Chapter 16: Momentum
Naminé woke with a slow, agonizing groan. Her head throbbed in pain, and the poor blonde realized she was reliving one of the more unpleasant morning experiences.
She had a hangover.
Though it only happened once before, Naminé knew she was right. As far as she remembered, she didn't take a blow to the head at any point last night. No, this was self-inflicted.
She drank too much.
Naminé slowly opened her eyes, a deliberate action to keep the light from stabbing into her eyes. Thankfully, the nylon of their red tent lessened the intensity, replacing the sun's glare with a red glow. Blinking once more, the blonde slowly took in her surroundings.
She groaned again.
Beside her, Kairi was sound asleep. Naminé's twin had her back pressed against the back of the tent's other inhabitant, Sora. The boy was curled in the fetal position, condensing his sleeping bag into a scrunched up ball.
A memory surfaced in Naminé's pounding head. Last night, she strongly insisted that Sora stay in their tent for the night to make sure nothing bad happens to Kairi. She vaguely remembered making obscene jokes about doing lewd things while she was sleeping.
As soon as she pulled the tent cover aside, burning rays of light temporarily blinded her. Naminé couldn't help but cry out in pain: the light did her headache no favors. After waiting a few moments, she managed to crawl out of shelter, eyes tightly squeezed shut. Squinting just enough to see, she worked her way around the tent and stopped when she made it to the shade.
Naminé sat there for a moment, clutching her head as her eyes adjusted to the light. How did she let it get so bad? She didn't intend to drink that much, but apparently she lost control at one point.
"You look like you could use a few of these."
Naminé barely caught the sight of Xion holding out a few pills and a bottle of water before her. She reached out. "Thanks." Her voice came out hoarse and dried, so she gulped down a good amount of water along with the painkillers.
"Someone had a lot of fun last night," Xion teased. The brunette sat beside Naminé and brought her knees to her chest. "How's your head?"
"Pretty painful," Naminé groaned in a voice that sounded more like her own. She graciously accepted the sunglasses Xion offered her. "Thanks again."
"Don't mention it. I can't imagine how you must feel right now. I never seem to get hangovers." Xion shrugged at her dumb luck.
"You're not missing out on anything. Trust me." Naminé took a careful look around the beach, finally adjusted to the light. "Xion, what time is it?"
"Around ten in the morning," Xion informed. "Riku woke up around six to do his morning workouts. Being the light sleeper that I am, I woke up at six too."
Naminé's head was clear enough to pick up on the fact that Xion slept close enough to Riku that he woke up. Though she was tempted to ask just how close they slept, she refrained and settled with a more tamed question. "Where did you end up sleeping?"
"On Riku's boat with him," Xion answered without missing a beat. She apparently found nothing scandalous about the situation.
"What have you been doing all this time?" Naminé questioned.
"We've been cleaning up a little." Xion pointed to the campsite.
Naminé was surprised she didn't notice how bare it appeared. Any evidence of the party from the previous night all but disappeared. There was no sign of black trash bags, broken bottles, or plastic scraps. Not a single stray red cup littered the beach, and every empty pizza box was extracted from the area. The only sign of such a party was a scatter of upright tents and a few bags tucked neatly under the picnic table.
"I can't believe I didn't see that earlier," Naminé said in awe. Riku and Xion sure found a productive way to fill those four hours. "Did anyone else wake up?"
"Ven and Aqua already left, actually. They helped us a bit by taking the overflow trash bags back to the mainland. They also helped us load Riku's car with the leftover alcohol, which surprisingly was a sparse amount." Xion nudged Naminé with her shoulder, a mirthful gleam in her eyes. "Guess I should thank you for lightening the load in a way."
"I hate to admit, but I don't think I'll be doing the same favor anytime soon."
Xion let out a high-pitched laugh, rocking back and forth as she shook her head. "I don't blame you. Are you feeling at least a bit better though?"
Naminé realized that she was able to function just fine when she wasn't focused on the fact that she had a hangover. Unfortunately, the question only brought her attention to her plight. "As long as I'm distracted, I think I'm fine."
"The painkillers will start doing their job as the day goes on. To get it off your mind, why don't we go wake up Roxas?" Xion suggested.
A slew of memories swamped Naminé in a matter of seconds, all of them containing one unique element: horrifically embarrassing.
If given the choice, Naminé wished her brain chose to forget such events rather than settling with a hangover. In the span of a single night, Naminé made a fool of herself in front of Roxas, hugged him, drunkenly made a bet with him, and told him she thought he was cute.
"Oh no…" Naminé groaned.
"What? Something wrong?" Xion leaned closer, clearly concerned.
In Naminé's opinion, a lot of things went wrong. Why did she even go near Roxas while under the influence of alcohol? Didn't she start drinking because she wanted to avoid any talk of their childhood?
Naminé inwardly slapped herself. She remembered doing that too.
Not even the best lawyer or PR assistant could remedy the situation. It was way beyond the point of damage control. What the hell was she thinking?
Now he knew that she recently found him to be cute.
Great. Just great.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Maybe I should stay right here," Naminé quipped. Right here and away from Roxas.
"Nonsense! You should get that blood flowing." Xion hopped up and held her hands out for Naminé. "I'll help you up. Come on!"
"You know what? I'm going to be really honest here and say that I don't think I should face him right now." Naminé attempted to wave off the help, but Xion took her outward hands as a sign that she accepted the offer.
"Is this because you hugged him last night?"
