TW: contains self harm and slight gore


It was almost giving him a headache. The constant ringing that ran through his head while his body stayed on his bed. On instinct, maybe to cover the sound somehow, Roxas placed his hands over his ears with his eyes still closed. Wishing hard that the sound would just disappear from his head.

But the sound didn't stop. He covered his ears tighter, but the sound didn't even felt like it had soften. He gritted his teeth in anger. That annoying ringing, sending chills down his nerves. He could feel sweat dripping down his head.

Why did he felt so hot?

His fingers curled at the uncomfortable feeling he felt. That annoying ringing and the strange heat that he was feeling. That was when he had enough and his eyes instantly opened. He turned to his right and saw his alarm clock still shaking from the ring.

So that was the source of the rining.

He sighed as he lazily brought his arm up and stopped the ringing. He rested his whole face back onto his pillow and groaned in laziness. He moved his face a bit, just enough so that his right eye could see the calendar.

Yeah, he was right, it was indeed a weekend. The heavenly bliss that was bestowed upon the tired people they were as students. A day of rest and relaxation and where one should probably still not ignore responsibilities but they still did it anyway.

So why, why did he set his alarm to wake him up?

His thoughts were interrupted as he head his phone buzzing, indicating that there was a notification. He checked his phone only to find out it was from Naminé.

Hey, just wanted to let you know I have to run some last minute errands for my parents so I'll be slightly late. See you later

His mind came to the sudden realization. It was another one of their lessons today. He accidentally forgot about it. He sat back up and yawned, stretching his arms and back and typed out a reply.

Don't worry about it. I might be able to draw the most detail drawing of a rock before you come.

Few seconds reply, he got a reply.

Don't forget it's a circle, not a square.

Roxas smiled and tossed his phone onto the bed. He had a bit of a busy day today besides meeting Naminé. His father was out of town for a business trip so he had the whole house to himself. So that meant doing daily chores and preparing food was one of them but he didn't mind.

He knew his father always worked hard to support both of them so Roxas would always be the designated caretaker of the house when he was free. He stood up from his bed, ready to head down stairs to the kitchen when a wave of dizziness hit him and stumbled a bit.

"Woah," he caught himself before he could fall face flat onto the floor. "What…was that?"

He turned his head to the door and suddenly, he felt like he was imaging it, but..he swore his vision felt blurry for a moment. He shook his head and lightly knocked. He stood still for five seconds, waiting to see if anything else happened.

He darted his eyes left and right.

"Nothing?" He relaxed his body and shrugged. He definitely was imagining things. He looked behind him and saw his handheld game console on the table next to his bad.

Maybe staying up so late playing games wasn't really a good idea after all.

"Meh"

He was gonna do it again tonight anyway. With that, he left his room, on his way to the kitchen to make himself some lunch before meeting Naminé later in the day.


Was it just her? Or was he acting weird? Naminé thought to herself as she watched Roxas sticking his tongue, trying to hone his concentration on the shading of one of the branches of the tree they were drawing together.

She looked back at her own one, taking it in with small pride, and looked back at Roxas, a pinch of prideness filling up in her. She had to admit, the feathered blone had definitely improved in his arts skill ever since she taught him.

She kept staring at him, and yet, her concentration kept wavering on about the longer she stared at him. She had always felt weird about Roxas, feeing nervous whenever he was around with his usual demeanor. But ever since the Twilight Trip, when she had put her foot down, she felt different. The nervousness left, and was replaced by content, calmness.

That's how she now felt with him around.

Her eyes stayed on his sketchpad for awhile, and without knowing, she found herself darting her eyes from his hands, to his lean, yet muscular arms, slightly highlighted by the checkered wristband he wore, to his neck where she could briefly see what looked like a chiseled chest, and to his face, his cheeks getting color with red, his dark blue eyes….

Wait a minute. Naminé sat back up. She took a closer look at his face. It was definitely red. His eyes looked droopy and she could visibly see him breathing harder.

Hesitating for a second, she lightly tapped on his shoulder. No response. She took a closer look to his face, which looked like he was about to pass out any second now. Getting worried, she set her sketchbook down.

This time, she put her hand on his shoulder and nudged it, getting his attention. He looked up from his drawing almost immediately.

