Merchandising Part 1 & 2: by Harry Leferts

Part 1

Sabah looked up as a grinning Taylor hopped into her car with a small box in her hands. "Well, someone is in a good mood. Something happen?"

With a glance around, Taylor took a deep breath though she suddenly looked rather shy. Of course, Sabah just had to hold back a coo at how adorable she looked. "Actually... I was talking to Jacob..." Seeing the confusion, Taylor coughed. "He was someone else targeted by Sophia and the others. Mainly because he was too geeky and stuff. What he made didn't help."

That caused Sabah to raise an eyebrow a bit. "What he made? Okay... but what about that has you all excited?"

Not noticing the blush on Sabah's face, Taylor placed one hand on her shoulder and leaned in close to her ear, hot breath washing across it. "He makes these neat little plushies and I noticed that he made some of me and asked if I could buy them." Pulling away, she didn't see Sabah fight her blush down before opening the box and pulling out some objects. "Here."

As she shook off the thoughts running through her head, Sabah took the items into her hands and raised an eyebrow. Each plush was obviously Taylor in her disguise, though one was her "Normal" self and the other was when she had merged with Ifrit. In both cases, even the keyblade was plush and the slight smirk was all Taylor. Both of them though could fit in someone's hand easily. "Hmm... not bad work actually..." Taking a glance around to make sure that no one was close enough to see, Sabah animated them and had them fight against each other. Her and Taylor giggled some before she finally stopped and looked at her friend. "Okay, they're rather cute, but why bring them up?"

Taylor had a slight grin on her face and shook her head. "He can make a lot of these rather quickly. And considering that we've been harped on about merchandising... We could have him sell them online or something with our official permission?"

For a moment, Sabah turned over the dolls as she thought it over. "Hmm... Give me some time to think and maybe talk with some people..."

Part 2

*Some time later*

Bored, Sabah tapped her chin with the pencil she had in one hand. Beside her, the radio softly played as she looked over the design on the paper in front of her. Eventually though, she sighed and leaned back in annoyance. "I hate it when I get a block." As per usual, she looked around her workshop to try and find some inspiration when her eyes fell onto the two plushies on her desk that leaned against one another, both the first of their lines as others were sold on her online website. One was of Taylor as Keynote and the other was of Sabah herself as Parian. Smiling, Sabah still felt some heat in her cheeks as she remembered Taylor asking why they were leaning against each other like that when she had first spotted them on her desk. Thankfully, Taylor took the excuse that it was to prop them both up at face value. As she continued to look at them, Sabah snorted. "Both of you are lucky."

It was then that soft, slow music began to play on her radio and she glanced around to make sure no one was there. Having made sure, the two plushies animated and walked forward before they faced each other, Keynote bowing with one hand to the side and the other held out as Sabah spoke in a approximation of her friend's voice. "May I have this dance, milady?"

The Parian doll held one hand to where her mouth was as Sabah let out a giggle. "Of course, my dear knight."

Gently, the Keynote doll took the Parian one into it's arms and the two began to dance across the desk. "Can I say that I love it when you're in my arms?"

Her head tilted downwards, the Parian doll hummed. "And can I say that I love being in them, where I feel rather safe?" Suddenly, a gasp rang out as one of the Keynote doll's hands drifted down below the waist. "Oh my!"

With the smirk on it's face, the Keynote doll brought it's face to where the ear would be in the Parian doll and softly whispered. "Do you mind it?"

Turning it's head, the Parian doll chuckled. "If it's you? No, I don't."

Sabah herself just watched with one hand holding her chin before she sighed. 'If only this could happen... stupid sexy, lovable Taylor...'

Part 3 by: Major Session

Sabah froze as there came a creaking sound behind her. Turning slowly, hoping it was just cooling wood or Ingrid or... or anything but her.

So of course standing there behind her, face doing the world's best impression of a tomato and mouth opening and closing silently was Taylor. The creak must have been her taking a step back to not interrupt or a step forward or...

Her thought's were interrupted as Taylor finally found her voice.

"Sabah, is that... are we... um, I mean, d-do... do y-you..." Taylor tried but was cut off by Sabah.

"No! It's not what it looks like! I just thought it was cute and..." Sabah trailed off before she said anymore, blushing too as she realized what she'd said.

"C-cute?" Taylor stammered, looking down as her blush somehow managed to grow in spite of her whole face being red.

"I meant..." Sabah was once more cut off, this time from a cough coming from behind Taylor.

Looking up Sabah saw Ingrid leaning in the doorframe behind Taylor. Her older friend was wearing grin that would not have looked out of place on the Cheshire cat along with a rather knowing look in her eye.

"You know Sabah." Ingrid said. "You could save yourself, Taylor and everyone else month's worth of drama here if you'd just kiss her already."

Sabah scowled at Ingrid, blushing almost as badly as Taylor now. "Ingrid! How could you say that?! I mean... I... um..."

Sabah trailed off not sure what to say. Before the silence could grow though a rather timid voice broke the silence.

"I... I wouldn't m-mind."

Sabah blinked, positive she must have heard wrong.

"Pardon?" She said.

"I... I s-said 'I wouldn't mind.'" Taylor stammered out again.

Sabah froze as Taylor looked up to meet her gaze and she could feel herself practically tumbling into that single sky blue eye. She wasn't even sure when she'd gotten out of her chair but she did realize she was now standing directly in front of Taylor, their chests almost touching as she looked up into her best friends still blushing face.

Distantly she heard a Ingrid speak.

"I'll just leave you two alone shall I?"

The words registered but they didn't matter. All that mattered was Taylor. She felt her own hands fumbling about without her input, gently grasping the softer, less calloused hands of a girl who hadn't pricked their own fingers a thousand times on different needles. As she pulled the two of them together, Sabah tilted her head slightly to the side her lips parting slightly. She... she wanted to tell her, to tell Taylor how much the younger girl meant to her, how important their friendship was, how she hoped, needed for it to be something more, how she really felt... This... This was...

Sabah watched as the younger girl's throat flexed, swallowing nervously. Taylor opened her mouth to speak and Sabah quickly closed the distance, pressing her own lips over Taylor's.

And they both found that sometimes words aren't needed at all.