Naminé froze. How did Xion know that? "Did I?" She shot the question back. Maybe Xion was trying to trap her into admitting something.
"Yeah. You also hugged me, your sister, Riku, Sora, Selphie, Olette…" Xion listed the names on each finger as she went along. "You turned into a hugging machine last night. And I may have been drunk last night, but I know you hugged Roxas a few times too."
"Ugh, great," Naminé muttered under her breath.
"Strangely enough, Roxas wouldn't let you hug Axel."
Naminé pursed her lips as ion dragged her toward a tent. "Why is that? Was Axel drunk?"
"More like Axel was too sober," Xion answered. Roxas's best friend quietly unzipped the tent cover, holding back a snicker as she did so. "Oh these boys and their bromance…"
"What is it?" Naminé craned her neck over Xion's shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of the view. Sleeping before them were Axel and Roxas. Though they were in separate sleeping bags, the blond somehow managed to wrap his arms around his older friend. Axel, either unaware or uncaring of the fact that he was being held so tightly, slept with a peaceful smile and a light snore.
"Now you got some dirt on Roxas. The guy will latch on to anything in his sleep." Xion poked Axel's leg with her foot, hissing in the most annoying manner possible. "Axel! Wake up!"
"Huh?" The redhead woke, slightly startled by the two girls standing at the door of his tent. "What do you want?"
"You need to wake up. Larxene's been blowing up your phone for the past two hours," Xion explained.
Axel unwound Roxas's arms from his body in what Naminé saw as a routine manner. How many times had that happened before to make him so nonchalant?
"Oh no. What time is it? It's not ten, is it?" Axel wiped at his eyes and asked with a loud yawn.
"Past ten, actually."
Naminé felt as if Axel was standing and walking toward his bag and cell phone in the blink of an eye. After giving Naminé the order of waking up Roxas, Xion chased after Axel and fired a barrage of questions.
With a daunting task suddenly thrust into her responsibility, Naminé did what anyone else would do in her situation: she stared at Roxas and hoped he would wake up on his own. Unfortunately, the only thing Roxas did was grab the vacant sleeping bag next to him and attempt to cuddle with it.
Naminé slapped her forehead. She was all for making fun of the sleeping blond, but watching him do such an unmanly thing made her cringe. She was embarrassed for him.
Wondering if Xion actually expected her to wake Roxas, Naminé turned around and spotted Xion talking with Axel. Just as she began to groan, an idea struck her. She called Xion's name as loudly as she could. All but one of the possible outcomes were in her favor. In the best situation, Xion would come over and Roxas would wake up without direct confrontation.
Again, Naminé drew the short straw. Not only did a surge of pain rush through her head as she yelled, but her voice was far too soft to grab Xion's attention or wake Roxas up.
Defeated, Naminé lightly nudged at Roxas's sleeping form with her foot. "Er, Roxas…" Naminé awkwardly poked the sleeping boy again. When that didn't work, the hungover teen continued to nudge harder with her foot until she found herself annoyed. Before she realized how angry she was, Naminé ended up kicking Roxas as hard as she could.
Roxas stirred, shifting the empty sleeping bag while slipping farther into his own.
Naminé bit her lip, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. Of course he was a deep sleeper. Who else could be so annoying while unconscious? Naminé found it rather amazing that he managed to tick her off in such a way. She stared at him, noting how funny he looked with only his head exposed.
While he was annoyingly hard to wake up, he was at least cute while he slept.
"Still haven't gotten him up yet?"
Naminé coughed and crossed her arms as Xion approached the tent. "I kicked him as hard as I could and I think it made him sleepier."
Xion found her friend's predicament to be hilarious. "Yeah, he's a tough one. I sorta assumed he would wake up for you."
Naminé blushed a bit. "Why's that?"
"He says your voice is annoying."
Naminé rolled her eyes. So much for that. "Of course he did."
"Don't take it the wrong way. Annoying voices are one of the most effective ways of waking him up. His alarm, for example, is a recording of me repeatedly calling his name and telling him to wake up. If anything, the fact that you weren't able to wake him means he's been lying all this time," Xion deduced. "That, or you just didn't kick him hard enough." Without a word of warning, Xion leapt onto Roxas.
Naminé gasped from the sudden action.
"It's morning time, Roxas! Wakey, wakey!" Xion continuously knocked on Roxas's forehead with her knuckles until he groaned and attempted to shake her off.
"Go away…" he groaned.
Xion turned to Naminé with a pleading glance that asked for assistance.
Naminé, however, interpreted the look as "Would you kindly leap on top of Roxas with me?"
Hence, her only reply was a short "No thank you."
"Roxas, you have work today." Xion ruffled his messy hair, hoping he would buy her lie.
A tired voice retorted behind the muffle of covers. "No I don't. I had work yesterday."
"Well you better help your brother out. He's getting attacked by a rabid group of kittens."
"Good. He deserves it."
"He just kicked one."
Roxas sat up, inhaling deeply as he sleepily scouted his tent. Seeing nothing of concern, he slowly lowered himself back into sleeping position. Xion was faster though. Before Roxas's head hit the pillow of his sleeping bag, she pulled it out of the way.
"Oh no you don't, mister! You're getting up now." Xion ripped the empty sleeping bag from her best friend's arms and threw it to the side.
Naminé, relegated to the role of observer, found the ensuing exchange interesting. She couldn't help but note the close proximity, the way the two went back and forth in their argument, and how both managed to smile despite the conflict of interests. Naminé felt as if she was the last person to hear about a great discovery. Why had it not occurred to her? She knew the two were best friends, so why did the closeness surprise her?