"Huh? Who? What?" He quickly turned towards Naminé, who had a worried look on her face. She grabbed her sketchbook and flipped to the end, where she would always write down her messages.

Are you alright?

Roxas had to lean in and squint to read her message, something that further worried her.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine! Why do you ask?"

She quickly scribbled another message. Your face is red, and you look like your seconds away from passing out.

He squinted again. "What? Nahhh, really I'm fine," he tried his best to assure, but the tone of his voice, hearing how weak he was, did not convince Naminé in the slightest. She sighed and shook her head.

I think we should stop for today, you already did an amazing job on the shading anyway. She wrote while Roxas smiled

"What? Nah, I can keep going," he kept telling her, but her face did not even change. She burrowed her brows. What exactly happened that led him to feel this bad? She watched as he tried to show her the drawing he made, but the pencil fell out of his graps and fell to the ground, rolling away.

"Whoops, hold on," he weakly spoke as he set his own stuff down, standing up and walking over to the fallen pencil. He leaned down, preparing to pick up his stuff but suddenly, his vision ogt all weird and his entire body was falling forward.

Roxas!

Naminé's heart almost stopped as she practically ran from where she sat to Roxas who collapsed forward. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his chest and back, trying to keep him still despite him being heavier than her.

Her face was inches away from his and suddenly, she felt her heart beating even faster than before, seeing how close they were.

C'mon Naminé! Now's not the time for that!

She grunted as she tried guiding Roxas to the bench where they were sitting on. As she did, she could feel his figure leaning onto her and with that, even she could tell he was built quite lean. Definitely not on the muscular side, but barely at fats.

Her face grew hotter.

She shook her head, shooing her thought away.

No Naminé! There's more important things to worry about.

Finally, she managed to place Roxas onto the bench and took a closer look at this face. His eyes were barely open and his breathing got even heavier. Redness took over the colour of his face as he tried to move his fingers.

"Don't..worry about this…." He panted.

Like hell I won't. She grabbed her sketchbook.

What's your Dad's number? I'll call him. She showed him the message. Roxas chuckled as he shook his head.

"He's..out of town…for a few days…business trip…,"

Naminé gritted her teeth. She knew she had to bring him home somehow. She knew they live near but he was clearly in no condition to walk all the way back but if his father couldn't get him, then…there's only one way. She turned her phone on and went to the Taxi application, immediately booking a taxi.

Roxas suddenly grabbed her hand. "No..need…they're not..cheap," he panted as he tried to stand up. "I'll…walk.." he tried to take a step forward, but the same thing repeated itself. He sturmbled over, but luckily, he managed to fall back onto the bench.

Ignoring him, Naminé entered their current location and handed the phone to him. Roxas looked and saw that he had to key in their address. He was about to shrug it off again until he saw Naminé's stern look.

Her worried/sharp gaze already telling that she wasn't taking no for an answer. Reluctantly, he grabbed the phone and entered his address.

Done. All they have to do now is go to the park entrance where they would wait for the taxi. Naminé stared at the body that was sprawled over the bench that was Roxas. She sighed as she held out her hand.

C'mon, let's go. Roxas didn't need her to write any messages. That was what her body language was saying.

It was the second time. The second time he saw her not as the Naminé she was like when he first met her. The second time where he saw the Naminé who would take charge with her confidence and put her foot down for her friends.

He let out a small smile, and grabbed her hand.


The door to Roxas' door opened as Naminé struggled as she held his arm around her neck. Closing the door as she walked in, she dragged Roxas into the living room. Despite having the boy's weight on her, she couldn't help herself as she admired the interior of the house.

As she did a quick scan, something caught her eye. It was a picture of a woman holding a small baby. But before she could focus on it anymore, Roxas' groans caught her attention.

"My room…is upstairs…" he muttered.

Naminé nodded as she moved forward, Roxas doing his best to walk as well as they both went up the stairs.

C'mon you can do this. Her arms were killing her but she knew Roxas was more important. He lead her to his room and they walked in. Eyeing the bed immediately, Naminé went over and gently placed him on the bed. His face still red. She placed her hand on his forehead, finding it very warm.

She frantically looked around, trying to find something but it was no luck. That was when she saw his closet. She looked back to Roxas, mouthed a sorry, and went over to his closet. Taking out a small towel, she quickly rinsed it in cold water and squeezed it.

