Chapter 8: Love Comes Softly

A/N: Ok, I need to pour out some thanks!

Zaikia-Girl, you gave me some tips and inspired me to make a better story! Thank you!

SaixPuppy7-Thanks for liking this story and I hope you'll enjoy the rest!

MechaCritick-Thanks for giving me advice about my story! I appreciate it!

Kexlaey-Sorry for deleting the other story but I had to start a new slate! Just to avoid the Mary Sue critics *shudders*. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story :D.

Thanks to all who liked or story alerted this!

I laid in bed, thinking about Axel, Roxas, and Xion, wondering if their fates could have been different had I intervened. My attempts were fruitless because they just brushed me aside and continued to their ill fates. I didn't sleep well last night because I kept having nightmares of myself yelling out to my three friends to run but they didn't hear me like I was invisible. I'd wake up and not go back to sleep so I'd just stare up at the ceiling blankly, just wanting to wake up from the nightmare I launched myself into. Being the organization made me realize that I wanted to be home surrounded my friends and family.

Maybe I could go to Xemnas and tell him I wanted to go home. Maybe he'd take me home and just leave me alone so I could live a normal life with normal friends and family. I could be home, make new friends, and possibly fall in love even though my feminine charms were low. For the past few hours, I wore the floor out from walking around anxiously. How could I sleep knowing I'd never see my friends again?

Finally I could bear no more. I threw my robe on and headed out into the hall to confront Xemnas and order him to take me home even if I had to pin him down and demand him. It was strictly against the organization rules to intrude on superior when he was sleeping or otherwise busy unless there was an emergency. No one knew where Xemnas's room really was but one time I followed him there so I could retrieve my bow and arrow to train some more and discovered where his room was: it was the closest one to Kingdom Hearts.

I crept down the hall, feeling my way because it was so dark, until I made my way to the door of Xemnas's room. Quietly, I opened the door to talk to him because he didn't sleep much at night but to my surprise he was sleeping in his king-sized bed and didn't even notice my appearance. Feeling abashed, I tiptoed to leave but froze when I heard his voice.

"I know you're here, Shelby," he said quietly, sounding more sleep-muddled than severe. "What's troubling you?" He sat up and looked at me curiously.

Anxiety crept into my chest as I walked over to his bed side and sat down, ignoring the fluttering in my chest. Stupid heart! Go away for a few minutes! I tightened my jaw as my face burned bright red at the sight of Xemnas bare-chested. He had enough muscles to make any girl flush. I closed my eyes tightly so I could remember what I wanted to tell him. Why did I have to have hormones? I was sure he could hear my heart going wild.

"Xemnas, sir," I said quietly, looking down to my hands, "I wish to go home now. I…miss my mom." Wow, that sounded so stupid but it was half true.

"Is that so?" asked Xemnas, prompting me to look up at him. His golden eyes looked troubled…unlike ever before like he was holding something back. "You can't go home." He sounded blank and expressionless like wouldn't care about how I felt.

"But why?" I demanded, jumping off the bed to glare at him with tear filled eyes. "You're not being fair! I don't want to be here anymore!" My throat felt like it would break but I didn't care because I had to be heard if I wanted to get what I wanted.

"You can't!" he bellowed, gripping my wrists tightly enough for them to break. "I won't let you go home!"

That knocked me for a loop because why would Xemnas sound so desperate? "What are you talking about?" I asked, blinking at him in astonishment.

Xemnas's lips twitched as if he was going crazy. "I love you, Shelby!" he shouted, bending to get close to my face. "I don't want you to go!"

"But, Xemnas, I wanna go home!" I cried, feeling tears creep run down my face. "You don't love me! Nobodies can't feel, remember! You said so yourself!"

"That was until I fell in love!" he shouted, glaring at me intensely. "I love you, Shelby! Do you need me to repeat it?"

I didn't like that he was yelling at me. It scared me. "Stop yelling at me!" I cried, cringing a bit.

He sighed deeply, calming himself considerably, and he finally said, "I'm sorry, Shelby. I just don't want to lose you."

"I thought you hated me," I whispered gently. "You kept avoiding me."

Xemnas sighed again with his expression gentle. "I only avoided you because I didn't want to act on my feelings for you. I didn't want to scare you by coming onto you." A smile finally graced Xemnas's handsome features and it wasn't one full of malice or evil.

"I…"I started but he interrupted me with a tender kiss. His lips were gentle yet insistent against mine but I didn't mind.

Suddenly, I was in his arms as he held me against his body, tight and protective, and our lips were melding against each other's. A gentle hand, one that was roughened up from experiments and Keyblade wielding, brushed against the sensitive skin of my cheek and I felt a dark shiver go down my spine. Hesitantly I touched his toned chest as if testing just in case he didn't fade away like a dream and when he let out an appreciative sigh I let my curious fingers trail down to his abs and I felt there. To feel his dusky skin on my fingertips made me feel a rush of adrenaline. His lips grew more insistent and he pushed me back down on the bed.

At first I didn't mind because my feelings were too great but then I had an image of my ex and I doing it for the first time and another terrifying image of myself being touched inappropriately so I froze under Xemnas's kisses. It felt like my body got glued together because my arms were tightly compacted to my sides and my legs were pressed together and Xemnas seemed to notice because he stopped kissing me. When I opened my eyes, I saw him hovering over me with concern etched into his face and a sinking sensation in my stomach.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, stroking my hair. "You froze up when I tried to kiss you."

I hesitated before telling him quietly, "I'm not a virgin, Xemnas. A few months ago, I was together with a boy from my school and we went pretty strong until my cousin died in a snowboarding accident. I had sex with him to dull the pain but it didn't happen so we broke up when I told him I didn't want to have sex anymore and he started going out with Ashley and began ignoring me. I didn't tell anyone except my best friend. If I told my mom, she'd kill me."

When Xemnas didn't speak, I looked up at him to see if he was disgusted in me but he wasn't. There was a gentle look on his face that pitied my horrible past relationship but I didn't know if he was going to speak harshly to me or not. I averted my gaze from him but he gave me a gentle hug that made me feel warm all the way to my toes. I felt a feeling I hadn't felt in a while; I felt loved and warm. His tender embrace gave me that feeling and I knew I was safe with him.

"Next time you feel pain," whispered Xemnas in my ear, "just tell me so I can help you."

All this emotional excitement made me weary and my eyelids felt heavy so I began closing my eyes. Xemnas seemed to notice so he let me rest on his large, cozy bed and laid down next to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kept me warm as I fell asleep against him, feeling more loved than I had ever felt. Life was great…for now.

A/N: I hope you like this chapter! Finally some romance! Review for more chapters! Love ya'll~