Moreover, why did it bother her?
She watched them banter like a spectator at the games. Xion had a strange effect on Roxas. When Naminé was around him, he wasn't so carefree or easy to smile. He was sharper, always on high alert and on edge. Xion seemed to dissolve all of it and turn Roxas into a nicer, more approachable guy. He didn't fight back the way he would against Naminé, but deflected Xion's smacks with laughs and feigned pain.
Naminé felt her lips curl into a frown when Roxas attempted to throw the blanket of his sleeping bag over Xion. She then fell on top of him when she tried to block him.
"That's enough!" Xion shouted between giggles. "You're officially awake, so you better be out of this tent in five minutes!"
"You can't make me do anything," Roxas sneered in a manner similar to a pouting child.
"I can make you do whatever I want." Xion hoisted herself up and backed away. "Besides, all your stuff is outside. If you don't come out, I'm sending everyone in your phonebook a dirty message."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Try me," Xion said cockily. She turned to Naminé. "Can you make sure he cleans up before leaving? Thanks!" Without waiting for a real answer, Xion quickly removed herself from the tent.
Naminé stared after the girl, her protest caught in her throat. She turned to Roxas, half-expecting him to do something. Instead, he remained seated and stared at her. A rush of insecurity filled her when Roxas smirked.
"What?" Naminé asked with a rasp. She cleared her throat immediately.
"Nice shades," Roxas complimented.
Naminé's hands flew to her face. She had forgotten that she was wearing them. "Xion lent them to me."
"I know," Roxas quipped as he got out of his sleeping bag. "I bought them for her."
The piece of knowledge annoyed her. "I'd take them off if it wasn't so bright out."
"Why? They look good on you." Roxas was smirking again, stretching his limbs in the confined space of the tent. "Plus, you obviously need them. Something tells me you didn't wake up painlessly this morning."
The condescending tone didn't fail to affect her. "Well I guess you're just better than me, huh?"
"Well we both know that already. That can't possibly be the reason why you're being so snappy though."
Naminé rolled her eyes behind the tinted lens of her glasses. "Maybe you're just cranky."
"Well is there a reason why you've been staring me down this entire time? It seems completely unjustified," Roxas stated as he folded his sleeping bag.
Naminé's brow twitched. She didn't quite understand it either, but she was irrationally angry at Roxas. He did annoy her by ignoring her wake up calls, but his mentioning of her outward display made her realize how mad she actually was.
Maybe it was just his presence.
"This looks like something you can handle by yourself." Naminé intentionally ignored Roxas's question and crossed her arms.
"You're not going to help me?"
"Do you need it?" Naminé questioned. She took his silence as an ample answer. "Exactly. Now if you'll excuse me…"
The blonde tossed the tent cover aside and walked off. A few steps later, she stopped and took off the sunglasses she was wearing. The sudden increase of light sent a dull ache through her head, but it wasn't unbearable. Spotting Xion disassembling a tent, Naminé walked over to return the glasses to its rightful owner.
"You don't need them anymore?"
"Nope!" Naminé said as cheerily as she could. She strained to smile. "Thanks for lending them though. I think the painkillers kicked in."
It was an obvious lie, but ever since finding out that Roxas bought them for Xion— or rather that Roxas bought them— Naminé decided she could survive without them.
Xion reluctantly accepted her sunglasses. "If you say so."
After the flurry of the morning, Naminé somehow found herself in the passenger's seat of a car, driven by none other than Roxas himself. And it was just the two of them. Once again, Naminé realized a great deal too late that Kairi had tricked her under the excuse of "I want some private time with Sora." Maybe her twin really did want a romantic morning row back to the mainland with her boyfriend, but Naminé knew she was definitely manipulated by the idea of cleanliness and a warm shower.
"We need to talk."
The blonde groaned. Leave it to him to ask the one question that she dreaded the most.
"Can we just ignore everything that happened last night?" Naminé pleaded, leaning her head against the window. "We both said some really stupid things and it was an all-around weird time for both of us."
"I wanted to discuss your next driving lesson," Roxas stated slowly, "but we should probably talk about that too."
"Your timing is impeccable," she snapped. Guilt settled within her as silence filled the car. She didn't mean to sound so mean, but she also wasn't in the mood to talk.
"I'm sorry if anything I said last night made you upset," Roxas murmured. "I didn't mean to remind you of the past, nor did I intend to put you on the spot during that stupid drinking game."
Naminé chose to remain quiet. She remembered enough of last night to know that he apologized for something he did as a four-year-old, and he let it slip that he'd rather wake up in a tent with Xion if only to guarantee nothing wild or sexual happened between them. The thought made her squirm in her seat. The events of the previous night only restated a fact that she tried her hardest to ignore.
Behind all the sarcastic remarks, cold glares, and patronizing comments, Roxas thought she was attractive.
The conclusion was sound. He didn't deny that she was physically attractive at lunch with his friends, and he implied that without inhibitions, waking up in a tent next to her meant a wild and crazy night.
"Do you find me attractive?" She asked suddenly.
He wasn't expecting the question at all. His back straightened before his face reddened. "W-Where did that come from?"
"You said you wanted to talk, so let's talk." If he was going to make her uncomfortable by forcing conversation, she might as well return the favor.
He refused to answer for at least two traffic lights. Then, as if it was almost painful to admit, he spoke. "So what if I do?"