There wasn't really way to let him know so she just slowly placed the cold towel on his forehead. He frozed for a bit, and relaxed finding out it was just a cold towel. He slowly opened his eyes and let out a small smile.

"Thank…you..,"

She grabbed her sketchbook and wrote a message. Rest.

Giving a weak nod, he closed his eyes, and almost immediately came the dozing and the rhythimic snoring.

Naminé tried to process everything that happened. Just a few minutes ago, they were in the middle of one of their art lessons and now, here she was, staring at a sleeping, sick, Roxas in his home.

In his room.

Her face reddened immediately. She didn't even thought about the fact she just entered his room on a whim. She was too focused on trying to get Roxas some rest that once that happened, she couldn't help but look around his room.

It looked like a standard, high school boy's room. A pile of undone laundry in one corner, a messy table with unfinished homework, posters of a franchise which she recognized as Kingdom Hearts, a popular media franchise that even she was a small fan of, and a few medals that looked like it came from Struggle.

That was when she daw it as well. On his nightstand, it was a another picture of the same blonde woman she saw in the living room. She picked it up to take a closer look.

She's so beautiful.

It was as if there wasn't a pinch of imperfections on her. Her face was so clear and smooth, with smooth, long blonde hair that flew down past her shoulders. She had the biggest smile in the world with a wink that could make any men's heart flutter, including her's. Her eyes shone so bright in the picture, her dark blue eyes.

Naminé looked down and saw the reason why they woman was smiling.

In her arms, sitting on her lap, was a small boy with short blonde hair, also with the biggest smile on his face with both eyes closed. He was truly adorable, especially with a missing tooth. He wore a shirt with something embroided on it. Roxas.

Her eyes widened as she looked back at Roxas and back at the picture.

She's his mother….

Memories of Twilight Town came flowing back into her head, everything that Roxas said to her replayed itself in her head. Looking at her, she definitely was gone too soon. No child deserves to lose a parent so young.

Before she knew it, she felt her eyes watered a bit. She quickly put down the picture and wiped her tears away.

She had to focus on him now. His father was out of town and she was the only one who could watch over him now.

Food

It was almost dinner time and she had to prepare some food. Normally, she would let her parents know, but she knew today was one of those days where they would working late again, something she eventually got used to over the used over the years.

Taking one last look at him, she left his room and made her way to the kitchen.


Where was he?

He kept asking himself that same question over and over again.

He looked everywhere as yet he saw the same thing. Just a black field of nothingness. As if he was on a pitch black stage with the spotlight on him.

What was he supposed to do? Dance?

He held his head. What happened earlier. He did his best to retrace everything but his memory felt hazy to him.

Think Roxas think.

A certain blonde came into his mind and his eyes widened.

"Naminé"

He was in the middle of their art lesson when it happened. A wave of dizzinesss had hit him like a truck and he remembered collapsing into Naminé's arms. Her scent still fresh as day in his head.

He quickly shook those thoughts away.

"Now isn't the time Roxas," he told himself.

He took one more look around. There seemed to be no walkway around him. Well, if there's no path, he'll just have to take one himself. He took one step forward…and fell.

"Woaaah!" he screamed as the feeling of freefall took over him. His body waved around in air, praying that this feeling would end soon and it actually did. He felt as if he fell to a floor and the moment he did, he opened his eyes.

Instead of a dark area, he saw himself in a park. A park which he was all too familiar him. Fear and Panic gripped at him as he saw a sign on the grass.

'Twilight Town Park'

He looked down and saw his hands and legs. This wasn't him. It was him as a child. When his mother was still around. When everything happened. When the world took away someone precious to him.

It was only then he realized, he was on a road.

A loud car honked at him.

And he heard someone scream out his name. He looked back, the last thing he saw was his mother's worried face, jumping to push out of the way.

"NO! MOM!" he screamed. He stepped forward and everything changed for him again. This time, he was back in his teen body, but his mind was that of when he was a child. The memory of his mother replaying over and over again.

He was back on the dark stage.

"Mom…" he muttered as he dropped down to his knees.

It hurts.

It hurts so much.

He grasped at his heart, clenching on his shirt as tears slowly came down his face. He fell to the floor, tightening his fists.

"Mom…"

If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't be at the park.

If it wasn't for him, his father would still have his wife.

If it wasn't for him, everything wouldn't have happened. How could you feel pain if you didn't exist in the first place.

