himself more open to her embraces and touches, and why he had shown parts of himself to her that no one else would ever see. It was such an easy answer, and he wondered why it had taken him until last night to realise that he loved her.

Before, when they were on the island, Riku had thought that he had loved Kairi. He was sure that what he had felt for her was real, and that there would be no other girl for him. But, she was Sora's girl, and he was okay with that. Naminé though, Naminé was on a whole other level. She was able to stir feelings within him that he had never though existed. She was able to make him feel so vulnerable, but at the same time she could make him think like he could take on the world.

"Hey, Mr. Daydreamer!" Naminé greeted, leaping onto his back. Riku lurched forward, taken completely by surprise. "Jeez, for someone who takes pride in being aware of his surroundings, you sure are spaced out today."

Riku caught her legs and shifted her weight so that she was fully resting on his back.

"Did you get the ice-cream?" he asked.

"Yeah, the man said that we need to get it back as soon as we can though. The salt will keep it together for a while, but as it melts it'll lose its flavour."

"We'd better get going then," he said, tilting his head to the side and giving her an evil sort of smile. Naminé faltered at the look on his face.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, already knowing that she wouldn't like the answer.

"I'm going for a run," he replied, tightening his hold on her legs. Naminé squirmed uncomfortably, trying her best to break from his grip. Riku, however, would have none of it.

"No-no-no, Riku, put me down. Put me down-"

"Too late!" he chirped, and broke into a sprint.

"RIKU!!" she screamed.

Riku put Naminé down next to one of the trees in the forest near the mansion. She shakily put her hand against it to steady herself, but, not being enough to hold her upright, plopped down unceremoniously onto the soft earth.

"You okay?" he asked, his grin evident.

"The world is still spinning," she said slowly, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the tree. Riku sat down beside her and laughed. He loved the way her hair had become so dishevelled and wiry from the wind while he was running. It made her look so...

"That's what you get for messing with me," he said, giving her a nudge, trying to force those feelings out of his head.

"Remind me to never jump on you again," she intoned.

"Hey, I'm not going to remind you," he replied. "You know the consequences!"

"Well....I can be mean too!" she argued, opening her eyes to look at Riku. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I'd like to see you try."

With that, Naminé threw herself over his lap. Riku let his eyes roll upwards in defeat.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"There," she replied victoriously. "I win." Riku sighed, and they both laughed. Naminé moved herself until only her head was lying on his legs. They exchanged smiles before she closed her eyes.

"Mmm, I could sleep here," she said slowly, her voice purring with contentment. Riku didn't know what to do with his hands, whether he should fold them, lace them behind his head, put them on his lap...it was such a simple decision, but he couldn't make it. They remained hovering in mid-air for a few seconds more before finally settling on placing them at his sides.

"Aren't you uneasy?" he asked. He could feel the pollen from the Rebra trying to expel him from the forest, but the light he carried only made him deeply unsettled by it. Since Naminé was in grey, she must have been susceptible to its effects also, even if she hadn't mentioned it the first time they passed through the forest together.

"Well, I am, a little," she admitted. "But you're here, so I know I'll be safe."

Riku raised his hand and started playing with her hair. It was the perfect time to tell her, he just knew it. Opportunities this good did not just come along. The setting was right, the mood was perfect, and here she was, this amazingly beautiful woman, just lying on his lap. A woman, who just seconds ago had told him she felt safe when he was around. What was he waiting for?

"Naminé?" he asked.

"What is it?" she answered. Her eyes opened and deep pools of blue looked at him questioningly.

Ask, Riku! For the love of all things good and light in the worlds, just ask already!

Riku let her golden tresses fall from his fingers, and returned his hand to its original position. He looked away and sighed.

"It's nothing."

Author's Notes:

Thank you all for the slew of reviews I got after posting the last two chapters. I really enjoyed reading what you all had to say, and I got some great pointers which I will try to slip in somewhere along the next few installments! This fanfic is rapidly nearing its end; and hopefully I'll get the last few chapters finished by the end of July, though that is not a promise I will make right now. Holidays are coming soon, so I will be doing a lot of work on this fanfic in that time in a means to get it finished. I suppose it has been dragging on for over two years now, and those who have been with me from the start will be just as relieved as I am to see its completion!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading!

LastCetra.