Taken aback, Naminé found she didn't have an answer herself. She voiced the first thought that came to mind. "W-Well then that changes things."
"What does it change?"
Again, Naminé was cornered. She was about to ignore the question, but the blush on Roxas's face showed he was just as uncomfortable. The battle wasn't as one-sided as she thought. Employing the tactic used against her, Naminé answered with a question. "What about me do you find so attractive?"
Roxas stared forward, but his face betrayed his true composure. "What does it change?"
"Is it my face?"
"What does it change?"
"Is it my hair?"
"Again, what does it change?"
"My legs?"
"I don't know! What do you want me to say, Naminé? I think you're super hot! Does that answer your freaking question?" Roxas practically shouted the confession. He held Naminé's gaze for only a second before staring at the red light ahead of him, his face a similar color. He sighed heavily. "So I ask again, what does that change?"
Naminé felt her face grow warm as she stared at her lap. She never expected to get an actual answer from the argument, but rather an end to the conversation by changing the topic to something he didn't feel comfortable discussing. And the confession would have been a lot more flattering had it not been screamed in her face. "If you thought of me like… like that," Naminé fumbled with her words, "then I would expect you to be a bit nicer to me."
"I hate to break it to you, but you don't seem to react well to that." Roxas frowned and stepped on the gas pedal with too much force. The car lurched forward. "Sorry."
Naminé knew the apology concerned the whiplash-inducing acceleration. "You weren't always trying to be nice to me."
To her surprise, Roxas's blush didn't disappear. "I'm not being nice to you now because you're attractive," he rushed his words in defense, "I'm being nice because… I'm a nice person."
Naminé couldn't help but laugh. "Are you serious?" She expected him to snap back with a witty reply, but instead received a glance and a nod. Was he for real? He genuinely wanted to be nice to her? "Don't you remember the last time you tried being nice? That was hellish and uncomfortable. I had no idea who you were."
"Would you rather I be mean to you?" The driver lowered the air conditioning, making the car a lot quieter. "I'd rather not. I'm not an asshole like you think, but if that's what it takes for you to be okay with me, then I'll do it. I honestly really doubt I can only be nice to you, but I'm trying. What I don't doubt though is that we're more than capable of having a conversation without fighting."
It was happening again, Naminé realized. Everything she thought she knew about Roxas was disappearing, replaced by some foreign boy she couldn't comprehend. "Why?" She asked aloud. "Why are you trying to mess up something that works for us?"
"Because I think we can be friends," he replied.
Naminé's heart skipped a beat. The silence that followed was agonizing for both of them.
"I never would have thought that we'd reach a point where we could actually hold a full conversation without someone walking away pissed, but we did." Roxas spoke quietly as he neared Naminé's house. "We don't have to be nice to each other all the time, but we also don't have to fight. Over the past couple days, I've even been able to laugh with you. I'm having a lot more fun doing that than when I'm fighting with you."
The car pulled into the driveway, but the passengers remained still. Naminé pressed her fingers to her temples. He was serious. He was actually making an offer— a truce. She acknowledged he was right though: she had fun with him when they were laughing, but she also remembered that they reached those points by some form of argument. Naminé refused to believe that they could turn everything around at once. She tried being nice to him, and he to her. It was a miserable experience.
Yet, he had a point. This summer was an anomaly of their interaction. "F-fine." Naminé crossed her arms and stared out her window. "I'll try not to take everything you say as offensive."
"I tell you you're hot and you think that's offensive, so should I just not talk at all?"
It was Naminé's turn to get flustered. "Just don't do anything weird! I can't even look at you when you say stupid stuff like that."
"That's the reason you can't look at me?" Roxas turned off the car. "Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you find me cute?"
Naminé froze. Could she play the ignorance card? "What are you talking about?"
"You told me last night that you think I'm cute. You specifically noted that you think this while sober."
"I lied."
"You might want to talk to someone about your identity issues, then. Apparently your drunken self and sober self are at a disagreement."
"Well I'm never getting drunk again, so you can get that stupid notion out of your head." Naminé unlocked her door and pushed it open with excessive force. "Now if you'll excuse me—"
"Wait." Roxas reached over and lightly grabbed Naminé's wrist to keep her in her seat. "Thanks. I was honestly expecting you to fight me more on all this. Guess we really can get along without fighting."
Naminé glanced at his non-cute face and regretted it. He was being weird again! "W-Whatever." She got out of the car, but spoke to him before she closed the door. "I'm going to shower. You can use the master bath if you want."
Avoiding what would have been a non-cute smile on his face, Naminé made her way inside as quickly as possible, matching the pace of her racing heart.
As Sora stared at the back wall of Kairi's shower, a single thought ran through his mind.
What the hell am I doing here?
"You okay? I'm almost done."
He jumped from the unexpected question. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."
In truth, Sora was far from fine. Most guys probably thought that showering with a girlfriend was a dream come true.
Not Sora.
He was undoubtedly trapped in a living nightmare, and he had no one but himself to blame. For some odd reason— or for perhaps no good reason at all, as logic seemed to escape him anytime Kairi asked him a question— Sora had accepted Kairi's offer to shower with her.
Their romantic little row got rained on; by the time they arrived, he was dripping everywhere and the house was freezing. Roxas and Naminé occupied the other two showers too. Hot shower as soon as possible? Great idea.
It was all fine and great when both of them were clothed in their bathing suits. They stood under the water, laughing as warm relief washed over them. But things got a little too hot when Kairi started pulling at the string of her bikini.