If it wasn't for him, his mother would still be by his side.

"GAAAAHHHH!" he screamed in anger. Without thinking, he teared his shirt apart, curving his fingers into claws, he thrusted them into his own chest.

He didn't care if it hurt. He didn't care if blood splattered everywhere.

He shouldn't be alive.

The pain seared at him but he couldn't care. He dug his fingers deep and deep and tears continuously came out. It wasn't because of pain from what he was going, but it came from the pain of being alive.

He felt something on his shoulder and he stopped immeidiately. He slowly turned around and looked up.

Naminé stood there with a gentle smile.

"Na…mi.." he couldn't finish her name. He watched as she kneeled down and without saying anything, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He suddenly lost all of his strength in his hand. He pulled his bloody fingers out from his chest and just took in her embrace. She wrapped her arms around him tighter.

This warmth he felt.

It was the same warmth he felt when his mother hugged him.

The same warmth he got from Naminé back in Twilight Town.

It was the warmth that was like a warm blanket for his heart. Burning away all of the pain he felt as a child.

She didn't know it, but she was like the sun to his coldness.

Silently, he muttered again.

"Thank you"


Despite being in a foreign kitchen, Naminé found cooking easier than she thought, if she had to be honest. It was difficult finding ingredients to cook as she opened all of the shelves, trying to find what to cook and that was when she saw a packet of dry noodles and some chicken broth.

Chicken noodle soup.

It was a dish that her mother would always cook for her whenever she was sick or not. She watched her mother cook it so many times, that even she took it upon herself to learn how to cook it.

It was probably one of the only dishes she knew how to cook.

So everything almost felt like a breeze to her. By the time she knew it, she was done cooking, the pot large enough to feed definitely more than 2 people.

I should probably check up on him

She didn't want to wake him up first since she knew he needed enough rest first. Making her way upstairs, she silently crept into Roxas' room, trying her best not to make too much noise to accidentally wake him up.

He looked so peaceful asleep.

She gently held the wet towel, it was warm now. She quickly ran it under cold water again and placed it on his forehead. Feeling tired from all that cooking she did, she decided to just sit down by the bed, taking a closer look at him.

His chest was slowly moving up and down with some slight snoring, with a small gap between his lips.

He touched his forehead a bit, the cold towel definitely helped. Still very warm, but much better than when she felt it earlier. However, it seemed like Roxas knew.

He murmured something as soon as he fingers made contact. He said something again, but Naminé couldn't hear. She leaned in closer, putting her ear near his face.

"Naminé," she heard. Her eyes widened. She turned her face at him and stared at him.

She still couldn't believe it. And she wasn't even thinking about where she was at that moment.

She thought back to her life before meeting Roxas. It would've just been the same routine over and over again. Wake up, go to school, get bullied, deal with all the weird stares, draw.

Basically, a miserable life which she had to deal with all the time.

But then, Roxas suddenly came into the picture. She couldn't imagine what it must've been like if she hadn't met him at the park. If he never asked her that question that day

It was thanks to him, she started making more friends. Doing her best to be more outgoing, even joining a club, meeting people with similar interests.

He didn't know it, but to her, he was like the light to her darkness.

Without knowing, she felt herself moving closer and closer to Roxas. Closing her eyes, she continued to move, her heart beating faster and faster. She knew what she was about to do, but at the same time, she didn't. Her hand grabbed onto sheets.

Finally, their lips made contact.

Her heart jumped around. She couldn't think properly.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that.

They stayed still, time stood still, everything froze around her.

After awhile, she slowly pulled away. Roxas was still asleep, lying still.

Was she relieved?

Was she disappointed?

Before she knew it, it was her turn for tears to flow out. She closed her mouth, trying her best not to make any noise. She stood up and quickly left the room.

Unbeknownst to her, when she left, Roxas slowly opened his eyes.


Naminé quickly went downstairs and melted onto the floor. Both of her hands still shaking as she covered her mouth, tears continuing to flow down.

What had she done?

Was it the right thing?

Was it the wrong thing?

A million questions ran through her head as the scene kept repeating itself over and over again.

His face stuck in her mind.

He cheerful smile in her head.

Despite all these thoughts in her head, all these feelings in herself.

She knew one thing, and one thing only.

I love you, Roxas.