Being the gentleman he was, Sora turned himself around and started counting the wall tiles. Kairi had laughed at him, but he insisted that turning around was the right thing to do.
Despite his actions, Sora was also a teenage boy. His head was spinning, his swimming trunks were painfully tight, and his hormones were raging.
It was strange, really. Before they were dating, Sora never felt tempted to have a physical relationship with Kairi. It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive— he always thought she was the prettiest girl in the world— but actual contact didn't have to go beyond friendly touches. That all changed last night: once Sora had a taste of Kairi, he couldn't get enough. One kiss led to hours of making out on the floor of their secret place.
The desire to recreate that moment plagued Sora's mind. Adding to the problem was his awareness of certain advantages he possessed. Sora knew the rumors— or at least he saw them as rumors— of his kissing technique. If he was as good as they implied, then nothing was really stopping him from turning around and capturing Kairi's lips. It would be a downhill walk from there, given that Kairi enjoyed the physical side of their relationship as much as he did. All he had to do was intoxicate her with a few kisses.
Sora shook his head. Bad thought.
If you're not going to touch, at least get a look.
Sora swore inwardly. He couldn't do that either. He couldn't betray Kairi's trust like that.
But wait! He didn't have to turn around. He turned around because it would be infinitely harder to control himself with Kairi in his field of vision. What he was doing was chivalrous, and it not only benefited him, but Kairi as well.
But it was also voluntary. Kairi apparently would have been fine either way. If she started undressing in front of him, then she probably wouldn't have cared if he saw her.
Right?
He could peek. All he had to do was take a quick glance over his shoulder. A glance would be harmless. If Kairi failed to notice him, then it didn't really have any consequences. And it wasn't like he was disallowed. Kairi was not only his girlfriend, but she was okay with it too. What harm could one little look bring?
Sora swallowed hard, forming fists in both of his hands. One quick look. He'd allow himself one fast glance.
He turned his shoulders just enough to see what was behind him…
… and immediately regretted it.
Holycrapholycrapholycrap!
Sora crossed his arms and attempted to shove one of his fists into his mouth. That was a terrible idea. Awful. It was a painful mistake. Whatever rationalization he used to convince himself that sneaking a peek was a good idea, Sora wanted none of it anymore.
The image of Kairi's bare back— her whole back, backside included— was burned into Sora's memory. The sheer sight of her there only made Sora realize the gravity of his situation. That one small glance, the supposedly harmless look, sent his heart into a pounding frenzy.
He just saw some of Kairi naked.
He just saw some of his girlfriend, Kairi, naked.
Kairi was naked, and he just saw some of her.
"Here you go!"
Sora yelped in surprise when he felt Kairi's hands running through his hair. His body went rigid. At that moment, two things were happening. The first was that Kairi was torturing him by massaging his scalp. The second was that Kairi was naked… and now facing him.
"I think it actually takes more shampoo to wash your hair than mine. Can you believe that?"
Sora attempted to laugh, though he was sure he sounded more like a dying horse.
He soon began to relax as Kairi shampooed his hair. His eyes closed as he surrendered to the pleasure. The short massage of his scalp made him forget where he was for a moment.
"Thanks for turning around." The sound of Kairi's voice brought him back into reality.
"H-Huh?" Did she catch him peeking?
"At first I thought you turned around because you didn't find me attractive—"
Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing and immediately cut in. "Kairi, that is so far from the truth I don't even know where to begin—"
Kairi momentarily stopped her hand movements. "I know. But this is pretty bad for you, isn't it?"
Sora gulped. "I said I was fine. All I had to do was wait for you to finish."
"You don't have to lie." Kairi giggled. "I know you, Sora. I can literally feel it when you're on edge or uncomfortable. I've known you too long to not know when you're upset."
Sora visibly deflated. "I don't trust myself around you," he confessed. "This whole time I've been thinking what it'd be like if I just turned around and kissed you."
"I'd… be okay with that," his girlfriend admitted.
"But then what happens from there?" Sora's hair stood on end at the thought. "I can't help myself at that point, and I don't want to do anything that makes you feel pressured."
"Then why don't you trust me if you don't trust yourself?" Kairi questioned. It was something Sora hadn't considered.
"That's putting all the pressure on you though. It's not fair."
"I can handle it. If you're so worried about making me do something I don't want to do yet, then why not let me decide how far we go?"
"You say that now, but it's different when we're kissing!" Sora felt himself being pulled under the stream of the shower. He continued as Kairi rinsed his hair. "I don't want us doing anything we'll regret, and I hate that I can't control myself after everything… starts."
"I think you're underestimating yourself," Kairi remarked as she ran her hands down Sora's back. She giggled when he twitched. "We didn't go too far last night. Are you saying you had nothing to do with that?"
Sora scrunched his nose. "Well we were only wearing bathing suits…"
"I didn't see you make any attempts to take anything off." Kairi removed her hands from Sora's body, providing an instant wave of relief. "You chose to turn around too. Now that I think about it, I don't know how I'd react if you saw me like this. I thought I'd be okay, but maybe it'd be a little embarrassing."
"I'm doing this because I know how I'd react if I didn't," Sora asserted. "You wouldn't have time to be embarrassed."
Before he could say anything more, Kairi placed a few kisses along his neck, making him to shiver under the hot water. "I'm really glad that you're so concerned about me, but you're forgetting about a few things. You're forgetting that I might be okay with this, and you also forget that this is your relationship too." She released her hold on him and opened the shower curtain. "If you ask me, I think you should finish showering quickly. I always hated it when you made me wait."
Kairi closed the shower curtain, but Sora didn't move until he heard her leave the bathroom. He released the breath he held throughout the exchange and quickly turned around.
His girlfriend did nothing to help him calm his hormones down.
He arrived at a crossroad. He could take Kairi's advice and hurry up, or he could take the coldest shower in the world with hopes of calming them both down. The shower would have its effects and Kairi would have enough time to clear her head.
The first option looked better and better the more he thought about it.
As he made his decision, Sora struggled to take his swimming trunks off. He hung it on the back wall, grateful that they kept him in check. With a long and shaky sigh, Sora turned the shower knob as cold as it could go.
The hot shower did wonders for Naminé. Not only did she feel like she cleaned off a layer of filth, but the warm water seemed to wash her headache away too.
Since Roxas was somewhere in the house, Naminé brought everything she needed with her into the bathroom. Right after she stepped out of the shower, she dried herself off and put on a fresh set of clothes. The mirror had fogged up, so the blonde rubbed out a perfect circle just large enough to see her reflection. After lightly drying her hair with her towel, she went about combing out the knots.
It may have been weird, but Naminé liked her hair when it was wet. Not only was it straighter like Kairi's, but it fell evenly. When it dried, the hair along the right seemed to favor the front of her shoulder. Many thought she intentionally styled it that way, but it was really something she was forced to work with. IT was a silly thing to obsess over, but she thought it would have been nice to at least have control over her hair.
When Naminé stepped out of the bathroom, she did not expect the air to smell like blueberry pancakes. She ventured into the kitchen, allowing both her hunger and the alluring scent to guide her.
More surprising than the smell of breakfast was the person in the kitchen cooking it. Naminé's eyes widened when she saw Roxas standing at the stove, expertly tucking a spatula underneath a cooking pancake.
He was shirtless, Naminé noted. He dressed only in whitewashed jeans that rested more on his hips than his waist. His hair, messy as usual, appeared to be slightly damp, but still stood out all over the place. He seemed totally preoccupied with his cooking that Naminé was able to walk directly behind him without being noticed.
"For someone who makes so many jokes about the kitchen, you sure look comfortable in here," Naminé spoke abruptly, hoping to scare him.
To her disappointment, he was completely unfazed. "Breakfast doesn't cook itself, you know." He eyed her suspiciously before returning to his task. "Why do girls take so long in the shower?"
"That's none of your business." Spotting two plates of pancakes on the counter beside the stove, Naminé grabbed one and made off with it, stopping only to collect the appropriate silverware.
Roxas reacted immediately. "I don't remember saying you could take one."
"You mean to say you use two plates when you eat pancakes?"
"I have a short stack rule. I can't have more than three pancakes on a single plate."
Naminé rolled her eyes. "Just admit that you cooked these for me."
Roxas shook his head, chuckling to himself as he finished the final pancake and turned off the stove. "Not even a thank you… as I recall, you were supposed to be the one cooking for me." He walked over to the table and snatched the bottle of syrup out of Naminé's hands.
"I'll thank you after I decide whether or not these are good."
Roxas looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you suggesting that blueberry pancakes aren't good?"
"You made them," Naminé said dryly, "so there's a good chance you ruined them."
"If you don't want them, I'd be glad to have my second plate back." Roxas placed the bottle of syrup next to him after he finished. He laughed upon receiving Naminé's glare, but eventually returned it to her. He took a large single bite and smiled. "Delicious."
Naminé looked at him with disgust for talking with his mouth full. After adding a small amount of syrup, the blonde sliced a portion of her perfectly round pancake— Roxas managed that well, she'd give him that— and placed it in her mouth.
"Well?" asked Roxas expectantly, his lips pressed together in a suppressed smirk.
In reality, Naminé thought the pancakes were absolutely amazing. She was sure the mix was nothing special, but anything tasted good when one was hungry. Naminé realized that the pancake was the first thing she ate since waking up with a hangover. "They're okay," she noted nonchalantly. She wouldn't grant him the satisfaction.
Unfortunately, Roxas seemed to pick up on her true opinion. "I understand. You don't want to admit it." He laughed upon receiving her glare. "As I recall, you were the one who was supposed to cook for me."
"I never took you for someone to take advantage of girls not in their right state of mind. Perhaps I was wrong." Naminé pointed her fork at him accusingly.
"You were. Did you end up cooking in the end?" Roxas swallowed down a huge bite of his food. "No, instead you're eating pancakes made by me. They happen to be awesome too, but you're too proud to even thank me."
"Like I said, they're okay." Hoping to change the subject, Naminé looked around her house. She spotted Sora and Kairi's belongings sitting by the door. "When did they get in?"
"Sora and Kairi?" Roxas followed Naminé's gaze. "I don't know. By the time I was done showering, the one in Kairi's room was already going. They probably got home soon after we did."
Naminé raised a brow. "How? We left a long time before they did."
"Maybe they drove fast."
"Maybe you drove slow."
"Maybe the first thing they did was run into the shower."
"Then you admit to taking long showers too? I can't see why they'd arrive before you finished." Naminé smiled victoriously.
"You forget that I had to unload the car. I don't take long showers. You started at least ten minutes before me and stayed ten minutes longer," Roxas pointed out. "That means they arrived somewhere between ten and twenty minutes after us. I'm betting twenty since that shower is still going." The blond sliced his pancakes, eating another large portion. "This also means that your shower lasted about half an hour, if not more."
Naminé rolled her eyes. "I lost track of time in there. You would too if you were dealing with a headache."
"I made sure I wouldn't ever have to deal with that problem." Roxas smirked, noticing Naminé's disappointment when she discovered her plate was empty. "The pancakes were just okay, huh?"
"Like you said, I wouldn't expect you to understand this problem. The first meal tastes great."
"So you admit I'm a good cook?"
"I admit that even you are capable of making something edible in the wake of a hangover." Naminé crossed her arms. She watched Roxas cautiously when he got up from his seat. "What are you doing?"
He chuckled. "What does it look like? I'm giving you another pancake." He slid the untouched piece onto her plate and returned to her seat.
It was then that Naminé realized how many he had on his plate. "You had five pancakes this whole time? What happened to your short stack rule?"
"You thought I was serious?" Roxas laughed.
Naminé stared at him, fighting the smile that began to form on her face. Of course he made that up. He'd never admit that he prepared her a plate: that he actually cooked for her. "You're an idiot."
He returned his attention to his food, starting his last pancake as well. "Guess that makes two of us." He paused for a moment. "You're welcome."
She knew it was his way of admitting what she had already gathered. "It's pretty good." Naminé answered.
Roxas understood it was her way of saying thank you.
The shower didn't help at all. Kairi jumped him as soon as he left the bathroom.
Sora figured he was okay with it. As long as both of them were comfortable, he'd go as far as he was allowed.
He smiled when he felt her arms wrap around his neck when he tried to pull away from a kiss. "Kairi," he said against her lips, "are you trying to kill me?"
"Maybe." Kairi's mind went blank. She arched her back, and Sora seized the opportunity to slip his hands behind her.
Unlike the previous night, Kairi succeeded in getting Sora to let loose. His kisses were fervent and more desperate than before, and his warm hands eagerly moved along her body.
His hands slipped under her shirt. "Sora!" Kairi squirmed away from his touch.
He stopped immediately, pulling away faster than he ever moved before. "I-I'm sorry!"
Realizing that she was about to lose him, Kairi quickly cupped his face. "Wait, it's okay! Relax. You just… it tickled," she admitted with a blush. Since Sora seemed reluctant to continue, the redhead sat up and peeled her shirt off. She eased Sora into another kiss, pulling him down with her.
"Kairi..."
"Kiss me," she whispered. Kairi began to succumb to the heat. Every kiss stole a piece of her sanity, and she found herself enjoying every moment of it.
"Why is the kitchen so messy?"
Roxas sighed. "If all you're going to do is complain, please leave." Roxas collected all the dirty dishes— perhaps he used more than he needed— and tossed them in the sink.
"I can't even begin to comprehend this. Is that pancake mix on the ceiling? Why didn't I notice this before?" Naminé left the kitchen and returned with a chair, using it to step onto the counter.
Roxas watched in amusement as she attempted to clean the ceiling with a rag. His eyes drifted downward, coming to an abrupt stop just below her hips.
Woops.
He turned away immediately. Looking up Naminé's dress was not intentional.
It was kinda her fault for wearing such a short dress. He was a guy who found her attractive, so of course his eyes would wander.
Roxas almost slapped himself. That was no excuse.
"Do you always make such a mess when you cook?" asked the blonde as she climbed back down to the floor.
"Only when I cook for you," he replied with excessive sweetness. He started on the dishes while Naminé wiped the stovetop clean.
"I'm starting to think that more pancake mix ended up on the counters rather than the pan." Completing her cleaning task, Naminé walked over to the sink to wash her hands. She gawked as she watched Roxas "wash" the dishes. "Are you serious?"
He was completely oblivious. "What?"
"You really think you're doing that right?"
"What's wrong with it?"
Naminé pinched the bridge of her nose and inhaled deeply before pressing a hand to Roxas's chest. "Move."
"Ack! Cold!" He recoiled from the contact.
"Your fault." Naminé shrugged unapologetically. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
"Why? Is it distracting?"
Naminé raised a brow and glanced at him. She returned her attention to the dishes. It was certainly distracting. "Your presence is distracting."
"It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm cute, right?"
"I'm paranoid that you're incompetency will rub off on me."
"Incompetency? Right. I believe that."
Naminé breathed in deeply, putting the sponge down. She turned to Roxas with a knife in her hand and a strained smile on her face. "I'm considering the pros and cons of cutting your kidneys out right now."
"Just my kidneys though, right? You'd hate if my cute face got ruined, I'm sure."
"Well, well! You sure have a way of bringing out the best in my daughter, my boy."
The teens froze. The deep voice didn't belong to either of their friends.
They simultaneously turned around to find an older gentleman observing them at the kitchen's entrance. His perfectly fitted suit complemented his powerful appearance.
"Dad?" Naminé choked out. "Dad! You're here!"
"Astute observation, Naminé." He held his arms out wide and greeted his daughter with a tight hug and a kiss on her forehead. He acknowledged the other teen's presence with a nod. "Roxas."
"Mr. Ansem, sir," Roxas greeted nervously.
Roxas always thought Naminé's father was a very intimidating man. The tall doctor was one of the country's best medical researchers, widely regarded for his work in cardiology and heart disease. Not only was he influential, but he had the look to match it. On the verge of turning sixty, Ansem "the Wise" still retained his youthful blond hair— inherited by the daughter standing by his side— and had a well-kept beard to match. Such an appearance must have had something to do with why he was able to woo a woman almost half his age.
The one thing Roxas found most memorable, however, was the man's baritone voice. He told the best bed time stories when all of them were younger.
"No need for the formality," Ansem excused with a chuckle. "I must say that I'm surprised to see you though. Not your presence itself," he clarified, "but rather your proximity to Naminé. Last I heard you two weren't very fond of each other."
"We're working on… playing nice," Roxas finished lamely.
"I didn't know you were coming!" Naminé attempted to change the subject. "I didn't even hear you come in."
"I called your phone several times," Ansem explained. "But I see the reason why you weren't picking up. You were obviously… distracted." The corners of his old eyes wrinkled as he smiled.
The teens looked down in embarrassment. He probably heard everything.
"Since you're here, I'm inclined to believe that your brother is somewhere around as well. Perhaps he's with my other troublemaking daughter?" He looked at Roxas, then Naminé. "Could you two fetch them for me while I unload my car? I'd like to see them."
"O-Oh, I can help you if you—"
"I'm fine, my boy. Perhaps you should borrow a shirt from my closet. It should help my daughter concentrate on her task." Ansem laughed as he walked through the door.
"He heard everything," Roxas groaned. He expected Naminé to react similarly, but she wore a smirk on her face as she stared. "What?"
"Sir? Really, Roxas? Really? Sir!" Naminé giggled as she walked toward Kairi's room.
Roxas ran after her. "Hey, what's so funny about that?"
Naminé straightened her back and dropped her voice an octave. "I don't know, sir. That was truly gold," she teased.
Roxas crossed his arms. "Your father is a very intimidating man—"
"Intimidating enough to change your whole demeanor, apparently."
"You're not going to stop, are you?"
"Are you kidding me? You're never living this down." Naminé giggled as she knocked on Kairi's door. "Kairi? Open up!" She knocked again when no one answered. "Kairi! Open the door!"
"What?" The door flew open, revealing a redhead clad in only her underwear.
Three mouths dropped open at once.
The door slammed shut. "What the hell, Nam? Why didn't you tell me Roxas was there?"
"Why aren't you wearing clothes?" Naminé shot back.
"I'm going to go find a shirt…" Roxas casually removed himself from the scene to hide his rosy cheeks.
"Sorry, Roxas!" Kairi apologized from behind the door. "What do you want, Nam?"
"Where are your clothes, Kairi?" Naminé shook her head. "Wait, please don't answer that. I don't want to know."
"Did you seriously come here to waste my time?"
"Don't you get mad at me! I'm sure you'd rather it be me at the door instead of Dad!"
"What?" Kairi slowly cracked the door just enough to reveal her face.
"Yeah, you heard me. Dad's here. Surprise!" Naminé attempted to look past her sister. "Is Sora in there? If he looks anything like you, then he better get dressed too. I don't want to even think about what you guys have been doing this whole time."
Kairi retreated back into her room and cursed. "He called me five times. How did I not hear that?" She closed the door.
After a quick shuffle, Sora and Kairi emerged fully dressed from the room. Sora sheepishly waved at Naminé. "Hey!"
"Hi," Naminé deadpanned. "My dad wanted to see you guys. He surprised us too," Naminé added as Sora's eyes widened.
"Naminé, have you found your sister yet?" Ansem called from the living room.
"Dad!" Kairi ran into the living room with Sora in tow. Naminé slapped her forehead. She saved two lives before dinner and didn't even get a word of gratitude.
"I don't know what was more surprising…" Roxas admitted as he returned from the master bedroom wearing a white polo shirt, "seeing your father make a sudden appearance, or seeing your sister in her underwear."
"You should erase that from your memory for your brother's sake. And Kairi's too."
"Believe me, I'm trying."
The blonde stared at him with an indecipherable expression. Before he could ask, she spoke. "Come on, sir. We better join them."
Roxas shook his head. She was going to milk this one for a while. "Just go already."
Redeeming Endeavor:
Huge thanks to everyone who subscribed and/or added this story to their favorites! Also, huge thanks to the reviewing crew who always leave such kind words! This includes Vallania, Lil Leif, ThatGuyFromThatPlace21, Burai Stelar, spadejackspade, dreamingleaf7, abidethestance, typewrite, KurukiXV, Tenshi Yami-Angel of Darkness, RoxasLuvsCookies, Zoe the Hunter, TwinToshiro, AWEZOME, Muledragon, Gear001, Shan, elspoek1, Brown Eyed Sage, Gumi Harue, Dramamamapwnsall, Draco Oblivion, Spellbound a.k.a soragirl4ever, chibixbabe, Ash09, Allied Forces, Owned4123, GD, Everybody's Starry Eyed, Revenge of the Red Pen, Random Jelly-O, Roxa-XIII, Pink Star Art, sasusakufan2357, Lulu, Sw1ft Blad3 (my condolences to your family), AgentyKacheeky, CheshireBlue101, xoKyorii, Rescued-Doll, Topaz Tsubasa, and xglitter-gloss! I know I didn't get to reply to all of you, but I'm really grateful for all the feedback!
Chapter Data- Word Count: 9,419. Total Editing Time: 917 minutes. Fifteen Chapter Checkpoint: 192 favorites, 179 alerts, 479 reviews. Total Writing Time: 8911 minutes ( 148.52 hours). True Word Count: 115,540.
Harmless Author Fact #16: I typically listen to Top 40 music, so if it hits mainstream radio, I've heard it.
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